George Street House: Y Tracery and a little history

George Street House…for the past ten years, I have thought of it as the house on George Street…and while I confess to wondering why this was George Street, there are stranger names on campus.  George Street House was built in 1914 in the Colonial Revival, Craftsman style according to the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.  You can see other photographs that show the detail of the side and porch here, without all those trees in the way.

George M. Street, who received his BA and JD from the University served in a variety of administrative positions between 1949-1985, including the Supervisor of Student Housing, Director of Social Affairs, and Assistant Dean of Men to name only three.  The house was designated a Mississippi landmark in 1992.

What actually drew me to photograph the house last weekend while documenting PWA buildings on campus was noticing for the first time in ten years that the window on the dormer had Y tracery.  Now granted, I only learned about Y tracery a mere six months ago, so I could hardly be faulted for failure to observe this unique little detail prior to that.  Or if I had, I would have thought, “oh, that’s a cool window.”

I will have to set aside some time to go over to the library archives and check out the George M. Street Collection, which includes those related to James Meredith’s admission (letters from parents and students, no doubt that will be an interesting read), Robert F. Kennedy’s speech on campus, and Civil War correspondence.  One title that particularly beckons is named Community Plan to Counteract Racial Agitators.  There is also a copy of The Dan Smoot Report, October 8, 1962, titled “The Mississippi Tragedy.”  Smoot was a former FBI agent and conservative political activist according to Wikipedia, who resigned from the FBI (amid some controversy) and “chronicled alleged communist infiltration.”  We all know how the communists were alleged to be behind the Civil Rights movement, because you know how equality is such an undemocratic notion.

Pretty amazing how a simple thing like a Y tracery window could open my eyes to yet more of the fascinating history of this place I call home these days.

Isaiah T. Montgomery “Bed & Breakfast” in Mound Bayou

Exciting news from over on Preservation in Mississippi–the announcement that the Mississippi Department of Archives and History has awarded a grant in the amount of $12,000 for use on the I T Montgomery house.  I first laid eyes on this historic structure, home to one of the co-founders of Mound Bayou in 1887, almost two years ago when I made my first visit to meet the Mayor, Kent Johnson.  Mayor Johnson took me on a quick “walking tour” of several buildings in the downtown area and shared some of the plans for those buildings.

Later that fall, we held our first youth-led community development workshop, using the school curriculum developed by Charles M. Yarborough for the Mississippi Heritage Trust.

Historic buildings tell the story of the past, and fosters appreciation of our cultural and architectural history.  Historic places help us understand the cultural, social, economic, and political history of our state, region, and nation.

The Montgomery house was built in the Queen Anne style, which was very popular in Mississippi as the railroads expanded between 1880 and 1910.  Montgomery’s house, with its Square Doric columns, gables, and porch running the width of the house, and partially down one side, must have been an imposing sight when the train passed through.  The house faced directly toward the railroad tracks.

In later years, it would house doctors, nurses, and the laundry for the Taborian Hospital.  The laundry was on the first floor, the physician on the second floor and nurses on the third floor.

Congratulations to the Jewel of the Delta, on yet another achievement as they move forward with community development!

Pike County Courthouse: Arrest Location in 1960s fight for justice

Susan Enzweiler in the nomination form for the Magnolia post office called the Classical Revival courthouse “…unsympathetically remodeled.”  Originally constructed in 1883, it was remodeled/ “rebuilt” circa 1917  by the Magnolia born Xavier A. Kramer, architect (Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Historic Resources Inventory database).  Kramer, son of German immigrants, also designed and built the Magnolia Electric Light Plant, Magnolia Ice Plant, and the Municipal Water Works (MDAH, HRI).  Other alterations and renovations were completed in 1972 by Koch & Wilson, architects.

Pike County is in

…the piney woods soil area of Southwest Mississippi, next to Louisiana. (cityofmagnolia.com)

It is one of 4 municipalities in the county, and became the county seat in 1872.

Probably largely unknown until 2010, the newly appointed US Attorney for the Illinois region, Jim Lewis, was arrested in Magnolia during the Civil Rights struggle (Bernard Schoenburg, The State Journal-Register, Springfield, IL, 2010).

In 1965, Lewis, not yet through with law school, found himself picketing the Pike County Courthouse in Magnolia, Mississippi.  Lewis said, ‘…we picketed for two days, quietly carrying signs…on the third day, they [the authorities] decided they’d had enough of us…so they arrested us all.’

 

Historic Preservationist Visits UM for Lecture

Historic Preservationist Visits UM for Lecture.

 

If you are in Oxford, please come by for this opportunity.

Let’s meet at Lucy’s Deli for lunch

Lucy’s Deli is still listed in the various food venues in Jackson, right here at 524 Farish Street across from Big Apple Inn.  My best guess is that Lucy has not been serving sandwiches from here for a while.  In the MDAH Historic Resources Inventory database, it is identified as Birdland restaurant, a circa 1928 “marginal” contribution to the historic district.  Birdland was later moved to 538 Farish, home of the former Crystal Palace.  The Crystal Palace hosted touring jazz and R & B musicians during the 30s-50s.

A metal grill screen was added to cover the double windows at some point post-Google mapping.  The current whereabouts of Lucy remains a secret.

Hazlehurst First United Methodist Church

Gothic Revival, built 1928, Hazlehurst Mississippi (Mississippi Department of Archives & History, Historic Resources Inventory Database).

Old City Hall and Masonic Hall in Durant

The Durant Masonic Hall and former City Hall, now the Community Center, was constructed in 1898.  It was the Castalian Lodge #139 (Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Historic Resources Inventory database).  Architect John W. Gaddis also submitted a design for the Mississippi new capitol competition.  W. O. Glass from Yazoo City was the builder/contractor for the building.

An earlier photograph of the building, taken when it was still the City Hall, shows the words City Hall over the doors on the right, and the Masonic Hall entrance on the left.  With its missing corbel, clearly this building is in need of a little restoration.

Definitely in need of some window repairs as well.  Note the “replacement” of the glass on the second window from the left:  an inset was placed in the opening and a square pane of glass installed.  The arched window glass on the fourth window has fallen and the pane perches precariously on the ledge, waiting for either gravity or wind to send it the rest of the way down.