Boggsdale is the area of the family home of Thomas Hale Boggs, the late U.S. Congressman from Louisiana who died in a plane crash in Alaska on December 29, 1972.
Seven acres of beachfront property was purchased by Georgian artist and writer, Robert Boggs, and wife, Eliza Jane, in 1875. The area would eventually become Long Beach. The house they built was named Breezydale. According to legend, Native Americans warned the family not to build so close to the Sound.
The property was inherited by the couple’s son, William, and wife, Claire Hale. The other son, Archibald, and his wife, Bessie, were given adjacent land. They built a home by the name of Driftwood, which was named after lumber that had washed ashore.
A major hurricane in 1947 destroyed both homes and killed Bessie. Breezydale was rebuilt 600 feet back from the water and was named Will-Stan, but that property was also destroyed during Hurricane Camille in 1969.
Hale Boggs had plans of rebuilding on Boggsdale before his plane disappeared in Alaska.
Historical Marker Inscription
Thomas Hale Boggs (1914-1972). U.S. Congressman from La. for 28 years, was born in the family home built on this site in 1875. The son of Wm. & Claire Hale Boggs, Rep. Boggs served as House Majority Leader, 1971-72.
Location
30° 20.291′ N, 89° 10.154′ W
Beach Boulevard West (intersection of Boggs Drive and U.S. 90), Long Beach, MS 39560
Historical Markers of the World 