"It was a fun place to grow up," Bolton said. "When I was 5 or 6 it was safe for me to cross the highway by myself to go to the beach. There were so few cars then."
The Bolton siblings, after reaching adulthood, placed a sign in the front yard declaring it to be "Mama B's Place" in honor of their mother, Carolyn. Their father, Dr. Eldon L. Bolton, was a Biloxi physician for 50 years, but the large 1920 bungalow was actually built by his father, also a physician, who died two years after building the house.
What the Boltons had was a family compound, and through the years assorted family members lived in the four structures on the land that stretched from the beach road to Bolton Lane. In more recent times, two of the houses and a garage apartment were rented, but 1084 remained as a vacation home for the siblings and their families.
"All the family had moved out of town but me, so it was a place for them to stay," said Bolton. "It also had a lot of sentimental value."
Katrina swept away the family compound, including 1084, of which all that remains is a set of steps. A house facing Bolton Lane is partially standing, whacked off its foundation, and it soon will be bulldozed.
"We don't know right now what we'll do with the land," said Bolton. "We're not going to rebuild a house. Whether we hold on to it or do something else will get voted on by eight people. Some want to sell, some want to put apartments on it."
- KAT BERGERON