According to WLBT and the Vicksburg Post, Ceres Plantation was supposed to go to the wrecker on Tuesday. The antebellum house and its associated barns will be “dismantled” (i.e. salvaged as little building parts to be sold at upscale home decor stores in New Orleans and Madison). Congratulations to the Warren County Port Commission, which, unable to run a successful industrial park, decided to spend its time on a campaign of historical destruction in a quest for a larger interstate exit which may never come.
Ceres was listed on the Mississippi Heritage Trust’s 10 Most Endangered Places list last year, but it was lost before then, in my opinion, when the Board of Trustees of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History bowed to political pressure and declined to designate this public property as a Mississippi Landmark.
Ceres Plantation, RIP 2012
Related Posts:
- News Roundup 12-21-2009
- News Roundup 1-22-2010
- News Roundup 2-12-2010–with pictures
- Ceres Plantation Update
- William A. Stanton on Ceres Plantation
- News Roundup 3-19-2010
- News Roundup 7-23-2010
- News Roundup 8-23-2010
- News Roundup 10-18-2010
- The All-New 2011 10 Most Endangered Places List
Categories: Demolition/Abandonment, Vicksburg
Preservation in Mississippi 
Preservation is in some ways moving ass-backwards. There are ever more news reports of the selling off a few bits and baubles “rescued” from the dust clouds of destruction and sent to a salvage yard, packaged as a sad yet somehow acceptable preservation compromise. Preservationists tip their hand when they (increasingly) indicate a willingness to settle for a literal few crumbs rather than pressing for the preservation, say, actual buildings or historic sites.
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I agree 100%. Showing weakness is never going to get you anywhere, especially when big money in the form of private developers or state/federal funding is involved. Give em’ an inch, they take a mile. I don’t understand why the preservation leaders on the local, state, and national levels don’t see this. I think they want to be considered “reasonable” and “willing to compromise” but in these situations, preservationists need to be able to demonstrate how unreasonable the side of destruction is, rather than attempting to compromise with it.
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Whatever happened to Florewood River Plantation State Park???
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Florewood is an excellent example of Robt. W.’s comment above about “selling of a few bits and baubles. Florewood was closed in 2005 and most of its collections auctioned off: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florewood_State_Park
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This is an incredibly sad loss for the state. I shudder to think of Arlington following a similar path. Compromise is not the bundle of joy its so often touted to be.
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I went on a field trip in the 8th grade to what I believe was Florewood. I’ve always wanted to go back to show my kids. It was the closest thing to a working plantation I had ever seen. This makes me sad. Even more than when I started reading this post.
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This makes me still SO sick!!! The Warren County Port Commission needs to be strung up from that 150+ year old magnolia on the front lawn at Ceres!!!!
I think I’m going there right now and get those doors……………watch me.
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Ceres could have been included on the Vicksburg Campaign Trail since Union troops camped on the grounds after the battle of Champion Hill on their way to Vicksburg………….a plague on ALL their houses at the WCPC!!!!!!!
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This insanity is just one example of what a lack of even a basic liberal arts education can do when it occurs among those with power. I truly despair about the lack of interest in such education in my home state.
“If it was good enough for ma-maw…..”
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Does anyone know where one can purchase a peice of Ceres?
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