Unfortunately, many of the museums and historic homes were within 1/4 mile of the Mississippi Coast. It is my understanding that a large number of pre and post Civil War homes, including Beauvoir and its archival library, are completely gone. I can only imagine that the Walter Anderson Museum, in Ocean Springs, with its original murals, is probably gone, as are countless other depositories of archives, historical records and maps, etc. In New Orleans, the parish notarial archives were in the basement of City Hall, so you can imagine their state. It is extremely difficult to get any communication in or out of the area, but rumor has it that some cell towers are supposed to be restored/given power in the next 48 hours (on the MS Coast). As a native of the Mississippi Coast, there are no words to describe the loss. It breaks your heart.
Meredith Hardy

Department of Anthropology
Florida State University
1847 W. Tennessee St.
Tallahassee, FL 32306