Thursday, July 13, 2017

Small towns in Mississippi: Return to Hermanville

Mississippi 18 No. 4, entering Hermanville
Ten years ago, a friend and I took a drive to Hermanville and explored. The town is on Mississippi highway 18 a few miles east of Port Gibson. Hermanville was pretty rough back then.
Not much has changed. There are a few stores well-patronized by gents hanging around and drinking.
This garage has been torn down. In 2006, it was a mess with a huge straight-8 engine block inside on a stand. The rest of the car was not present.
This little church, up a dirt driveway off 18,  looks like it is no longer used.
This is a traditional house similar to ones you see throughout Mississippi.
This historic store on Railroad Street (or Alley) may be undergoing restoration. However, it looked about the same in 2008.
This yard with old cars and a huge of tree is across the street from the small shops where the gents drink.
Head northeast a few miles to Carlisle Road, and this handsome little church sits in the woods.
An abandoned railroad bridge partly crosses Bayou Pierre. The Bayou winds its way west, goes under Hwy. 61 north of Port Gibson, and eventually empties into the Mississippi River.

The 2017 photographs were taken with a Rolleiflex 3.5E with Schneider Xenotar lens using Kodak Panatomic-X film. I used orange or polarizer filters on some frames.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

My home is one of your images.

Anonymous said...

Sandy Anderson slaved here

Anonymous said...

I went to that second church in the pictures in 1969 while visiting my cousins during the summer time.

Anonymous said...

that was the first time I ever had a cream soda, we would collect bottles on the sides of the road and buy a cold drink at the little store and share it

Anonymous said...

it wasn't a hellhole back then, just a small community

kodachromeguy@bellsouth.net said...

Thanks for your comments. It is sad how the economic basis of so many small towns, like this one, have slipped away during the late-20th century. I don't understand.