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The Mississippi Heritage Awards are given out every other year to honor individuals and organizations from around the state whose projects show commitment to excellence in preservation. The next set of awards will be presented in spring of 2004 at the Experience Mississippi Historic Preservation Conference in Hattiesburg. Please visit the award section for 2002 and 1999 to learn about other award winners. EXCELLENCE
Award Level:
Excellence Constructed in 1938, the Old U.S. Post Office in Ripley is an austere, one-story, brick box with simple Colonial Revival detailing. The building is a well-executed example of the colonial style post offices built in Mississippi by the Federal government during the Great Depression with funding from one of the New Deal public building programs. Dixie-Net Communications rehabilitated the post office in 1999. Exterior work was limited to repairing and repainting the windows, transoms, the frontispiece, coping, lintels, and sills. The lobby was divided into three rooms, but retains its original entry vestibule. The tile floors and wainscot of the lobby were cleaned and sealed. The post office boxes, drop slots, bulletin boards, and display cases were retained, and the lobby tables were refinished. The old radiators remain in place. The original workroom was divided into offices, with partial-height walls added, retaining the original ceiling height. In the basement, a concrete floor was poured, the brick walls sealed, and the floor carpeted. The abandonment of historic downtown post offices is becoming a common problem throughout the country. Fortunately, Dixie-Net Communications recognized the value of Ripley’s old post office. The rehabilitation of the Ripley Post Office has given new life to a local landmark and has helped to maintain the historic character of the downtown.
Award Level:
Excellence Located along the Yazoo River in the Cotton Row Historic District, the Swayze and Gregory Buildings, former cotton factors’ offices, were rehabilitated by the Viking Range Corporation to serve as corporate offices. The buildings are interconnected. The Gregory Building was constructed circa 1895, is a one-story, brick, commercial row building; the Swayze Building, circa 1905, is a two-story, brick, commercial building. During rehabilitation, the Swayze Building was repointed; the storefront was restored; and the windows were reglazed and repainted. Work on the interior included repairing the plaster walls and repairing and repainting the wood tongue-and-groove ceiling. A partition wall was added between the original cast iron columns, with the columns being left exposed. Partial-height, modular office units were installed, retaining the openness of the space. Rehabilitation of the Gregory Building involved selectively repointing the masonry; cleaning the masonry; and repairing and repainting the woodwork on the storefront. The wood floor in the front portion of the building was refinished; the other floors were carpeted. Gypsum board was applied to the walls and ceilings, and the skylights were retained. Modular office units are used to retain the open feeling of the space. In addition to these buildings, Viking Range Corporation has renovated four other buildings in the 100 block of Front Street. The renovation of these buildings has dramatically improved the appearance of this prominent block along the Yazoo River and has served as a catalyst for the rehabilitation of other historic buildings in Greenwood.
Award Level:
Excellence The most visually prominent legacy of the Native American inhabitants of Mississippi consists of the earthen mounds found on the landscape. Constructed mainly from 100 BC to AD 1700, these mounds served as tombs and as platforms upon which stood temples or the dwellings of chiefs. Mississippi’s oldest surviving manmade structures, these ancient landmarks are under increasing assault by residential, commercial and industrial development, and the ravages caused by agriculture and looting. Most of the Indian mounds in Mississippi have been disfigured or destroyed over the years, a trend that has accelerated in recent decades. Few people are aware of the significance or the existence of these old monuments. Mississippians and visitors to the state have long needed a convenient, non-technical source of information about Native American mounds. To meet this need, the Historic Preservation Division of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, in partnership with the Southeast Archeological Center, National Park Service, produced the brochure Indian Mounds of Mississippi: A Visitor’s Guide. This 25-page, illustrated, fact-filled publication is free, maximizing its potential to reach and educate a large audience. The brochure features the state’s twelve visitor-accessible mound sites, all of which are owned and protected by state and federal government agencies committed to their preservation. However, the great majority of Indian mounds in Mississippi are on private property, and are vulnerable to damage or destruction. The brochure is also intended to raise awareness of the importance of saving the remaining mounds of the state wherever they may be. MERIT Fondren North Renewal, Jackson, Mississippi Award
Level: Merit The residents of Fondren, a multi-cultural neighborhood of 2,200 homes, formed a non-profit organization to successfully reinvigorate its residential and commercial areas using private funds. The results include a residential property value increase of up to forty percent in the targeted areas and reduced commercial vacancies. Fondren Renaissance Renewal (FRR) targeted the deteriorated residential areas of the neighborhood, which had become low-end rental properties. They purchased and renovated twenty-one house, located desirable buyers, arranged financing and returned the homes to single family status. In addition, they made restoration grants available to existing resident owners. An original Fondren family home, one of the oldest in the neighborhood, was purchased and restored and now functions as the headquarters for FRR and several other neighborhood initiatives. The commercial areas of Fondren have been revitalized through the establishment of Mississippi’s first Urban Neighborhood Main Street program. An intensive program of streetscaping was undertaken, including hanging three hundred banners and placing numerous benches, planters and trash receptacles. Façade grants have helped improve old structures and three new buildings have been constructed. Fondren is becoming a vibrant neighborhood center, sales are increasing and vacant commercial space is becoming rare.
Award
Level: Merit Located in the potential North Tupelo Historic District, the fourplex apartment building at 403 Madison Street was built in 1936 shortly after a devastating tornado. The building served as transitional housing for victims of the tornado between their emergency stays with family or in the “Box Car Cities” established by the American Red Cross. The renovation of the two-story, frame, Colonial Revival style, four-plex apartments involved replacing the damaged front sill; removing the vinyl siding and repairing the original weatherboards; replacing the non-historic doors on the facade with paneled and glazed doors; repairing the windows; and replicating the original two-story box columns that had been sawn in half. On the interior, the damaged sheetrock and board ceilings were sheetrocked; wood sheet paneling on the walls was replaced by sheetrock; millwork was retained; and the beaded board walls and ceiling of the stair hall were repaired. Located in the potential North Tupelo Historic District, the one-story, vernacular Colonial Revival-style duplex at 405 Madison Street was built shortly after the devastating April 5, 1936, tornado that is still listed as the fourth most destructive tornado in U.S. history. The building apparently served as transitional housing for victims of the tornado between their emergency stays with family or in the “Box Car Cities” established by the American Red Cross. Rehabilitation of the duplex included repairing and repainting the weatherboard siding and the eaves; replacing the non-historic doors with single-leaf, paneled wood doors; repairing the windows; replacing the damaged front sill; and replacing the non-historic porch posts with box columns similar to those used on neighboring houses. On the interior, the metal and cork ceiling systems were removed, and sheetrock was applied to the ceilings. Wood and plastic sheet paneling was removed from the walls, and sheetrock was applied. The original five-panel doors were repaired, and the modern hollow core doors were replaced with wooden doors appropriate to the age and style of the building. Original millwork and mantels were repaired, and the damaged wood floors were covered with vinyl, ceramic tile, and carpet.
Award
Level: Merit The two-story, frame, Colonial Revival style house at 507 Washington Street was built about 1914 by Dr. Henry Lewis Lamkin, a physician and real estate developer. The house retained its significant architectural features; however, it had undergone alterations and additions and was in deteriorated condition. The two-tiered portico had to be extensively repaired and the porch structure rebuilt due to deterioration. The columns were repaired and the capitals and bases were replicated. New flooring was laid on both levels, and the balusters were re-set in new base rails and handrails. The roof was repaired, the windows reglazed, the shutters replicated, and the siding and fascia repaired and repainted. Two non-historic rear additions were removed and a new one-story addition of contemporary design was built. The second floor rear porch’s shutters and balustrade were replaced with weatherboard, but the porch posts were left in place. The interior of the house has a high quality of architectural detail: including pocket doors, French doors with paneled “transom and sidelights,” and three early mantels. During the rehabilitation, all millwork was retained, the fireplaces restored, a non-historic partition in the entrance foyer removed, and the floors refinished. Four of the five original upstairs bedrooms were preserved intact, with the fifth bedroom being divided into a new bathroom and utility room. The house now serves as a bed-and-breakfast inn.
Award
Level: Merit The Federal-style, frame, one-and-one-half story house at 505 Monroe Street was built in the early 1830s and was sold in 1862 to John and Jeanette Mayer. The Mayers “modernized” the house shortly after their purchase: remodeling the front gallery, replacing the columns with six pairs of chamfered posts, and adding Gothic spandrels and brackets. When acquired by the Sirmans in 1997, the cottage was in deteriorated condition. Both galleries were collapsing, the roof was in poor repair, windows were missing, and the weatherboard was greatly deteriorated. Interior plaster was unsalvageable; the mantelpieces had been stolen. The flooring had considerable damage and the finishes and trim of the upper half story were destroyed. However, all interior doors and the majority of the window and door surrounds and baseboards were intact. The house was precariously perched on the edge of a hilltop that had become unstable and threatened to collapse the house. A dam-like wall was constructed in front of the house. The space behind the wall was infilled with earth and vegetation will be planted to obscure the retaining wall. After site-stabilization, the piers were rebuilt, the roof was repaired, and the dormers were rebuilt. Missing and damaged weatherboards and windows were replaced, repaired, or replicated. The front gallery was restored, but the rear gallery had to be removed and reconstructed. Interior walls and ceilings were sheetrocked, floors replaced, and missing or damaged millwork replicated. One of the mantelpieces was recovered and was used to replicate the other missing mantels. The Sirmans plan to use the house as a bed-and-breakfast inn.
Award
Level: Merit Located in the Columbus Central Commercial Historic District, the commercial building at 114-118 4th Street South is a c. 1930, two-story brick building with three storefronts. Facing historic “Catfish Alley,” a historic African American commercial area, the building had been unoccupied for over 20 years and was in poor condition. The windows were deteriorated, and the roof had collapsed, resulting in water damage to both the first and second floor finishes. Rehabilitation occurred between December 1998 and May 1999. The first floor was converted into office space and the second floor into four apartments. The project involved reroofing the building; cleaning the masonry; replacing missing and damaged doors and transoms; and replicating the deteriorated second floor windows. The interior had suffered from water, fire, and termite damage. The damaged joists and walls were replaced, and the ceilings were covered with a commercial drop ceiling on the first floor and with sheetrock on the second. Walls were sheetrocked, and the second story’s wood floors were repaired and refinished. The transformation of this long-vacant, dilapidated building has been amazing. The renovation helps maintain the historic character of “Catfish Alley,” and the conversion of the second floor into living space makes this area of downtown Columbus more viable.
Award
Level: Merit Located in Greenwood’s Cotton Row Historic District, the Provine-Sabin-Wiggins Building is a two-story, brick, commercial row building constructed circa 1900 in the vernacular Italianate style. Over the years the storefront had undergone alterations, with four of the entrances being partially infilled with wood panels and single-leaf, hollow-core doors inserted. Many of the display windows, as well as the second-story windows, had either been replaced by or covered with wood panels. During rehabilitation, the building was reroofed, the downspouts were replaced, the brick was cleaned, the storefront was restored based on photographic documentation, and the windows and skylights were repaired. Plaster ceilings and walls were repaired and repainted, and the building was rewired, replumbed, and a new HVAC system was installed with ducts hidden in furred-out areas. The first floor of the building is used as an antique auction house, while the second floor will serve as housing for the property owner. The transformation of this building has been dramatic, helping to maintain the historic character of the Cotton Row Historic District.
Award
Level: Merit Located in the Hernando Courthouse Square Historic District, the E.L. Rawls Store Building was constructed in 1915 and is a small, one-story, brick, commercial row building. At project initiation, the storefront retained a high degree of integrity but required repair to the transoms, windows, and doors. The building was re-roofed; the skylight was reglazed; a missing portion of the facade’s cornice was reconstructed; and the rear wall was repaired and repointed. On the interior, the pressed metal ceiling was cleaned and repainted; the fluorescent strip lights were replaced with “school house”-type light fixtures; the non-historic floor coverings were removed, and the wood floors were refinished; wall board panels were removed, and the plaster was repaired. Although new partition walls were installed, the “feel” of the large open space of the interior was retained by setting the partitioning back 30 feet from the storefront. A new heating and cooling system was installed, with exposed spiral ductwork. The building now houses the DeSoto Times newspaper news room. The rehabilitation of this early twentieth century commercial building helps maintain the historic character of the Hernando courthouse square.
Award
Level: Merit Cherokee, a circa 1830 Greek Revival mansion set high above the street in Natchez, is being nominated for the restoration of the nineteenth-century decorative paint scheme to the facade. During the Greek Revival period, many Natchez area houses featured stucco that was painted in imitation of stone. This treatment is documented in historic photographs as having existed on a number of other Natchez area houses. After seeing a historic photograph documenting this treatment on the facade of Cherokee, the Whatleys decided to attempt to restore it. They hired Chris Landers of Natchez, one of the nation’s best ornamental painters, to duplicate the technique documented in a black and white photograph. To get the correct colors, the Whatleys obtained stucco samples from Moss Hill Plantation in Church Hill that retained the original decorative painting scheme. Stucco samples had been saved by the Historic Natchez Foundation for over twenty years in hope that someone would one day restore these painted finishes so common to nineteenth century Natchez. Cherokee is the first of these houses to have the decorative paint scheme restored.
Award
Level: Merit Built in the first half of the nineteenth century, 406 South Pearl Street is a representative example of small, vernacular, Greek Revival cottages constructed in Natchez during the antebellum period. The house is one-story, frame, side-gabled structure, originally with one room to each side of a center hall. To provide additional interior space, the full-width rear gallery had been enclosed. The two-story rear ell, probably the original detached kitchen, was connected to the house sometime before 1897. At project initiation, the house was in deteriorated condition, suffering from water damage and termite infestation, but it retained a good degree of integrity. The renovation involved rebuilding and repointing the brick piers; re-roofing; replacing damaged and missing weatherboard siding; and repairing the windows and transom. The rear elevation was rotted from a leaking roof and termite infestation; much of the weatherboard siding was missing. The enclosed rear porch was structurally unsound. The walls, sills, floor joists, flooring, rafters, and ceiling of the enclosed porch had to be rebuilt. The simple architectural trim, two historic two-panel doors and two batten doors, as well as the single-pile floor plan survived on the interior. The plaster walls were deteriorated beyond repair, so sheetrock was installed. The second floor of the kitchen building was so deteriorated that no interior features could be salvaged. A new kitchen interior was installed. The renovation of this small vernacular house helps maintain the historic streetscape and preserves building types once common but rapidly disappearing. Built between 1904 and 1910 as a duplex, 15 Foley’s Alley in Natchez is a simple, one-story, front-gabled, frame house on brick piers located in the Downriver Residential Historic District. 15 Foley’s Alley is an early 20th century example of a vernacular tenant house. Years of neglect had caused extensive water damage, but much of the original fabric was intact. Approximately 90% of the wood lap siding was reattached to the studs, caulked, sanded, and painted. Deteriorated or missing boards were replaced with redwood weatherboards matching the original in shape and exposure. Roof rafters were repaired, and new plywood decking and v-crimp metal roofing were installed. All foundation piers were rebuilt using the existing historic brick, and floor joists were repaired and reinforced as necessary. Two four-panel doors were used on the facade, and the six-over-six windows were repaired and retained in place. The front porch was rebuilt with new posts, floor joists, decking, fascia boards, and a simple balustrade. Vacant for a number of years, all the interior surfaces and finishes were badly deteriorated by neglect and water damage. The ceilings and walls were sheetrocked and painted. The four-panel doors and mantels were repaired. New kitchen cabinets, sink, stove, and refrigerator were installed in the location of the earlier kitchen, and a new bathroom and laundry replaced the existing rudimentary bathroom. 15 Foley’s Alley is now a single rental residential unit.
Award
Level: Merit The railroad Section Foreman’s House at Valley Park is a small, wood-frame house originally build about 1882 and enlarged and remodeled in the 1930s. It was built by the Louisville, New Orleans and Texas Railroad, which became part of the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley (Y&MV) Railroad, and subsequently part of the Illinois Central. From 1918 to 1945, it was home to Mr. J. C. Newman, Sr., and his family. J. C. Newman, Sr. and his son C. B. (Buddie) Newman both had long distinguished tenures in the Mississippi Legislature; the younger Newman serving as Speaker of the House from 1976 to 1988. The Section Foreman’s House was originally clad in board-and-batten siding and was painted in the maroon and yellow colors of the Y&MV Railroad. During the remodeling and enlargement in the 1930s, the house was covered in horizontal siding and was painted gray. The Illinois Central Railroad sold the house to a private owner in 1969. The house subsequently had other changes and was covered in vinyl siding. C. B. (Buddie) Newman purchased the building and undertook its restoration between 1995 and 1999. Stripping the vinyl siding and the gray horizontal siding, the original siding was found with the paint scheme still in place. The building was restored to that appearance, leaving the gray horizontal siding only inside the screened front porch. A stretch of the railroad track in front of the section house was purchased when the line was abandoned, preserving its setting. The Section Foreman’s House at Valley Park stands as the oldest and best preserved examples of railroad housing in the state.
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