It’s a shame that with such nice temperatures we have a lot of bad news floating around.  Luckily, Malvaney took two of the stories from me the other day with the post about the demolitions in Jackson and Columbus, so I don’t have to completely spoil everyone’s Monday.  Still, I might as well get right into it:

River waters are still rising – and making up the bulk of the news of course.  The Levee Street Depot – which we had shots of courtesy of MDAH last week – has served as one of the major background images for national news reports from Vicksburg.  Here’s a photo taken about 1 week after MDAH’s images showing the water level on the first floor.

I’ve also seen a lot of references to one of MDAH’s digital collections – specifically, photos from the 1927 Flood.  If you scroll through them, remember that it was this flood that led to the current levee system.

In other flood news, according to NEMS360, Tunica’s Riverpark Museum ended up with about an inch of water despite sandbagging efforts leading up to the recent crest date.  The museum’s collection and exhibits – which focus on the river and its impact on the culture of the area – had been relocated.  The carpet has been ruined – and there is an effort to get as much water and moisture out of the building as quickly as possible to prevent the “after things get wet” damage (such as mold).  Once they are dried out and open again they’ll have a great idea for a new exhibit – the 2011 Flood.

Over in Neshoba County, there was a fire on the fairgrounds property that destroyed 16 cabins.  One of the early reports I read (but couldn’t find again to link to) referred to the section where the fire was as the “new” section, but I don’t know what that means in terms of construction dates.  The site has a long history though (a section of the Fairgrounds is listed on the National Register as a historic district) and it’s sad that these cabins were lost.  According to an aftermath piece, the fire will not deter the plans for this year’s fair – which is set for late July.

Over in Meridian, the Star is reporting that the May 23 completion deadline for City Hall might be delayed again – although the report does not give a reason nor is there a new estimated completion date.  The Star actually had two stories, but neither really had detailed information to share.  This has been an ongoing story here on MissPress and we’ll be ready to report once it’s completed.

photo courtesy W. White

Up in Corinth, the Curlee-Verandah House has been in the news.  This weekend, a Home and Garden Tour in the city was held – the proceeds all going toward the restoration of the property.  The Daily Corinthian ran this snippet on the tour and this longer piece on the restoration plans.  Besides issues of funding – which we all know is often a factor in major restoration projects – there is some discussion about the city turning over the house to the National Park Service and what that would mean for the interpretation of the property.  Should be an interesting story to follow.

For those of you who take an interest in archeology as much as architecture, a story out of Madison County should interest you.  According to the Clarion Ledger:

A long-forgotten graveyard, sitting in the path of Madison County road construction, will be relocated this week.

Tucked away from the end of a one-lane gravel lane running off Old Jackson Road, the 19th-century cemetery sits on land owned by Madison County that soon will become part of Calhoun Station Parkway. Overgrown with grass and trees, the graveyard has seven headstones dated from the 1870s and marked with the names “Smith” or “Montgomery.” Two other illegible monuments are on the ground.

The dates that can be made out seem to date the two rows of burials to 1878 and the article notes that a yellow fever epidemic swept through Madison County that year – which makes me think that these graves are some of the victims of that plague.  What troubles me most about the story is that the abandoned cemetery is in the news because the county is construction a parkway and these graves are “in the way.”  The article suggests that the nine graves the county plans to relocate were buried in a cemetery once associated with a plantation.  That, to me, suggests that a lot more research needs to be done to know exactly how big this cemetery was and what else more archeological study can tell us about the plantation.

and to wrap up:

This weekend, Hernando set a good example for the rest of the state by holding a event to promote two things on the city’s “agenda” as they did a walk in their historic district.  What a great combo – promoting walking as fitness (the “get moving” idea that’s going around) in a historic district.  They had great weather for it, so I hope to see a story about what a big turnout they had!

I think I get the next two Mondays off from New Round ups – with the poll results (GO VOTE!) going up next Monday and Memorial Day the following week, but we’ll keep up with what’s going on so we can post one if we need to!

Categories: Cool Old Places, Corinth, Delta, Hernando, Historic Preservation, Meridian, MS Dept. of Archives and History, Museums, National Park Service, News Roundups, Philadelphia, Vicksburg