Let’s jump right on in to this week’s roundup.
Pilgrimages are underway in Columbus, Natchez and Vicksburg.
Follow the links below to see what’s going on in your neck of the woods. Attending events like these is a great way to support local grassroots preservation efforts.
This week we can include a story regarding the Columbus Pilgrimage.
http://www.cdispatch.com/opinions/article.asp?aid=57307
On a Pilgrimage-related note, Robert Snow, Savior of Waverley Plantation House, passed away at the age of 91.
https://misspreservation.com/2017/03/29/robert-snow-savior-of-waverley-dies-at-home/
In Corinth, the Mayor and Board of Aldermen reappointed three Historic Preservation Commission members, for another three-year term.
In Columbus, the state bond bill that did not pass has put some projects on the chopping block. Funding for the city hall renovation and the children’s museum to be built in the old Elks Club building may have to wait until next year to receive the millions needed in that funding. I’m not up to speed on any of this, but wasn’t the work to Columbus city hall just finished in January?
http://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=57306
Temple Theater Meridian, Lauderdale County, Miss.
In Meridian on April 8, a benefit show will be held to support the Temple Theater. If you’re in Meridian on April 8th consider attending this event, not only to help with maintaining the Temple Theater, but also to keep the forces of vapid stupidity at bay.
Retaining wall north of St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Vicksburg collapsed 4-3-17 Image from WAPT.com
The bad weather across Mississippi over Sunday night thru Monday morning is believed to have caused the collapse of a retaining wall behind St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Vicksburg. No damage was reported to any of the surrounding buildings. You might remember back in 2006 when several buildings on the 700 block of Clay Street collapsed. I cannot recall if that was related to a weather event, or demolition by neglect.
Buildings at 709-713 Clay Street Vicksburg Warren Co. collapsed in 2006. This image was made in Aug. 2007 by Nancy Bell & was retrieved from the MDAH HRI db on 4-3-17
http://www.msnewsnow.com/story/35061332/vicksburg-bank-drive-thru-collapse-sounded-like-a-train
http://www.wapt.com/article/retaining-wall-collapses-in-vicksburg-lands-on-vehicles/9223175
http://www.vicksburgpost.com/2017/04/03/severe-weather-blasts-vicksburg-warren-county/
Medgar Evers House, Jackson, Hinds County. Photo by J. Baughn, MDAH 09-07-2008 Retrieved from MDAH HRI database 2-20-13
In Jackson, the Clarion Ledger ran an article about the possibility of the Medgar & Myrlie Evers House becoming a National Park Service site. Currently the property is maintained by Tougaloo College, thanks to the donation of the house by Myrlie Evers in 1993. It became a museum four years later and underwent an extensive restoration in 2013. You might remember the house was listed as a National Historic Landmark in January of this year.
In Natchez, another civil rights location, the Wharlest & Exlerna Jackson House at 13 Mathews Street, is up for a National Register listing. Mr. Jackson a 36 year-old father of five was killed in 1967 when a bomb placed in his car exploded. Fifty years later his murder has yet to be solved. Mr. Jackson was the treasurer of the Natchez NAACP and had recently received a work promotion to a position in the chemical mixing plant of Armstrong Tire & Rubber Company that had been previously reserved for whites only.
http://www.natchezdemocrat.com/2017/03/31/national-register-right-for-jackson/
Holmesville is back in the news. A fire station on the old courthouse square has been proposed. While I don’t have access to the whole article, it was discussed that a Mississippi Landmark permit would have to be issued before construction on the square could begin. Good thing this was recognized early on in the process.
http://www.enterprise-journal.com/news/article_9cef8d90-10ac-11e7-b87f-bf81f048e534.html
Brookhaven’s historic Inez Hotel facade gets an upgrade thanks in part to the Brookhaven Trust. According to the Daily-Leader, the owner of the building partnered with the Brookhaven Trust to install a replica of a historic sign on the former hotel-turned-apartments. The Brookhaven Trust was established over 25 years ago and is committed to preserving the city’s heritage and to promoting cultural events in the community.
LaPointe Krebs House, Pascagoula March 2017 from WLOX
Down on the coast, in Pascagoula, there were two stories this week about the LaPointe Krebs House. WLOX ran a story about the annual LaPointe Krebs Foundation fundraiser, the “Fete La Pointe,” that was held on March 31st. The other story was an interview with Marks “Mc” Wixon, the LaPointe Krebs Foundation’s executive director.
http://www.wlox.com/story/35016143/historic-home-in-pascagoula-pre-dates-formation-of-america
http://www.sunherald.com/news/local/counties/jackson-county/article142180434.html
Staying down on the coast, the History Museum at the Mary C. O’Keefe Cultural Center in Ocean Springs is featuring an exhibit on the Gulf Hills community.
http://www.sunherald.com/living/article141299293.html
Staying in Ocean Springs with a story about a house that, like many old houses has changed in appearance over time. Originally built c.1850 the structure on Iberville Avenue was extensively remodeled about 1900, enveloping the earlier house. The story doesn’t state what the current owners’ intentions are for their remodeling project but this brings up a good discussion. While it might be exciting to think of this as a mid-19th century structure, only small fragments of the original c.1850 building remain after the house was so significantly altered c. 1900. If you wouldn’t want to remove the enhanced living space that was added with the c.1900 additions it would wrong to interpret the whole structure as having been built in c.1850. This is a preservation discussion that has been ongoing since the earliest origins of the movement and is worthy of its own post to further discuss these sometimes complex ideas. One early MissPres post about what Stewart Brand calls the “scrape” and “anti-scrape” preservationists is in the Book Quotes series for How Buildings Learn.
http://www.wlox.com/story/35005355/home-renovation-reveals-hidden-house-in-ocean-springs
http://www.traditionalbuilding.com/opinions/problem-house-museum
An interesting story from the Charlotte Observer (NC) that touches on what we preserve and why;
“So many things we save are pretty buildings, but (historic preservation) is more complicated than that. They are big artifacts and they ought to reflect the diversity and history of the community.”
If you missed it on Saturday, April 1st was the annual MissPres April Fool’s post. This year’s post delved into the unknown history of the Madisonian’s Greco-Roman bathhouses that are scattered along the Mississippi Sound.
https://misspreservation.com/2017/04/01/madisonians-at-the-sea-shore/
You can read more about the study of a Madisonian cultural hearth in these posts from years past.
https://misspreservation.com/2015/04/01/madisonia-mississippis-lost-greco-roman-colony/
https://misspreservation.com/2016/04/01/the-renaissance-of-the-ridgelanders/
Like always, I probably missed a story or two, so if you know of any preservation-related news items not mentioned, or if you have more information about a story above please let us know in the comments below.
Categories: Brookhaven, Churches, Civil Rights, Columbus, Cool Old Places, Demolition/Abandonment, Disasters, Historic Preservation, Hotels, Industrial, Jackson, MDAH, Meridian, Mississippi Landmarks, MS Dept. of Archives and History, Museums, National Park Service, National Register, News Roundups, Ocean Springs, Pascagoula, Preservation Education, Preservation Law/Local Commissions, Preservation People/Events, Renovation Projects, Vicksburg
Preservation in Mississippi 
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