For those of you who don’t know – I typically type up these roundups on Sunday as I am able to “schedule” the post for Monday morning.  As of right now, I have only seen REALLY early (and vague) reports about damage from the storm – esp. in Hattiesburg.  It already appears that we know of some damage to the USM Alumni House – but it will likely not be until later on Monday that we really know the extent of the damages.  Knowing the MissPres authors as I do, we’ll very likely have a post just about the storm damage once we know more. If you live in the affected areas, please feel free to comment here and let us know how the historic buildings in your area fared.

Here’s what else we have had around the state this week:

First up, a big announcement about an event in Woodville this week that I found on Mississippi Main Street’s Facebook Page:

Big News: Ribbon Cutting of Woodville Lofts & Studios, the 1.3 million dollar project in downtown Woodville!

February 14th at 4:00 p.m. with reception and tour to follow. We are so proud of our smallest Main Street Community! Big things really do come in small packages! :)

I couldn’t find more details anywhere online to link to, but I seem to remember chatting with some folks down in Wilkinson County about the project a while back.  Everyone is excited about the investment the property owners are making on the Courthouse Square.  I think it’s also a tax credit project (if memory serves me right), so the owners would have been working with folks at MDAH to make sure the work was done according to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards. You can see some photos of the renovation work at the Woodville Lofts Facebook page.

If anyone heads to Southwest MS to check out the building, please share with the rest of us!

Over in Meridian, the Lauderdale County Supervisors are looking at a study of some of their historic buildings which examined the structural integrity and general repair / renovation needs.  The article notes that Belinda Stewart Architects did the study – bringing in other experts as needed.  Five buildings – the Courthouse (1905), the Davis Annex (old Lamar Hotel, 1927), the Ulmer Building (1918), the Ross Building (1920s), and the Greyhound Building (1955) – were included in the study.  The needed and suggested work to be done to all five buildings has an estimated price tag of $39.5 million.  Elected officials will need some time with the report to look at both the work needed and their budget to come up with a plan to get them done.

Speaking of courthouses needing repair, news out of Canton is that the old Madison County Courthouse will have some moisture issues taken care of and water damage repaired thanks to a federal grant.  According to the story, the county has a $500,000 Save America’s Treasures grant for the renovations.  Belinda Stewart Architects has been involved here too and the plans are being reviewed by the Park Service and MDAH.  The issues seem to stem from the interior gutter / drainage system in the building, which is clogged and not working properly.  An exterior system has been proposed as part of the plans, which will take the bulk of the grant funds.  Any remaining funds will go to begin repairing the interior plaster issues that are the result of the faulty drainage system.

News out of Pascagoula is that there is an expansion to the Krebsville National Register District being proposed.  MDAH held a meeting last week to talk about the district expansion.  From the two different follow-up stories (here and here), it sounds like the community supports the expansion – which will be on the agenda for the next National Register Review Board meeting in Jackson in March.

Categories: Canton, Cool Old Places, Historic Preservation, Meridian, MS Dept. of Archives and History, National Park Service, National Register, News Roundups, Pascagoula, Renovation Projects, Woodville