The Mississippi Delta 36: Highway MS 12 and Hollandale

After you have enjoyed the "big city" of Belzoni, Mississippi Route 12 heads almost due west across the flat delta farm fields towards Hollandale. At first, the scene was a bit dull, consisting of corn and cotton fields. But the industrial-looking silos caught my eye and became more and more interesting.

Silos, MS 12 west of Belzoni (Kodak Panatomic-X film, Fuji GW690II camera, yellow filter)

Silos, MS 12 west of Belzoni (Panatomic-X film)

The light was harsh, but it rewarded with shadows and patterns on the corrugated siding.

Unused elevator/silo, Sunflower River Road at MS 12, Isola (Panatomic-X film, orange filter)

Poison ivy farm, unused silo complex

This tall unused agglomeration of machinery, concrete, and rusted steel was close to the Sunflower River bridge on Sunflower River Road. While I had my tripod set up, a farmer pulled up in his pickup truck and asked me if I was buying the structure. Hmmm....

Silo, MS 12 east of Hollandale (Fuji Acros film, Leica IIIC, 5cm ƒ/2 Summitar lens, yellow-green filter; note light leak in shutter curtain)

Hollandale is a small town on US 61, the "Blues Highway." I wrote about Hollandale before in The Mississippi Delta 14. By the time I reached town, I did not have much time to explore before heading home. I had forgotten that I had photographed in Hollandale before but then recognized the buildings in the main commercial strip.

Lounge on East Ave., Hollandale (Fuji Acros film, Leica IIIC, 5cm ƒ/2 Summitar lens, yellow filter, 1/200 ƒ/8)

Former gas station and child care center (?), East Ave., Hollandale

East Avenue runs north-south and eventually connect with US 61 south of town. These two buildings caught my eye, and I took a few quick photographs with my Leica IIIC. It was beastly hot and there was no one about outside.

Dead tree in corn fields off US 61, Anguilla (Fuji Acros film, 5 cm ƒ/2 Summitar lens, yellow filter)

This poor old tree near Anguilla had stood proud and tall for who knows how many years, but finally succumbed (I am sure) to lightning. 

This was a rewarding day of exploring despite the heat. It was a nice way to get out and photograph during the semi-shutdown caused by the Covid virus. Standby for future articles on the Mississippi Delta. 

If you like photographs of grain elevators, look at the superb large format film work by the Canadian photographer, Jan Normandale, titled "Wooden Elevators."

The Mississippi Delta 14: Hollandale

Travel north on Highway 61 from Rolling Fork, and the next "big" town that you reach is Hollandale. According to Wikipedia, the town was almost totally burned in 1904, so I assume most of the buildings you see in the downtown strip are newer.

City Drug on Hwy 12 (Washington Street), Hollandale

There was once a cheerful and prosperous commercial strip.  I left these photographs of the City Drug Store in color because the tones and textures were mellow in the evening light.

Hitghway 12 (Washington Street), Hollandale

The strip is mostly boarded up.  But you can see that the merchants were proud of their buildings in the early 20th century.  I met a couple who said they were trying to bring art and cultural tourists to Hollandale.  They were hoping to entice people on blues tours to stop. The big problem: lack of amenities like restaurants.

I am not sure how this big wood mansion was once used - a rooming house possibly?

Abandoned oil mill west of Hollandale

Abandoned oil mill, Hollandale

Just west of the railroad tracks, the oil mill is deserted.

Finally, here is a small church on Highway 61.  It is in nice condition, but much of the rest of town is forlorn.

This is a photograph of the "Y and M. V. R. R. Station, Hollandale, Miss. 4-30-27" from the Mississippi Department of archives and History.  A vast area of the Delta was flooded in 1927.

Modern photographs taken with a Panasonic G1 digital camera.  For the square frames, I processed the RAW files with Photo Ninja software.