Before we get too far into 2019, or just plain float away from all this rain, let’s take a look back at the most popular posts written during 2018. If you missed any of these posts now would be a good chance to catch up. If you remember them, it might be a good opportunity to revisit. I am surprised every year how many folks say they have missed some of the most popular posts. Be sure to scroll all the way down and vote for your favorites of the top 11 stories of the year.
1. Working Under Cover of Weekend, Forrest County Demos Pat Harrison Building — 2,152 Views
https://misspreservation.com/2018/10/03/working-on-the-weekend-forrest-county-demos-pat-harrison-building/
2. New Lease on Life for Rodney Presbyterian? — 1,147 Views
https://misspreservation.com/2018/11/02/new-lease-on-life-for-rodney-presbyterian/
3. Going Inside: St. Mary’s Basilica, Natchez — 940 Views
https://misspreservation.com/2018/01/31/going-inside-st-marys-basilica-natchez/
4. I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Seale-Lily Ice Cream — 854 Views
https://misspreservation.com/2018/01/18/i-scream-you-scream-we-all-scream-for-seale-lily-ice-cream/
5. Jackson’s Zoo When It Was New — 846 Views
https://misspreservation.com/2018/05/17/jacksons-zoo-when-it-was-new/
6. News from Natchez — 806 Views
https://misspreservation.com/2018/10/22/news-from-natchez/
7. Mid-Century Mississippi: Jackson’s Bailey Junior High School — 765 Views
https://misspreservation.com/2018/06/28/mid-century-mississippi-jacksons-bailey-junior-high-school/
8. Getting ready for Spring Pilgrimage(s) — 728 Views
https://misspreservation.com/2018/02/06/getting-ready-for-spring-pilgrimages/
9. Going Inside: A Seale-Lily Ice Cream Shop — 715 Views
https://misspreservation.com/2018/03/07/going-inside-seale-lily-ice-cream-shop/
10. Estill Church Among Delta National Heritage Grantees — 613 Views
https://misspreservation.com/2018/07/17/estill-church-among-delta-national-heritage-grantees/
11. Four Mississippi Sites Awarded NPS Civil Rights Grants — 609 Views
https://misspreservation.com/2018/03/19/nps-announces-awards-of-african-american-civil-rights-history-grants/
Lemon Award: National Trust’s African American Heritage Grants Open — 104 Views
https://misspreservation.com/2018/12/19/national-trusts-african-american-heritage-grants-open/
So was one of these 11 posts your favorite of 2018? News stories again reigned as the most popular posts in 2018, taking seven of the top 11 slots, down how from last years nine slots. The number one story this year, just as last year was about the destruction of a beloved historic building, but this year it wasn’t thieves but Forrest County elected officials doing the dirty deed under cover of darkness. I don’t enjoy writing or reading about bad news preservation or otherwise, but MissPres is often a lone voice, being the only place where you can find information on the historic places that make Mississippi a unique place.
Ice cream is always popular and 2018 proved that with not one, but two stories about the Seale-Lily Ice Cream company landing at the top of the list. As often happens, this years Lemon Award is unjustly held by a post from mid-December that hasn’t had the chance to garner more views. If you haven’t read National Trust’s African American Heritage Grants Open take the opportunity now. The grant application period is still open until January 15, 2019, so consider applying if you have an eligible project.
What topics would you the reader like to see more of 2019? Or maybe you’d like to write a post or two for MissPres? We are all amateurs who do this for fun, so if you have a historic Mississippi place you’re passionate about why not share it on MissPres? If you have a suggestion or would like to guest post, please drop us a line.
You might have noticed that we’ve dropped off from our usually strict and rigorous routine of posting five days a week. Life often gets in the way of being able to write as often as we like. Yet y’all have kept the numbers growing, and 2018 was MissPreservation.com’s third-best year yet, with page views totaling over 262,000. This is a real slump buster as this is the first in three years we’ve experienced increased readership. So as always, thank you MissPresers, for reading, and even a bigger thank you if you comment on the posts. The engagement is what this site was built for and keeps it going.
Did you have a favorite post that didn’t make the list? Did your favorite preservation story have nary a peep mentioned in 2018? Leave a comment below and let us know about your favorite 2018 Mississippi Preservation story.
Categories: Historic Preservation
Preservation in Mississippi 
Hello, good Morning from Buzz B. in Texas.
Regarding #11, perhaps I missed your original post. I believe your photo depicts the Seal Lilly on West Capitol street across from Poindexter Park.
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Good morning! You can confirm that and learn more about Seale-Lily in those posts.
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The Estill Church was one of my favorites. I missed the Jackson Zoo post, although I did quite a bit of research on some of the buildings and entrance for the Living New Deal project.
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Good! I’m glad to catch you up with one that slipped by.
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misspreservation means a lot to me since i am geographically removed from the state. i want to thank all of those involved in the site’s ‘managerial aspects’ and as well as the contributors. i have re-connected with some old friends here and made some new ones, all the while learning interesting facts with each blog. i look forward to misspreservation in 2019.
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Oh, how could I have missed the January 2018 post on the north Jackson Seale-Lily drive-in? I could have told you *ALL* about that place, but I see others filled in what I would have added. Anyway, thanks for all the great posts this past year.
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What this list says is that only Jackson and the Natchez area are popular and that a sudden building demolition will always attract views. It is a good thing this site does not base what is posted on potential popularity, otherwise we would never do another post on Columbus, Meridian, Tupelo, or the Coast.
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If only the reading public would learn from the constant drip-drip-drip of public officials sneaking around demolishing historic buildings and then claiming innocence based on ignorance, I wouldn’t mind so much that our most popular posts are the sudden demolitions. Voters need to start recognizing that if a public official is willing to break one state law in full view, they’re probably breaking a lot more in private.
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Duly noted that John McCarter’s Kate Ervin home is falling further into decay. As of last summer, the baby grand piano is still in the foyer, and the stairway is still intact and safe to climb to the second floor.
The Harvey house, the oldest in Crawford, is dying of neglect, too. While MDAH saved from demolition the M&O RR section house by the now Former Mayor Colon and that West Point businessman, it is unoccupied and its future in limbo.
There are several old abandoned houses in Crawford that could be resurrected and used by weekend MSU alumni that attend sporting events in the fall and summer.
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There were definitely “Background Buildings”, those important to the fabric that makes Mississippi unique, particularly South Mississippi, that were lost in 2018. Biloxi Had a miscarriage of Section 106 with the USAF destruction of four historic houses along Forest Avenue in Biloxi.
One of my favorite buildings in Ocean Springs, a visibly rare link between the pre-war Craftsman Style and the post-war Ranch Style, was destroyed this year for what? Doubtfully another Sullivan, Wright, Goff, or Ishee edifice. Likely something that will only erase the sense of place.
Ocean Springs has been destroying it’s historic places at an alarming rate, something that is probably not unique to Mississippi towns. Although, like you’ve said, no one seems to care about these places other than the few.
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Waverley in Columbus has a new owner. Bought by MSU Petroleum engineer graduate who made it big in Big Oil headquarters in Tulsa.
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I had heard it had closed, but I still haven’t seen any articles announcing it to make a post out of.
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