Well, I have played hookey from the news roundup for so long that my list of articles was starting to really look at me askance, so to catch us all up, how about one of those Cliff Notes versions that won’t consume your whole morning?
Photo dated July 2012 by Jennifer Baughn, MDAH. Downloaded from MDAH Historic Resources Inventory
Two stories have given us an inside peak at the New Capitol’s monumental stained-glass windows, now being cleaned and put back together at Pearl River Glass Studio in Jackson. The Native American figure on the west side is almost complete, as seen in Walt Grayson’s “Inside the refurbished State Capitol building,” and Sherry Lucas’ story in the Clarion-Ledger (“Monumental Window Job“) shows the removal of the center window, called Mother Mississippi. If you haven’t been inside the New Capitol this year, make a point to swing through and check out the stained-glass windows that have already been cleaned–they look amazing!
The Columbus Dispatch had a story titled “Mississippi Menagerie” about the conversion of a nineteenth-century farm house in the rural Steens community into a . . . well, I guess “farm animal retirement community/tourist attraction” is the best summation I can make.
Donna Echols’ Clarion-Ledger article “Mississippi was a worldwide destination for spas” does a good job of giving us a grand tour of Mississippi’s most famous mineral springs that were the resorts of the nineteenth-century, including Ramsey Springs near Wiggins, Stafford Springs in Jasper County, the Mineral Springs Hotel in Iuka, and maybe the most famous of all Cooper’s Well outside of Raymond.
photo courtesy W. White
Corinth’s Verandah-Curlee House has reopened to tours after extensive foundation and roof repairs, accordin go the AP story in the Clarion-Ledger. Yay!
Bert Case did a good story (“Loss of Mississippi tax credits slows several downtown projects“) showing how many big historic renovation projects just in downtown Jackson have been put on hold due to the Legislature’s inability to extend the cap on Historic Preservation Tax Credits this year: Eastland Building, Walthall Hotel, old Deposit Guaranty (Regions) building. Then add in Starkville’s Cooley Building project and Gulfport’s VA Hospital renovation, and you’ve got a major situation that continues to fly under most people’s radar.
According to Gulflive.com, the Gautier Historic Preservation Commission is beginning a campaign to raise $20,000 to match lthe 2013 Community Heritage Preservation Grant from MDAH for stabilization and repair of the 1920s Gautier Colored School. The Commission already has $7000 in the pot, some of which came from the Gautier Mullet and Music Fest, which celebrates my favorite fish (or a haircut, whichever).
“USM’s Lucas Administration Building to Undergo Repair Beginning in September,” says WBRC of Hattiesburg. The $2.55 million project on the 1920s Beaux Arts building will include foundation repairs, replacement of about 72 pieces of deteriorating terra cotta, and repairs and renovations to the porches for ADA access.
Finally, it took six years, but MissPres is about to pass a pretty amazing milestone. If our average weekly views hold true this week, we’ll hit one million views for this little blog by the end of the week. To build suspense, we’re putting the counter right at the top for all to see and celebrate when the time comes. It may be nerdy, but well, nerdy’s the best I’ve got.
Categories: Antebellum, Capitols Old & New, Corinth, Gautier, Hattiesburg, Heritage Tourism, Holly Springs, Jackson, Rodney, Tupelo
Preservation in Mississippi 
MHT is in the news about their work to save a historic home from being demolished by the City of Biloxi.
http://www.wlox.com/story/29316435/biloxi-to-hold-meeting-to-discuss-building-demolition
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Nerdy is good; I love nerdy. The “tour” of the Gautier school was interesting. Either there are a whole lot of cow salt lick blocks in there, or it was used for storing kilns? Can’t figure out what those things are, so please, spill the beans, or in this case, the salt licks. Still an interesting read today!
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The blocks are for kilns, left over from the buildings senior center days. I suppose the structure is just being used to store the blocks now. Salt licks would be more exciting possibly :)
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Really enjoyed reading about 19th century mineral springs spas! My how times have changed. No need to make a trip to a spa. Just pop in a Grab It & Go for a magical bottled water/energy drink – – – in bottles that make great litter.
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Columbus Dispatch, aka The Commercial Dispatch which is published in Columbus by Birney Imes. Each Sunday, historian Rufus Ward pens a column on the history of the Prairie and the Tombigbee River Basin. He’s authored several non-fiction books on Mississippi history, and is a descendent of one of the earliest Mississippi territory settlers–T.C. Billups.
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Spa
http://www.cdispatch.com/opinions/article.asp?aid=25710&TRID=1&TID=
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Not restoring the original copper clad roof detracts from the “integrity” of the Dome. I do a slow burn every time I pass by the building. I often wondered what became of the scrap copper, knowing that Shemper(Alter Metals) was paying $3,50/lb. for scrap copper
My grandfather, Oscar Burkett(Burkett Sheet Metal Works, 121 Newman Street, telephone number 260)), was the prime contractor for that roofing project and other buildings about the campus. His training was at a technical school in Los Angeles, circa 1913-1914. My grammar school years were spent at Demonstration School… many events were staged there at the Dome where we would orderly march single file over there. The MSC Band and a local magician(Columbia) staged many performances at the Dome for students at Demonstration. My most memorable event on campus, though, was the appearance in in 1948 of a real celebrity at Wimpy’s. We marched over to see the 4 feet, 11 inch tall, former hotel bellhop, Johnny Phillip Morris, give a live performance and hear him give his “Call for Phillip Morrrriissss!” He got a standing ovation. LSMFT.
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