As you know, National Register listings can be either individual places, as shown in Wednesday’s post, or larger groups of buildings known as historic districts. Historic districts can be as small as a handful of houses in a rural community or as large as a dense urban neighborhood.

One of the great things about the MDAH Historic Resources database, introduced in 2011, is that you can tell whether your specific address is individually listed or located within a historic district. Previously, using the National Register website, you could only tell if an address was individually listed, since they don’t have the historic districts broken out by address in their database.

Today’s post is brought to you by Bill Gatlin, MDAH’s National Register coordinator. All photos are courtesy of MDAH.

Downtown Forest Historic District, Forest, Scott County

The Forest Downtown Historic District in Forest contains the commercial core of the City of Forest surrounding the Scott County courthouse square. The district is roughly bounded by Raleigh Street on the east, Smith Street on the west, the railroad tracks south of Front Street on the south and East Third Street on the north. The character of the district, which includes commercial, governmental, and transportation related buildings dating from circa 1860 to 1964, is that of a small county seat that developed as commercial and industrial businesses located in Scott County near Forest. The nomination was written by David Preziosi, Executive Director of the Mississippi Heritage Trust. The district was listed on January 15, 2014.

The nomination may be viewed at https://www.apps.mdah.ms.gov/nom/dist/238.pdf.

Hollandale Historic District, Hollandale, Washington County

The Hollandale Downtown Historic District consists of 18 buildings that are primarily located along Washington Street between East Avenue and Morgan Avenue. Starting out as a small rural community, the town grew into a regional commercial center when the railroad was built in 1882. The buildings represented in the district are almost exclusively commercial buildings, though some are now used for government and religious functions. Most are one- or two-story commercial buildings, most with simple vernacular facades, attached in contiguous block. The nomination was written by Wallace W. Morse, local preservation commission member, and William M. Gatlin, MDAH architectural historian. The district was listed on January 15, 2014

The nomination can be viewed at https://www.apps.mdah.ms.gov/nom/dist/239.pdf.

Old Ocean Springs Historic District Boundary Increase, Ocean Springs, Jackson County

The Old Ocean Springs Historic District Boundary Increase covers 255 acres in Ocean Springs, Jackson County, Mississippi. The territory in the boundary increase is located to the north, west and east of the existing Old Ocean Springs Historic District, listed on the National Register in 1987. The resources in the boundary increase are primarily residences but include commercial, institutional, and religious buildings. The boundary increase encompasses an area roughly bounded by the Louisville & Nashville (L&N) Railroad tracks on the north, First Avenue on the west, Calhoun Street and Ocean Avenue on the south, and Magnolia Avenue and Ward Avenue to the east. The district represents important eras in Ocean Springs’ history, including the resort industry, railroad service, development of the downtown commercial area, population expansion during World War II, and post-World War II suburbanization. The historic district is also significant for its architecture, which is characteristic of architectural styles and types along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Laura Thayer, FEMA Principal Investigator, and William Gatlin, MDAH architectural historian wrote the nomination. It was listed on June 2, 2014.

The nomination can be viewed at https://www.apps.mdah.ms.gov/nom/dist/245.pdf.

Downtown Tupelo Historic District, Tupelo, Lee County

The Downtown Tupelo Historic District is a cohesive collection of late 19th to mid-20th century commercial, residential, governmental and religious buildings comprising the central business district in Tupelo. The district encompasses approximately 9.18 acres and includes 186 buildings and structures, with 98 classified as contributing and 83 as non-contributing. The district’s blocks are laid out in a varying grid pattern and the terrain is level in the southern section and elevates to the north.  The Downtown Tupelo Historic District is locally significant as a regional trade center and is also significant for its architecture. Many buildings retain most of their original design features, and comprise a visually cohesive grouping of commercial, governmental, religious, recreational and residential buildings constructed between 1890 and 1964 and reflecting both local and national commercial building development trends. Judith Johnson, preservation consultant, wrote the nomination. The district was listed on June 2, 2014.

The nomination can be viewed at https://www.apps.mdah.ms.gov/nom/dist/243.pdf.

Smith Park Architectural District Boundary Increase No. 3, Jackson, Hinds County

The Smith Park Architectural District Boundary Increase No.3 includes five properties in the 200 block of East Capitol Street and two properties in the same block on East Pearl Street, between West and Lamar streets. This block in Jackson’s central downtown built up dramatically from the 1920s through the 1960s, and has historically been connected with the dense high-rise development in the existing Smith Park district. The district encompasses the densest commercial development in Mississippi. Three of the four contributing buildings located within the third boundary increase are high-rise structures, one built as a bank and office building, one as office space for a utility company, and one as a motor inn; the latter two are Modernist works. Because the district is commercial and contains the state’s largest collection of tall buildings by several of the state’s important Modernists, these three buildings demonstrate a strong continuity with those in the district as a whole. Dr. Michael Fazio, architectural historian, wrote the nomination. The district was listed on July 25, 2014.

The nomination can be viewed at https://www.apps.mdah.ms.gov/nom/dist/246.pdf.

Grenada Downtown Historic District, Grenada, Grenada County

The Grenada Downtown Historic District includes the commercial and governmental core of the city, and has a total of 93 resources. It encompasses the historic commercial area of Grenada as it was laid out after the construction of the railroad line through Grenada in the 1850s. The character of the district, which includes commercial, governmental, religious, public and a few residential structures is that of a small city that developed in response to the commerce along the Yalobusha River and then the construction of the railroad through the area. The majority of the commercial structures remaining in the district were constructed from the late 1880s to the early 1900s. Most of the historic buildings are one- and two-story row buildings, and retain original elements such as pilasters, columns, decorative vents, and stepped parapets. Tricia Nelson, preservation consultant, wrote the nomination. The district was listed on September 10, 2014.

The nomination can be viewed at https://www.apps.mdah.ms.gov/nom/dist/247.pdf.

McComb States Area Neighborhood Historic District, McComb, Pike County

The States Area Neighborhood Historic District consists of buildings, a cemetery, a park and a fountain, including 531 contributing resources and 106 non-contributing resources, with two previously individual listed properties. The buildings are primarily residential, but also include some commercial, religious, educational, social, and funereal properties. The district represents McComb’s residential development west of the commercial district and the railroad from 1872 to 1964, and displays a spectrum of styles, with high concentrations of Queen Anne and Craftsman.  While businesses and industries operated to the east, the residential nature of this area was complimented by places of worship, schools, a Masonic hall, and a cemetery that tied together the social life of the residents, most of whom were white and worked for the railroad. Laura Blokker, Southeast Preservation, wrote the nomination. The district was listed on September 10, 2014.

The nomination can be viewed at https://www.apps.mdah.ms.gov/nom/dist/249.pdf.

Downtown Fondren Historic District, Jackson, Hinds County

The Downtown Fondren Historic District includes sixty-seven properties, 40 contributing, including one previously listed resource: Lorena Duling School (NR 2007). The distinctive wishbone-shaped street pattern created by the Y-intersection of North State Street and Old Canton Road is a characteristic-defining element. The district is significant on a statewide basis for association with Commerce because of its early development as a suburban shopping district and its collection of mid-twentieth-century shopping plazas and other automobile-related commercial-building types. Downtown Fondren is a unique commercial center in Mississippi. The district is architecturally significant as the state’s most intense concentration of Moderne and Modern buildings. Dr. Michael Fazio, architectural historian, wrote the nomination. The district was listed on September 10, 2014.

The nomination can be viewed at https://www.apps.mdah.ms.gov/nom/dist/248.pdf.

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For previous years’ National Register summaries:

• 2009 Part 1
• 2009 Part 2
• 2010, Part 1
• 2010, Part 2
• 2011, Part 1
• 2011, Part 2
• 2012, Part 1
• 2012, Part 2
• 2013, Individual
• 2013, Historic Districts

Categories: Forest, Grenada, Historic Preservation, Jackson, McComb, National Register, Ocean Springs, Tupelo

Tags: Featured