“Gate to the Hamilton residence. Bay St. Louis, Mississippi,” c. 1901, Detroit Publishing Co., via Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.*
The beach town of Bay St. Louis is located on the Mississippi Gulf Coast on the Bay of Saint Louis.
“Harry’s villa.”
The structure around the tree was known as a shoo fly. The elevated platforms were popular along the Gulf Coast as breezy places to avoid deer flies.
“Shoo-fly at Madame Boyle’s.” (“Harry’s villa” and “Madame Boyles” seem to be the same cottage.)
There’s another version of a shoo fly here.
“Along the bay,” a photochrom print.
Bay St. Louis was devasted by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Almost nine years later, it has made a good comeback and is listed among Coastal Living‘s “Dream Towns in the Gulf Coast.”
You can scroll through larger versions of these photos by clicking on ‘Continue reading’ below and then on any of the thumbnails in the gallery.
*All photos here were taken in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, c. 1901, by Detroit Publishing Co., via Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
enclos*ure 
[…] hotel garden had an interesting combination treehouse-garden seat called a shoo fly. The 10′ to 12′ elevated platforms were popular along the Gulf Coast as places to catch […]
Beautiful photos. I’ve driven through this area pre- and post-Katrina. Glad to hear that it’s made a comeback.
So say the websites, anyway. . . although a lot of great vernacular architecture must be gone for good, sadly.
We’ve been watching “True Detective,” and I remembered how much I like those long low coastal areas.