Ever since my first glimpse of the Taborian Hospital, I have waited for the day I would be able to go inside. Abatement complete and the general clean-up done, and the long-awaited trip inside became reality last month. I am… Read More ›
African American History
101 Places: Dockery Farms Plantation
Dockery Farms, number three in the Delta regional poll for the 101 Places in Mississippi to see before you die, was established in 1895 “to produce cotton, America’s biggest export at the time” (DockeryFarms.org). Located on Highway 8 between Cleveland… Read More ›
W. A. Rayfield: Mt. Gilead Baptist Church
Back in February 2011, Malvaney ran a post about Wallace Augustus Rayfield, one of the first African American architects: Rayfield, a native of Georgia, was educated at Howard, Columbia and the Pratt Institute, and taught architecture and drafting at Tuskegee… Read More ›
Uncredited Mississippi: Forest Heights, Gulfport
In my car I keep a copy of A Field Guide to American Houses by Virginia and Lee McAlester. It comes in handy when I have some time to spend while waiting for an appointment or if I am out… Read More ›
Suzassippi’s Mississippi: Leland M. E. Church, South
The Leland Methodist Church was constructed 1923-24 in a Mission, Spanish Revival style. The MDAH HRI database references similarity of the design of the Fayette, Alabama Methodist Church in crediting the architect (T. L. Brodie, conjectured) and builder (L. Vance, conjectured)…. Read More ›
Abandoned Mississippi: Afro-American Sons and Daughters Hospital
Now that we have hope for the future of Mound Bayou’s Taborian Hospital, maybe we can renew some energy for Yazoo City’s earlier Afro American Sons and Daughters Hospital, long abandoned and disappearing beneath ravenous vines. Mississippi’s first hospital for… Read More ›
MissPres News Roundup 6-25-2012
It’s too hot for witty intros – so straight to the news: First, good news in Tupelo where we thought the City Council was going to wait on an opinion from the Attorney General’s office related to the bid laws… Read More ›
Mound Bayou 125th Anniversary Celebration
July 12th marks the 125th anniversary of the founding of the City of Mound Bayou, Mississippi. During the week of July 8-14, 2012, the City of Mound Bayou invites you to share in the celebration of this unique community, established… Read More ›
Taborian Hospital Project Update
Work on the restoration and renovation of Mound Bayou’s Taborian Hospital–slated to become the Taborian Urgent Care Center–is finally making visual progress after several months of planning and development. The plywood is off the doors and some of the windows,… Read More ›
Youth-led Community Development in Mound Bayou
In an update of the historic preservation work going on in Mound Bayou, we focus this week on youth-led community development. The idea is engaging youth in community development, including historic preservation and economic development. Working with the City of… Read More ›
Update on the Burns “Belfry” Project in Oxford
The plywood covering the windows and walls of the Burns Belfry Church has finally come down! In October, the City of Oxford applied for a state grant (MDAH) to complete the restoration of the project–which has been in the works… Read More ›
Suzassippi’s Mississippi: New Roxy Theater
Another nominee for the 101 Mississippi places was the New Roxy theater on Issaquena Street, Clarksdale. Sadly, the New Roxy fared even less well than the Greyhound station, earning a mere 2 votes or .56% of the Delta poll. The… Read More ›
Walt Grayson recognizes Poplar Hill
Congratulations to the folks at Poplar Hill School in Jefferson County, one of our 101 Mississippi Places to See Before You Die, for a nice story on Walt Grayson’s Looking Around Mississippi. Aired on Friday, March 2, the story interviews alumni… Read More ›
Hints of Segregation Past
Long long ago, in a galaxy far far away I wrote a post about the layers of history we can see in our architecture by looking at the backs and sides of buildings. That post “Where History Meets Architecture” was about… Read More ›
MissPres News Roundup 2-6-2012
We have a short-ish round up this week – meaning that you will still have plenty of time to search for the most popular commercials from this year’s Super Bowl. Our first story this week is in regards to the… Read More ›
Slave Dwelling Project in Holly Springs
According to the Preserve Holy Springs and Marshall County Facebook page, Joe McGill of The Slave Dwelling Project will be spending the night in two Holly Springs slave quarters during Pilgrimage (April 13-15) and helping visitors understand these historic places…. Read More ›
Martin Luther King, Jr. in Philadelphia, Miss.
From the Downtown Philadelphia Historic District nomination, recounting the civil rights march led by Martin Luther King, Jr., in Philadelphia. Held on June 21, 1966, the march from Independence Quarters, a large black neighborhood west of the railroad, to the… Read More ›
A Laurel Church by Clair M. Jones
A few weeks ago, as you may recall, guest author Mark Davis introduced us to Memphis architect Clair Maurice Jones. Jones not only designed a number of large and regionally famous Modernist works in both Atlanta and Memphis, but also… Read More ›
Two New Books For Your Architectural Library
Now that the weather had turned fine, you might feel the urge to curl up with a book, and two new biographies of architects whose work touched Mississippi have just come out to add to your list. In case you… Read More ›
Architects of Mississippi: Clair Maurice Jones
You may recall Mark Davis’ guest posts last month about Meridian architect P.J. Krouse, re-printed from the original publication in the Pearl River County Historical Society newsletter, The Historical Reporter. This month, Mark has outdone himself, introducing us to Clair Maurice Jones, who was… Read More ›
MDAH Announces Grants Awarded to Civil Rights Sites
The Mississippi Department of Archives and History announced the recipients of the Mississippi Civil Rights Historical Sites grant on their website this week. These applications were due back in the Spring (I thought for sure I had announced them here… Read More ›
The Future of Mound Bayou: Saving the Legacy
At the beginning of the week, I outlined the plans for the series about Mound Bayou, which just commemorated the 124th year of its founding. The intent of the posts was to provide a brief history of the origins and… Read More ›
Taborian Hospital and the Delta Health Center: The role of health care in social change and community empowerment
The Mississippi unit of the Sir Knights and Daughters of the Tabor was established in 1889 for the purpose of providing insurance–burial, life, and health care (Hodding Carter, Saturday Evening Post, February 23, 1946). Membership in 1946 had increased to… Read More ›
Bank of Mound Bayou: Charles Banks, A Chief Lieutenant
Charles Banks, already a successful businessman in Clarksdale, moved to Mound Bayou with the plan of greater accomplishments in the all-black town. Banks quickly became involved in the community, both politically and economically, and worked with Booker T. Washington and Tuskegee. Although… Read More ›
The Jewel of the Delta: Mound Bayou, Mississippi
Our friend Susan James of Suzassippi’s Lottabusha County Chronicles blog will be taking a turn as a guest contributor on MissPres this week sharing her thoughts about the African-American town of Mound Bayou in the Delta. I know you’ll all enjoy learning… Read More ›
MissPres News Roundup 7-11-2011
I know our fearless leader is going on vacation, so there will be some guest posts this week and everyone should get ready for the next Name This Place Contest to start next week. With that, here’s the news: First,… Read More ›
Bay St. Louis has a new Blues Trail Marker
In Bay St. Louis there is a new Blues Trail Marker! It’s so new no info about the marker is up on the Mississippi Blues Trail website as of this post. But not to fear Preservation in Mississippi’s got ya… Read More ›
Preservation in Mississippi 