Showing posts with label railroad tracks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label railroad tracks. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 8, 2022

Mississippi Railroad Towns: Crystal Springs and Hazelhurst

Crystal Springs

The City of Crystal Springs is about 20 minutes south of Jackson along Interstate 55. Most people rush by on the interstate, but it is a pleasant community and worth a stop. It looks more prosperous than many other Mississippi towns that I have visited. The city was formed in 1858 when the New Orleans, Jackson and Great Northern Railroad built facilities in the area. Copiah county was known as the "Tomato Capital of the World" because in the late 1930s, the county canned and shipped via rail car more tomatoes than any other county (anywhere in the USA?). You can even attend the Tomato Festival in June.

Former Wolf Hotel, 1854 West Railroad Ave., Hazelhurst (Kodak Royal Gold 25 film, Leica camera)
Crystal Springs in 1920 (from Mississippi Dep. of Archives and History)
Wolf Hotel (Kodak Panatomic-X film, Fuji GW690II, 90mm lens)

I am not sure exactly where the 1920 photograph was taken, but a traveler getting off the train in Crystal Springs may have stayed in the Wolf Hotel. Most towns had a businessman's hotel of this type convenient to the depot. Many (most?) European towns also have Bahnhof hotels, many of which are still in use. I have stayed in many of them over the years.

I talked to some old-timers at the Pawn Shop in the ground floor. They said the upstairs was a mess and they were slowly restoring it. I would have enjoyed exploring, but possibly the floors are not sound. Next trip...

Warehouse, 501 E. Railroad Ave. (Kodak Royal Gold 25 film, 50mm Summicron-DR, 1/8 ƒ/8)
Shop, 345 West Railroad Ave. (Royal Gold 25, 50mm Summicron-DR, 1/8 ƒ/5.6

I saw an old corrugated steel warehouse on East Railroad Avenue. Was it once for tomatoes or lumber? Most of it was not photogenic, but I liked the door and steps. An abandoned car repair shop on East Railroad Avenue was also had an interesting door.

Obviously, this has been a cursory look at Crystal Springs. I will revisit soon.

Hazelhurst

Continue south a few miles and you reach the small town of Hazelhurst. This is another Copiah County  town whose development was stimulated by construction of the railroad in the 1860s. Again, a bridge across the tracks provided a good viewpoint for a photograph. Some of the commercial buildings in town have been converted into apartments and stores. 

Gallatin Street overpass, Hazelhurst (Moto G5 photograph)
View south from Gallatin Street (4×5" Kodak Super-XX film)
Lumber warehouse from South Ragsdale Ave. (4×5" Super-XX film, 240mm G-Claron lens, 1/4 ƒ/64, yellow filter)

Hazelhurst is also a cheerful little town. The big lumber (or tomato?) warehouse next to the tracks was empty, but the commercial stores in town were mostly in use. 


A block of old stores on Georgetown Street faces the railroad tracks. These buildings ones have definitely seen better days. The stucco facade is unusual, possibly a renovation some decades ago?


A cow cornerstone! You see some interesting features in small towns.

We will explore some more Mississippi towns in future updates. Thank you for riding along.


Thursday, June 3, 2021

Pearl Street Houses, Vicksburg, Mississippi (Fairground to Klein Street)

Pearl Street view north during rare snowfall. Note that no houses stand on the west (left) side of the tracks. Kodak Verichrome Pan film, Hasselblad 501CM camera, 80mm lens.

We will continue our review of historic Pearl Street in Vicksburg, Mississippi. This covers the houses north of Fairground Street. This is not a comprehensive inventory because I did not photograph every house. Please see the previous article for the area south of Fairground Street. The color photographs are scans of Kodachrome 25 film. Click any frame to see a larger view. We will proceed from south to north, with house numbers decreasing.

I previously wrote about Pearl Street in 2010 and 2014. Below I have repeated a few of the photographs from the earlier articles, but I reprocessed the scans to improve the color or exposure.

Fairground Street to Speed Street east side (odd number houses)


2529 Pearl Street (Leica 90mm ƒ/2.8 Tele-Elmarit lens)
2529 and 2531 Pearl Street (Leica IIIC, 5cm ƒ/3.5 Elmar lens)
2529 and 2531 Pearl Street at sunset
2531 Pearl Street (note the sealed doorway)
2521 Pearl Street
2521 Pearl Street

This venerable duplex has been perched on this hill forever. The brick front steps are impressive. The house has been in poor condition for decades, but I think it is occupied.

2515 Pearl Street
2509 Pearl Street
2423 Pearl Street (no longer extant)
2421 Pearl Street (Leitz 50mm ƒ/2.8 Elmar lens)
2421 Pearl Street

A wide grassy lot is just north of 2421. I do not know how many houses once occupied that strip. 

Undated post card from Tuminello's Restaurant

The building in which Tuminello's Kitchen was located is still standing at the corner of Pearl and Speed Streets, but the restaurant has been closed since the late-1980s or early-1990s. It was highly regarded in its day as one of Vicksburg's best restaurants. I ate there several times.

Pearl Street view south (Rolleiflex camera)

The brick-faced building on the left (north) side of the street is the former Tuminello's Kitchen.

Some handsome tour houses, including Annabelle Bed and Breakfast, occupy the east side of the block between Speed and Klein Streets. They are obscured by thick hedges and I do not have photographs of them.  

Fairground to Speed Street west side (even number houses)


2508 Pearl Street (no longer extant)
2430 Pearl Street (no longer extant)
2430 Pearl Street (no longer extant; 50mm ƒ/2.8 Leitz Elmar-M lens)
2428 Pearl Street (no longer extant)
2426 Pearl Street (no longer extant)
2426 Pearl Street
2420 Pearl Street
2418 Pearl Street (Leitz 50mm ƒ/2.8 Elmar lens)
2414 Pearl Street
2410 Pearl Street (house and store?)


Speed Street to Klein Street west side (even number addresses)



The old-fashioned store at 2328 Pearl Street was decorated with some nicely-done portraits of civil rights icons in the 2002-2005 era. The building now is a dingy uniform tan color and is closed. It is made of cinderblock, which suggests it was built post-WWII.

2304 Klein Street (no longer extant; Ektar 25 film, Rolleiflex camera)
2302 Klein Street (no longer extant)

North of the store, no houses are standing as of 2021. The level crossings at Speed and Klein Streets have been closed and blocked. This way, the trains do not need to sound their deafening horns. 

Railroad Avenue view downhill to the west (Fuji X-E1 digital image)

Railroad Avenue must have once been lined houses, but most are now gone. I am sure at one time, men from these houses worked at the railroad yard at the base of the hill. My friend said soot from steam locomotives soiled laundry.  

This ends our brief review of the central section of Pearl Street. The next article will cover the zone north of Klein Street.

Friday, September 23, 2016

Continuing Decay in 2016: North Mill Street, Jackson, Mississippi

Dear readers, I wrote about Jackson's North Mill Street in the area near Union Station in a previous post. Let's continue our tour heading north.
Mill Street parallels the Canadian National Railroad tracks and the rail yard. Jackson has always been a major rail center. The best view of the rail yard is from the Woodrow Wilson Avenue crossover. The photograph above shows the view looking south.
There were once private homes on Mill Street. This abandoned early 20th century cottage is at 1112 N. Mill Street.
1154 Mill is a lounge with residence above.
1326 Mill Street is an abandoned supermarket. I do not know where residents of the nearby streets shop.
Clear water was bubbling out of the ground on the lot next to the supermarket. I have noted before that Jackson must lose a tremendous amount of its drinking water to pipe breaks and leaks.
The Magic Spot Sports Bar II is at 1836 North Mill. It has an ambitious mural on the north wall.
Jackson Generator and Starter Service occupies this 1927-vintage factory building. I was glad to see that it was a going concern.
Respect for the customer was molded in the concrete about the door.  I wish more companies today followed this golden rule.
A warehouse with a former spur line is at the corner of Lorenz and North Mill. It was locked but clearly unused.
Neglected 18-wheeler trailers were in the muddy field north of the warehouse.
More clean water was gushing from a break in the hydrant.
A paper recycling company occupied a steel shed and fields at 3002 North Mill Street. I could not tell if the company was defunct because the rolls of baled paper were out in the rain, seemingly abandoned.
This is a Tri-X film photograph of the recycle facility.
Drive west on West Mitchell Ave., and at the corner of Commerce Park Drive, an empty pink warehouse once housed the Traderhorn Discount Store.
The aerial photograph from Google Maps shows the railroad turntable. Tracks fan out to where there would have once been a roundhouse. One day I will try to get permission to take some photographs of the turntable (Update: not allowed).

This has been a rather gloomy view of west Jackson. This area was once a vibrant commercial and manufacturing district, but now many buildings are empty, the roads are crumbling, and the buried infrastructure decaying. I just don't have any answers.

I took these photographs with a Fuji X-E1 digital camera and various Fuji lenses.