Ocean Springs in Jackson County, Mississippi — The American South (East South Central)
Little Children's Park
Photographed by Mark Hilton, December 10, 2025
1. Little Children's Park Marker
This vintage postcard image shows the Shanahan House as it stood in 1908, on the same Ocean Springs property now known as "Little Children's Park" at the northeast corner of Washington & Calhoun Avenues.
The Shanahan House was constructed in the railroad years of the 1870s as the family residence of John and Maria Shanahan. After John's death in 1892, Mrs. Shanahan operated a boardinghouse in the expanded building, which was lost to fire in 1919.
Years later the property was owned by Neely Powers and his wife Katherine. In 1959, Mrs. Neely Powers donated the 1.84 acre lot in the heart of historic Ocean Springs to the City to be used as a public park. The property then became Little Children's Park, one of the most popular parks in the city. The generosity of Mrs. Powers' community gift is memorialized with a marker at the street corner of the park, installed in the shade of century old Live Oaks.
Postcard image from the collections of the Mississippi Department of Archives & History
This informational sign is part of a community project led by the Historic Ocean Springs Association, and is made possible by a grant from the Mississippi Gulf Coast National Heritage Area.
We thank the City of Ocean Springs for their support of this
this page online
Erected 2022 by Historic Ocean Springs Association, Mississippi Gulf Coast National Heritage Project, Mississippi Department of Marine Resources. (Marker Number 14.)
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Parks & Recreational Areas. A significant historical year for this entry is 1908.
Location. 30° 24.554′ N, 88° 49.604′ W. Marker is in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, in Jackson County. It is at the intersection of Dewey Avenue and Calhoun Street, on the right when traveling south on Dewey Avenue. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Ocean Springs MS 39564, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the American South, specifically in the Deep South, and on the Gulf Coast. Globally, it is in North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain, the Viceroyalty of New France, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Washington Avenue (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Southern Live Oak (about 600 feet away); The Bertuccini House & Barbershop (approx. 0.2 miles away); The Old Ocean Springs Historic District (approx. Ό mile away); Ocean Springs (approx. Ό mile away); The Bowen Avenue Historic District (approx. Ό mile away); The Robert A. Friar House (approx. Ό mile away); a different marker also named Washington Avenue (approx. Ό mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Ocean Springs.
Another marker is no longer nearby. Ocean Springs Tree Tales... (was approx. Ό mile away but has been confirmed missing).
Photographed by Mark Hilton, December 10, 2025
2. Little Children's Park Marker
Marker is just to right of handicapped parking sign.
Photographed by Mark Hilton, December 10, 2025
3. Little Children's Park sign located on west side of park on Washington Ave.
Credits. This page was last revised on December 13, 2025. It was originally submitted on December 13, 2025, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 53 times since then and 23 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on December 13, 2025, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.
