MissPres is on vacation this week, but we’re sending postcards back from Mississippi’s past.
NO-EL MOTEL. U.S. Highway 72 . . . 1 Mile East of City Limits, CORINTH, MISSISSIPPI. Reservations suggested . . . Telephone 6695. Tiled Baths . . . Air Conditioned . . . Hot Air Heated. Mr. and Mrs. M.L. Hampton, Owners and Operators.
Preservation in Mississippi 
I wonder why No-El is hyphenated? Could it have been wordplay with the owners’ names? Perhaps simple whimsy.
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So what is an approximate date on these motor courts that always sat just outside the city limits? I remember whole strings of them along Hwy 61 and Hwy 80. In this postcard,the room seems so clean and crisp and modern – such a change from most rural life in the 1940s and 50s.
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I’m going to guess that this card dates from the late 40s or the early 1950s. The font used suggests something earlier, but I think this is an early 1950s linen finish card.
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Perhaps the style of the red water pitcher on the desk could narrow the time down?
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Good catch! Looks like Fiesta Ware?
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Looks like late 40’s or early 50s again. Remember that there also might have been a slight style lag after the war.
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Does anyone know if this motel still exists?
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I turned up nothing but the post card when I searched earlier. The name Hampton, and initials M. L. appear in Corinth cemetery listings from the late 1800s, but nothing after that.
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Bill, no it’s gone. See my post below.
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I’m guessing this card dates to the late 50s or early 60s based on the “Air Conditioned” on the sign. I don’t remember much in the way of air conditioning – even in public places – in North MS till then. It’s a real loss that so few of those old motels still exist in MS and that so many of the small number still around are so bad. We really lost some wonderful “mom and pops” when the chains came in.
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Before we get too nostalgic for these places, it is also important to remember that such places caused the death of many a downtown hotel. Still, the generic Microtels and Extended Stay Americas certainly lack any charm whatsoever.
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Got some location and other info about the No-el Motel from some of the Corinth folks on Facebook. I’ll omit the names not intending to not give credit but for privacy reasons.
“This motel was on Hwy. 72, next to where Brose Auto-Plex is now located (a restaurant was built on the location of the motel several years ago, but is not in business. Lowe’s is across the highway from the location. Gardner’s Supermarket is just down the highway to the east on opposite side of highway. Slightly back east is WalMart SuperCenter, Ryan’s Restaurant, quite a few other stores and restaurants.
“As a matter of fact, I was working at Brose Autoplex while the old motel was being torn down, the site was prepped for building the restaurant and then when the restaurant was built. This was probably in 2007.
“This motel was located at the intersection of hwy 72 and South Parkway .A restaurant sits there now unoccupied.”
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We have a motel here in Tucson called (and I’m not kidding!) “No-tel Motel”. The clientèle in the past was exactly what you’d expect from the name. I believe its still in operation, though perhaps not for quite the same reasons. Certainly not implying anything about this particular motel, just found it amusing!
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