A few weeks ago (“Grants for Rosenwald Schools“), I passed on a post from the National Trust announcing the opening of a new round of grants for Rosenwald schools, in partnership with the Lowe’s Foundation. Last week, the Trust announced… Read More ›
Demolition/Abandonment
MissPres News Roundup 3-19-2010
My apologies for not producing my usual in-depth News Roundup for this week; the normal News Roundup will return next week. Of course, I am on vacation and used some of my vacation time to create last week’s News Roundup,… Read More ›
MissPres News Roundup 3-12-2010
MissPres readers, greetings from Alabama (the current location of yours truly). And here is the news. The Calhoun County Journal reports in the February 25 paper that Calhoun City is beginning a clean up effort of the Calhoun City Town… Read More ›
Pictures of Gulf Park College campus
As you may recall from a few News Roundups back in December and January, the University of Southern Mississippi, which now owns the beautiful old Gulf Park College campus in Long Beach, wants to use its FEMA money to demolish… Read More ›
William A. Stanton on Ceres Plantation
A reader who took a special interest in the Ceres Plantation story a few weeks ago headed over to the state archives building to do a little digging into the history of the place. After picking through the WPA records… Read More ›
Rodney, MS, as seen by Marty Kittrell
In case you missed the pictures of the almost abandoned town of Rodney, Mississippi (down between Port Gibson and Fayette, near the River) on Marty Kittrell’s photo blog this week, I hope you’ll go over and check them out. They… Read More ›
MissPres News Roundup 2-26-2010
I can’t believe it’s the end of February! I keep thinking Spring should be in the air, but so far, other than the birds that have come back to make their nest under my window awning, I can’t see the… Read More ›
Abandoned Mississippi: Mt. Holly, Lake Washington
On my recent trip to Greenville, I swung through the Lake Washington community to check on Mt. Holly, the Italianate antebellum mansion that I had heard was falling into disrepair. As you may recall, Mt. Holly was one of the… Read More ›
Still No Roof on Eaton School
Note: This post has been heavily modified to remove strong language. Driving past Hattiesburg yesterday under a brooding sky, I decided to swing by Eaton School, which I supposed must have a new roof by now, given that the Hattiesburg… Read More ›
Pigeons to Pearls…The King Edward Flies Again
Thursday, the 17th of December, 2009, was an important day for downtown Jackson. Developer David Watkins snipped a scarlet ribbon and the King Edward was back in business after forty-three years of solitude. Arduous as the task was, Watkins and… Read More ›
Ceres Plantation Update
Since we won’t be having a news roundup this week, I wanted to get this link out to those of you following the Ceres Plantation saga in Warren County. As you remember, the Warren County Port Commission owns the property… Read More ›
Before and After: Mississippi River Basin Model
There’s a new blog on the block, and I think a good number of you might want to add it to your blog reader. Created by “Kodachromeguy” and based in Vicksburg (I think this is the third photo/history blog from… Read More ›
MissPres News Roundup 1-22-2010
I’m always nervous to report a slow news week for fear I’ve missed something important, but I have full confidence that if I do fail miserably at my reportorial task, diligent MissPresers will set me right as quick as a… Read More ›
Windows, Government Programs, and Why They Shouldn’t Mix
Here I was enjoying my dinner and catching up on my Wall Street Journal reading–it’s a terrible feeling to not only be behind in my books and magazines but also in my newspapers–and I had to gulp and take a… Read More ›
What I really meant was Mendenhall Elementary
In case you missed my correction to last Friday’s News Roundup, I mistakenly stated that Magee Elementary School was threatened with demolition, when in fact the caption in the Magee Courier’s article clearly stated it was Mendenhall Elementary. Because I… Read More ›
Patience, Grasshopper
I’ve thought alot about the King Edward lately, as much about the preservation story of the last 40 years than about the recent grand re-opening. I realize that it’s dangerous to use the King Edward story as a model for… Read More ›
MissPres News Roundup 1-8-2010
What? Unheard of to have two news roundups in one week! But this is a new year, so openness to change is a good thing, right? I promise we’ll get back on our once-a-week-on-Friday schedule next week, but I realized… Read More ›
Salvaging the remains of the Sprague
Last week, Marty Kittrell ran a series of photos on his beautiful photo blog of the remains of the once-great steam towboat Sprague, which plied the Mississippi and ended up as a theater on the banks of the river in Vicksburg after WWII…. Read More ›
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
Well, we’ve gotten to that season when we make lists of things that have happened over the past year in preparation for the new year. To start off the week, we’ll take one last look at old friends we have… Read More ›
MissPres News Roundup 12-21-2009
Since I skipped the News Roundup on Friday in favor of a bunch of King Edward pictures, and since this Friday is Christmas, when I hope all of us will be spending time with family and/or friend(s) instead of checking… Read More ›
MissPres News Roundup 12-4-2009
As of this morning, the forecast is for snow, snow! in Jackson tonight. The best snow is the kind that comes and puts a nice quiet blanket on everything, and then goes away after enough time for everyone to get out… Read More ›
MissPres News Roundup 11-20-2009
Well, here we are at Friday again–thank goodness! And next week is Thanksgiving, so it’s a short week for some, a long week for those with visitors staying in their homes. But I digress. Let’s look around for some news…. Read More ›
The Edgewater Gulf Hotel, Queen of the Coast
If one hotel alone were to capture the spirit and grandeur of the faded elegance of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, the Edgewater Gulf would likely be the candidate for the honor. On February 26, 1926, ground was broken for the… Read More ›
Hinds County Armory Shamefully Neglected
Those of you who have visited the Mississippi State Fair might have noticed an exotic brick building with gothic arches off to the side near High Street in Jackson. This is the old Hinds County Armory, built in 1927 and… Read More ›
MissPres News Roundup 11-6-2009
Well, there’s a thick stack of papers piled up waiting for me to get around to a news roundup post after two weeks of skipping it. So without further ado, here goes: To me, the most exciting article of the last… Read More ›
R.I.P. old First Baptist, Natchez
Well, this week has gotten away from me, even with Tom doing most of the blogging, so I don’t have time for a full news roundup. But I wanted to make sure to recognize the passing of a building that I… Read More ›
The Tivoli Hotel in Biloxi….The One That Got Away….
Of all the jarring and tragic images which poured forth in a torrent in the aftermath of Katrina, among the most poignant were those of the ruins of the Tivoli Hotel. The gaping holes in the building immediately told a… Read More ›
Preservation in Mississippi 