In a story similar to that of the King Edward Hotel in Jackson, after almost thirty years of vacancy a Biloxi landmark will be restored. On February 17 WLOX reported that according to its developers the White House Hotel is… Read More ›
Demolition/Abandonment
Metal wire lath. All hail Sir Fabric
We had previously discussed the perforated metal lath sheets used for the 1891 construction of the Washington County Courthouse. In that post wire metal lath was mentioned. Of the three common types of metal lath (perforated sheet, expanded, and wire)… Read More ›
Fielder & Brooks Drug Store/COFO Building and the Remembrance of the Civil Rights Movement’s Historic Sites
Last Monday, January 20, was Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, during which people in Mississippi and the rest of the nation remember Dr. King and the cause to which he gave his life and for which he lost his life –… Read More ›
Lost Mississippi: Griffin Chapel Methodist Church, Starkville
Mississippi State University’s Homecoming weekend in Starkville, several days of celebration, partying, football, and…demolition. Well, not most Homecoming weekends, but the 2010 Homecoming weekend was a weekend of demolition. Griffin Chapel Methodist Church, the oldest African American congregation in Starkville,… Read More ›
Auld Lang Syne 2013
It’s that time of year again; time to take stock, note the wins and losses, get the larger picture that we can lose sight of in the busy-ness of the year. As is traditional, we note the passing of historic… Read More ›
Matty Hersee Update
The Meridian Star ran an article last week about the recent decision by the Mississippi Dept. of Archives and History’s Board of Trustees to grant a demolition permit to Meridian Community College for the old Matty Hersee Hospital and Nursing School…. Read More ›
MDAH Giveth, MDAH Taketh Away . . .
As announced on the Mississippi Department of Archives and History’s website last week, at its October 25th meeting, the MDAH Board of Trustees approved a $500,000 grant to help stablize the Webster County Courthouse: Built in 1915 the Webster County… Read More ›
Going Inside: Mt. Zion Baptist Church No. 1
As you recall, my last stop on my journey through Claiborne and Jefferson County back in August was at the semi-abandoned river town of Rodney, Mississippi. Important in the antebellum period, the town quickly began to dry up when the… Read More ›
MissPres News Roundup 10-21-2013
A friend sent me two articles from the Neshoba Democrat’s October 9, 2013 edition. First, the log cabin built as a public library in the 1930s and badly damaged in the tornado of 2011, was recently reopened to much fanfare,… Read More ›
MissPres News Roundup 10-7-2013
A quick news roundup this week–I admit I haven’t done my homework, so this is not comprehensive. The Sun-Herald ran a nice story “Historic Ocean Springs house makes a comeback; agencies ponder future” about the Charnley House restoration, which MHT’s Lolly… Read More ›
The 10 Most Endangered Historic Places in Mississippi-Where Are They Now?
Preservationists in Jefferson County are working to save the c. 1854 Prospect Hill house and cemetery. In the weeks leading up to the November 14 announcement of the 10 Most Endangered Historic Places in Mississippi for 2013-2014, I thought I… Read More ›
MissPres News Roundup 9-23-2013
Here’s a whirlwind view of Mississippi’s preservation news of the last few weeks with thanks to MissPreser Theodore for sending a number of stories my way. On the Coast, the eighth anniversary of Katrina was commemorated with a memorial service… Read More ›
Madness in Mendenhall
Sheer, utter madness. You are probably going to think this is a typo, but, sadly, I assure you it is not. At the September 12 meeting of the Simpson County School Board, board members voted unanimously to accept a $350,000… Read More ›
Chris Risher’s Meridian Police Station Under Threat
A few years ago, Meridian’s spectacular Beaux Arts city hall reopened after a major renovation that brought it back to its original splendor. Across the side street to the south is a much different building from a different, more recent… Read More ›
New Deal in Mississippi: Faculty Housing
The last–literally, the last house still standing–of the New Deal Administration-funded projects we will visit on the campus of the University of Mississippi is faculty housing. Using primarily Works Progress Administration funds (Gerald Walton, The University of Mississippi: A Pictorial History, 2008), 22… Read More ›
Katrina losses still continue
Katrina losses still continue. One more recent loss was the National Register listed Nelson Tenement building in Pascagoula. This individually listed structure sat in its post Katrina state until it came down. You can read the National Register Nomination here.
Deupree’s Historic Homes: Yerger Home
Today’s post is a reprint from Mrs. N.D. Deupree’s “Some Historic Homes of Mississippi,” from Publications of the Mississippi Historical Society, Vol. VII (1903). The Yerger Home Among the many handsome homes that adorned our State in ante-bellum days, none… Read More ›
MissPres News Roundup 6-24-2013
Summer is officially here – and with it the heat and humidity we in the South love (or is it loathe?) so much. Here’s what’s been going on in preservation since our last roundup. Some of you may have seen… Read More ›
MissPres News Roundup 6-10-2013
While we’re starting our twitter-like news feed on the MissPres page, I’ve been off a couple weeks so we’re due a traditional round-up as well. The biggest news the past couple of weeks have been the municipal elections around the… Read More ›
MissPres News Roundup 5-20-2013
Just a handful of stories from around the state this week: News out of Corinth is the report that an unauthorized demolition in the Historic District was halted because the owner did not have the proper permits to tear down the building. … Read More ›
Deupree’s Historic Homes: Jacob Thompson’s Home
Today’s post is a reprint from Mrs. N.D. Deupree’s “Some Historic Homes of Mississippi,” from Publications of the Mississippi Historical Society, Vol. VI (1902). Jacob Thompson’s Home Among the historic homes of Mississippi in ante-bellum days there were none more… Read More ›
Deupree’s Historic Homes: Kirkwood
Today’s post is a reprint from Mrs. N.D. Deupree’s “Some Historic Homes of Mississippi,” from Publications of the Mississippi Historical Society, Vol. VI (1902). Kirkwood In the northeast corner of Madison county is Kirkwood, the home of Gov. McWillie. In… Read More ›
Deupree’s Historic Homes: Concord
Today’s post is a reprint from Mrs. N.D. Deupree’s “Some Historic Homes of Mississippi,” from Publications of the Mississippi Historical Society, Vol. VI (1902). Concord, the old residence of the Spanish governors, was situated about three miles east of the… Read More ›
Presentations from Preservation in Economic Development Conference
While not breaking news, I learned this week that shortly after the April 2012 Power of Preservation in Economic Development Conference, the Mississippi Heritage Trust made available on their website several of the presentations given at that conference in Ocean… Read More ›
Deupree’s Historic Homes: Porterfield, Vicksburg
This paper, so far devoted to descriptions of plantation and suburban homes, will now give a story of a city home, the “Porterfield” home of Vicksburg. It is a large, square-built brick house, three stories high, with long wide halls, three in number, two rooms on each side of the hall on each floor except the first; this has two on the right of the entrance and one, the banqueting hail, on the left, a room 24 by 42 feet, with ceiling 18 feet in height.
Deupree’s Historic Homes: Mount Salus
The building is fashioned after the style of the old English manor-houses: square built, with wide windows, broad, heavy doors, and solid floors. The doors bear the marks of spurs and bayonets made by Grant’s soldiers as they tried in vain to force their way into stores and mansion, when on the raid from Vicksburg to Jackson in 1863.
Architectural Siblings? Jackson, MS and St. Louis, MO J.C. Penney Department Stores
If you’ve ever read the MissPres post The Beauty of Modernist Storefronts, you’ve seen some HABS images of Jackson’s long gone, international style, J.C. Penney department store. This unique building was taken away before it had the opportunity to be appreciated. J.C. Penney Department… Read More ›
Preservation in Mississippi 