Next week is a contest week on Miss Pres – and the only advice I can give is to make sure you’ve brushed up on your Words of the Week. But since we’ll be skipping the round up next week, we have another short one to share this week.

Spain Funeral Home (R.L. Pound House), Tupelo (c.1920). Designated November 2011.

Starting up in Tupelo, news is that the cost to move the Spain House will be about $5,000 more than expected. The local paper, and a local television station, broke the news of the change order. One room at the back of the house was thought to be a much later addition and was going to be removed prior to the relocation of the house. It was recently determined that the room was original to the house and is now to be relocated with it. The City agreed to the change order and, as I understand it from our friends up in that area, the other necessary preparations for moving the house are in full swing. I hope that the next story we have from Tupelo is that the Spain House is set in its new location.

Down on the coast, word is that the Round Island Lighthouse in Pascagoula has a contractor. Work should being soon – and the article speculates that by the end of November those passing the site should start to see real progress on the reconstruction. About eight months from now, we should see the fully reconstructed lighthouse at its inland location.

Caught a story in the Jackson Free Press that the building that once housed the Iron Horse Grill is a step closer to finding a new life. The Jackson Redevelopment Authority is helping fund the project with urban renewal bonds – and the developers are looking at tax credits as well. From the article, it sounds like when completed the building will house a restaurant and bar – including space for a live music venue. There will also be a Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame and the headquarters of the Mississippi Blues Trail.

Caught a couple of things on the MDAH website this week – they had stories on it being both Archives Month, and Archeology Month. Looks like their plans in celebration of these events includes some extended Archives hours and a lot of Archeology related events around the state – including Archeology Expo at Millsaps College October 27 starting at 10 am. Poking around, I also saw that they put the application for the Certified Local Government Grants on their website. I hope this means that we can look forward to a lot of exciting projects to share when they are awarded in the Spring.

Categories: Cool Old Places, Grants, Gulf Coast, Historic Preservation, Jackson, MS Dept. of Archives and History, News Roundups, Pascagoula, Preservation Law/Local Commissions, Preservation People/Events, Renovation Projects, Tupelo