tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-418200345166548412.post5777982666086702418..comments2024-03-27T13:44:38.472-07:00Comments on Urban Decay: Small Towns in Mississippi: Return to Edwards (B&W film)Kodachromeguyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09234925040052813302noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-418200345166548412.post-54743542323391641852024-02-17T19:10:26.364-08:002024-02-17T19:10:26.364-08:00 I moved to Edwards in 1960 a thriving busy l... I moved to Edwards in 1960 a thriving busy little town, until I-20 came and bypassed it.<br />The only industry of any size was Adams egg farm-now Cal-Maine. Most of the young folks left to get an education an never came back. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-418200345166548412.post-25150202759655740572023-12-21T18:03:46.177-08:002023-12-21T18:03:46.177-08:00Hi Anonymous, thanks for writing. I have read that...Hi Anonymous, thanks for writing. I have read that the shift to mechanized farm production had a lot to do with the decline of these small towns. That coincided with increasing urbanization. It is awful; I have seen these semi-forgotten and crumbling towns throughout the USA. Kodachromeguyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09234925040052813302noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-418200345166548412.post-31008531664308987512023-12-21T16:36:34.847-08:002023-12-21T16:36:34.847-08:00Edwards is my hometown. I was born in the Mercy H...Edwards is my hometown. I was born in the Mercy Hospital in Vicksburg, Mississippi in 1944. <br />My family lived in rural Hinds County until a propane installation accident forced us to move to Edwards in 1955. During the years that highway 80 was routed through Edwards, and the cotton plantations were still using "hands" to pick cotton, Edwards, Mississippi was a bustling community . The combination of mechanical cotton pickers, and the by-pass of Edwards by I-20, caused the community to decline. The final "nail in the coffin" was the development of the commodity welfare system, which then became "entitlements "During the bustling economy, Edwards had a White Administration, run by businessmen and landowners. As the economy began to fail, the Administration became controlled by the Black population, who were dependent upon government benefit programs and "entitlements ". The decay of small towns in the South and other areas of rural America can be blamed on the initiative known as "the Great Society" , which was initiated by President Lyndon B. Johnson in the mid 1960's. <br />I guess that we should blame the decay upon ourselves for allowing our American society to fail, and our system of Capitalism to decline, and move towards Socialism. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-418200345166548412.post-74440899380950927002023-01-15T08:19:32.188-08:002023-01-15T08:19:32.188-08:00Hi Anonymous, you are right. This is a modern brid...Hi Anonymous, you are right. This is a modern bridge. The older one was timber, but I do not have any photographs of it.kodachromeguy@bellsouth.nethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06220306502819757568noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-418200345166548412.post-32571732231017517942023-01-14T23:42:53.394-08:002023-01-14T23:42:53.394-08:00I saw this same KCS tracks and store fronts with p...I saw this same KCS tracks and store fronts with parking on the right side looking up towards the bridge and the big house at 103 magnolia st in a movie. The bridge in the movie was not the bridge in the above picture however. Looking for evidence I found pictures of the bridge in the movie. It appears the bridge in the above picture is newly-ish constructed, replacing the former. I assume this information isn’t a revelation to many but i it was interesting to me to see it in the movie and be interested enough that I ended up on this blog. J mink. <br /><br />Ps. Just in case , the movie in which the above appears is Oh Brother Where Art Thou, in the last scene of the film. Thank you for the blog and those who contribute Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-418200345166548412.post-36936082895237099982022-09-25T12:50:00.514-07:002022-09-25T12:50:00.514-07:00Thank you all for your feedback. I have been back ...Thank you all for your feedback. I have been back through Edwards regularly but do not see many changes or activity. I'll post some more pictures in late-2022.kodachromeguy@bellsouth.nethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06220306502819757568noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-418200345166548412.post-60365879464914783212022-09-20T19:57:34.972-07:002022-09-20T19:57:34.972-07:00I grew up in Edwards I grew up in Edwards Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-418200345166548412.post-27449287130319645982020-08-16T19:45:57.019-07:002020-08-16T19:45:57.019-07:00I lived in Edwards between 1981 and 1996. I wonde...I lived in Edwards between 1981 and 1996. I wonder if Edwards is dying off because it's midway between Vicksburg and "Great Jackson," including Clinton. People either moved west to Vicksburg or east to Jackson.<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11908177056795558239noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-418200345166548412.post-13495590756310310352019-09-13T13:05:57.671-07:002019-09-13T13:05:57.671-07:00I lived in Edwards, Ms from 1976-86. Started The W...I lived in Edwards, Ms from 1976-86. Started The World's Only Cactus Plantation which remained in business for at least 20 years after I sold.<br />Having lived the life of a gypsy, I grew roots in this little community which accepted me even though I was not "from" there. It breaks my heart to see it today.<br />My current project: saving and refurbishing the Edwards' water tower. <br />If anyone has turn of last century photos to help document, please contact me. <br />PS am also author of SUGARMAN (1900-69) inspired by true events. Local hero and legend.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05992003128242143923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-418200345166548412.post-8018274131772584082017-10-08T05:01:12.062-07:002017-10-08T05:01:12.062-07:00I hope that someone weighs in on what *did* happen...I hope that someone weighs in on what *did* happen to cause Edwards to implode. I lived there for a short time in the mid '80s and found it to be an eerie place.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com