Time for a rare almost mid-week, not-quite Friday roundup of interesting blog posts. Our Mississippi bloggers have been taking advantage of the nice weather lately to get out and peek into corners and out of the way places, and I wanted to bring some of their posts to your attention before they got away from me.

First, there’s a new Mississippi-history blog you might want to subscribe to: “And Speaking of Which . . .” by Jim Woodrick of Ridgeland. Posts cover a wide variety of Mississippiana (I’ve always wanted to use that word in a post but am not sure that’s the correct usage), but a number so far have had an architectural or design-related focus. Here’s a sampling of recent posts you might find particularly interesting, as I did:

• “Piave Mill” (Greene County)
• “Tippah Lodge“–how did I miss that there used to be a huge hunting lodge near Cotton Plant and there’s apparently a round barn left from its glory days? I think a road trip to North Mississippi is in my future!
• “The Henry Ford of Furniture“–the beginnings of the furniture industry in North Mississippi and a chair that I wish I had in my house.
• “The lost town of Middleton“
• “Madison’s WWII Airfield“

Our old friend and intrepid explorer Suzassippi has been out and about, and has started a second blog with a header that I admit to coveting. This one is devoted specifically to some of her out-of-the-way architectural finds:

• “The Circle at University of Mississippi” takes us on a tour of Ole Miss’ iconic Circle, which was designated as a Mississippi Landmark last year.
• “Alligator, Mississippi” shows us this tiny community in the Mississippi Delta
• “Quitman County Courthouse“
• “Citizens Bank and Trust, Marks” casts a discerning eye on a 1970s Colonial Revival renovation of a bank in Marks.
• “Adams County Courthouse in Natchez” examines the oddities of the oldest courthouse still in use as a courthouse in Mississippi.

And on Suzassippi’s Lottabusha County Chronicles, several sites in and around Natchez, including a few on our 101 Places list:

• St. Mary Minor Basilica, Natchez
• Rose Hill Missionary Baptist Church: Not on the 101 Mississippi Places to See Before You Die List
• Old Natchez Jail
• Holy Family, Natchez: The first black congregation of Catholics in Mississippi
• First Presbyterian Church, Natchez

Marty Kittrell has also been out and has made his annual pilgrimage to the rusting remains of the Sprague, which as you remember lay near the Mississippi River. In Save the Sprague he invites others who wish to join him in his efforts to preserve these remains to contact him.

And once again I am making an appeal to anyone who will listen that we need to save the Sprague. More specifically, I think we need to save the sternwheel, which is the first photo in this album and the smokestacks. I can just picture the sternwheel rebuilt and placed in a shallow pool near the Transportation Museum. . . . Thieves, I understand, have already started stealing some of the Sprague to sell as scrap. I cannot stand, however, to see her just rust away. Who will help me?

The Sprague in 1971, photo courtesy MDAH

Kodachromeguy has been traveling mostly around the Delta but takes a detour to see one of our old friends here on MissPres, the Carpenter School, which we last saw in “Hey, Haven’t I Seen You Before?”

• Two-Room Schoolhouse, Carpenter, Mississippi
• The Mississippi Delta 5: Arcola
• The Mississippi Delta 6: Leland
• More Cottages on Pearl Street, Vicksburg

The new-to-me Old House Dreams blog, which highlights historic houses for sale around the country, has posted two Mississippi houses this month, one in Hattiesburg and another in Pontotoc. Whether you’re in the market or not, there’s a lot to learn from the information provided and the photos in these posts:

• 1899 Victorian, Pontotoc, Mississippi, $64,900
• 1906 Queen Anne, Hattiesburg (George F. Barber), $188,700

Not a Mississippi blog, but one that I’ve added to my Google Reader lately is the OldHouseGuy blog. His posts are geared toward the technical details of how to renovate and maintain a historic or even just an older house. By turning a critical eye on actual renovation projects, his posts help members of historic preservation commissions have a better understanding of best practices and reasons for them. For instance,

• Wood Windows vs. Replacement Windows
• Homeowners and Commissions Must Understand that they are Stewards of Historic Houses

Have fun picking a few or all of the above and spending a few minutes reading what others are seeing and doing out in the Magnolia State and beyond!

Categories: Historic Preservation