From the Archives: Small Towns in Mississippi, Fort Adams

Fort Adams is a former river town in Wilkinson County at the southwest corner of Mississippi, near the Louisiana border. I have only been there once and want to return. That might be an interesting day trip, but it is a haul from Vicksburg. These photographs are from a short stopover in 1986. I was on the way to New Orleans and had read about Fort Adams somewhere. Sure enough, it was at the end of the road, at the end of the world. 

Up until at least 1864, Fort Adams was a Mississippi River port, but the river channel shifted away, leaving the town far from the river. Today, the town serves hunters and fisherman from nearby hunting camps. The Gro in the photograph above was busy midday.

Notice how the two buildings above were mirror images of each other. But the white building had narrower clapboards that faced the porch. The white unit was once a gas station because the concrete footing for the pumps is still in front.

This little store is another matching wood frame building. 

These photographs are all 4×5" Agfapan 400 frames from my Tachihara wood field camera with a 180mm ƒ/5.6 Caltar II-N lens. Click any picture to see details at 1600 pixels on the long dimension.

Standby for more photographs from the archives as I sort through decades of negatives. 

On the Dixie Overland Highway, Historic US 80 - Delhi, Louisiana (LA-04)

Heading west on the historic Dixie Overland Highway (now US 80), we reach Delhi (DELL-hi, Loo-zee-ANA) only a few miles west of Waverly (see the previous article).

US 80, Delhi, Louisiana (Fuji X-E1 digital file)

According to Wikipedia, Delhi, which is in Richland Parish, was originally called Deerfield. It looked like a clean and cheerful town, at least during a blazing hot summer day in mid-July 2020. The temperature was hovering around 35° C (95° F), and it was a challenge to use the dark cloth on my 4×5" camera. I wimped out and also took some digital snaps.

Former shop (car dealer?), US 80 (Fuji X-E1 digital file)

Mooney's Auto Sales & Repair, 236 Rundell St., Delhi (Tri-X 400 film, Fuji GW690II camera, EBC Fujinon 90mm ƒ/3.5 lens, yellow filter)

Heading into town from the east, you see a number of old commercial buildings, nothing too exciting.

509 East 1st Street (US 80) (4×5" GAF Versapan film, 135mm ƒ/5.6 Caltar-S II lens, yellow filter)

Former service bay, 509 East 1st Street (Fuji X-E1 digital file)

501 East 1st Street 4×5" (GAF Versapan film, 90mm ƒ/6.8 Angulon lens, yellow filter)

Former service bay, 501 East 1st Street (Fuji X-E1 digital file)

These two unused gasoline stations are on the south side of US 80 as it enters Delhi from the east. I do not know the architecture well enough to identify the original oil companies that built the stations. Both were faced with enameled steel panels, which are very durable and remain clean. Unfortunately, the roofs on both units were wood, and 501 has collapsed.

Former Water Works, Depot Street (4×5" GAF Versapan film, 180mm ƒ/5.6 Caltar IIN lens, yellow filter)

Within the main town, I did not see much of photographic interest except for the old Waterworks building on Depot Street. I did not see a railroad depot. Is it gone?

Helena Chemical from US 80 (Tri-X film, Fuji GW690II camera, 90mm ƒ/3.5 lens, polarizer)

Helena Chemical (Tachihara 4×5"camera, 135mm ƒ/5.6 Caltar-S II lens, polarizer) 

West of downtown, I drove past an impressive elevator/silo complex owned by Helena Chemical. I like industrial photography like this and plan to do more of it in the future.

In the next article, we will continue west on US 80. Thank you for riding along.

On the Dixie Overland Highway, Historic US 80 - Waverly, Louisiana (LA-03)

Dear Readers, let us continue our trip west on US 80, formerly the Dixie Overland Highway. It still stretches across northern Louisiana and continues as far as Dallas, Texas. The Federal Highway Administration has an interesting web page describing how the Dixie was named and laid out in the early 20th century, when America was first motorizing. I have been slowly working my way westward, looking for old stores and interesting structures. For older articles about US 80, please type "Dixie" in the search box.

I wrote about the section from the Mississippi River to Tallulah in 2019. The previous article covered the town of Tallulah. I also wrote about Tallulah in 2013 and 2018 (please click the links).

We proceed west to Waverly, an unincorporated community in Madison Parish. From US 80, the big silo/elevator complex dominates the scene and offers a lot of interesting shapes and patterns for a photographer.

Waverly from US 80 (Tri-X film, Fuji GW690II camera, 90mm ƒ/3.5 lens, yellow filter, 1/125 ƒ/11.5 )

The Mount Sinai MBC Church sits in a field just off US 80 with rather uninspiring scenery.

Elevator/silo complex, Waverly (GAF Versapan film, 90mm ƒ/6.8 Angulon lens, orange filter, ⅒ ƒ/22)

Detail, silo complex, Waverly (GAF Versapan film, 135mm ƒ/5.6 Caltar-S II lens, yellow filter,  1/15 ƒ/22-32)

This impressive complex may be the Farmers Grain Terminal Inc - Waverly Grain Elevator. It is surprisingly hard to find the exact name, but I am not an agricultural scientist and may not know what to look for or how to phrase the search terms. Regardless, it makes for some interesting industrial photography.

Hwy 80 Bar & Grill, 3551 Hwy 80, Waverly (Tri-X, Fuji GW 690II camera, yellow filter, 1/125 ƒ/11.5)

This lonely little bar and grill caught my eye. It was south of the highway with woods all around. Otherwise, there is not too much to see in Waverly.

This is all the excitement in Waverly. Next stop: Delhi (Louisiana, not India, although I have been there, as well).

Update: for some superb large format film photography of wood grain elevators in Canada, please see the excellent work by Jan Normandale titled "Wooden Elevators."

On the Dixie Overland Highway, Historic US 80 - Mound and Tallulah, Louisiana (LA-02)

Dear Readers, I want to continue exploring the Dixie Overland Highway. I will start at the Mississippi River Bridge in east Louisiana and proceed west. 

From the Federal Highway Administration

To remind you were are picking up this journey on historic US80, here are some maps from the Federal Highway Administration's "Highway History." These histories about the development of our cross-continent roads are very interesting. The Arizona DOT also has an interesting history of the alignment and changes over time, including the removal of the designation of US 80.

Mound

The tallest structures in this area are grain elevators (or silos?). Some of them are impressive towers of steel and concrete. Are they not vulnerable to tornadoes, hurricanes, and lightning? Regardless, they make great photographic subjects.

Silos on Duckport Road (near Vicksburg-Tallulah Airport), Mound, LA (Tri-X Prof. film, 240mm ƒ/9 G Claron lens)

These silos are on Duckport Road in Mound (one interstate exit east of Tallulah). The thunderstorm was approaching - my favorite light.

Tallulah

Tallulah is the parish seat of Madison Parish (Louisiana does not have counties but instead divides the state into parishes). I have photographed there before in 2013 and 2018. Being only 30 minutes west of Vicksburg on I-20, it is easy to reach. The old Dixie once ran right through downtown. 

Bunge Corp. elevator, LA 602, Tallulah (GAF Versapan film, 135mm ƒ/5.6 Caltar-S II lens, yellow filter, ¼ ƒ/16.5)

When I bike on LA 602, I pass this tall elevator/silo complex just south of US 80. Late afternoon on July 4, a thunderstorm was approaching and the light was ominous. I only had time for one exposure with my 4×5" camera before the drops started to fall. Within a minute, a monsoon was coming down. I hustled the equipment into the back of the car and headed home through the deluge. This is another test photograph using 1960s GAF Versapan film. Click the picture to expand and see the amazing detail.

Bunge Corp. elevator, LA 602, Tallulah (Kodak Tri-X film, 135mm ƒ/5.6 Caltar-S II lens, polarizing filter, 1/30 ƒ/22)

Here is the same scene with a blue sky and puffy clouds. The 135mm Caltar-S II lens is a recent purchase with impressive resolution. The shutter is fine despite being 1970s vintage.

Bottling plant, 701 E. Green St (US 80), Tallulah (Fuji Acros film, Leica M2, 50mm ƒ/2.0 Summicron-DR lens, yellow filter)

Interior of bottling plant (Fuji Acros film, 25mm ƒ/4.0 Color-Skopar lens, 1/15 ƒ/5.6)

The former Coca Cola bottling plant at 701 East Green Street (US 80) sits forlorn and unused, year after year. I saw bales of straw and some trailers inside, so maybe someone uses it for storage. I did not see any bottling machinery inside.

E. Green St. (US 80) view east, downtown Tallulah (Moto G5 digital file)

US 80 follows East Green Street in town and passes right by the Madison Parish courthouse.

Gas Sta., E. Green (US 80) and Chesnut, Tallulah (Panatomic-X film, Fuji GW690II camera, 90mm ƒ/3.5 lens, yellow filter)

Original arched door in former gas station (Moto G5 digital file)

This old-fashioned gas station at the corner of East Green Street (US 80) and Chestnut probably served travelers on the old Dixie Highway in the pre-interstate era. The building is in good condition and the tile roof looks like it might have been re-tiled recently.

Chestnut Street at Craig, Tallulah (Fuji Acros film, 25mm ƒ/4.0 Color-Skopar lens)

Chestnut north of East Green is a bit dreary. Some strip malls are pretty rough.

These old stores right across Chestnut from the courthouse are crumbling. Some of the units no longer have roofs. This is a photograph with my newly-acquired Voigtländer Color-Skopar 25mm ƒ/4.0 lens. This is a modern Japanese-made lens, not one from the old pre-1970s German production. The light was harsh and contrasty.

Another old commercial block is on Chestnut south of the railroad tracks. These units were partly occupied. The big water tower looms over the block.

Dabney Street is not too inspiring, but it leads to farm fields.

This has been a short visit to a Dixie Overland Highway town. In the next few articles, we will continue heading west. Thank you for riding along!

The Mississippi Delta 33: Crusin' Old 49 to Silver City, Midnight, Louise, and Holly Bluff

Old US 49 passes through rich agricultural terrain in the southern Mississippi Delta. One of my day trips in spring of 2020 was to check some of the small towns along Old US 49W south of Belzoni, see what was happening, and exercise my Tachihara 4×5" field camera. I have written before that I had not used large format film in a number of years, so why not visit towns and record interesting sights in the Delta? In Mississippi, the virus did not force us to remain at home, so visiting the Delta was a nice way to get out of the house.

Silver City

Stir It Up Club, Silver City (Kodak Ektar 25 film, 80mm F/2.8 Planar-CB lens, polarizing filter)

Trading Post, Mims Ave., Silver City (Tri-X, 90mm ƒ/6.8 Angulon lens, 1/50 ƒ/16)

Update June 2022: this little trading post is no longer extant.

Fixer-upper house, Mims Avenue, Silver City (90mm ƒ/6.8 Angulon lens, yellow-green filter)

Club Stir It Up, Silver City (TMax 100 film, Pentax Spotmatic, 55mm ƒ/1.8 Super Takumar lens, polarizer)

Cottage, West Street, Silver City (TMax 100 film, Pentax Spotmatic camera, 55mm ƒ/1.8 Super Takumar lens, polarizer)

Abandoned church, US 49W west of Silver City (Acros film, Leica IIIC, 5cm ƒ/2 Summitar lens, yellow filter)

Silver City is a small town in Humphreys County on US 49W about 7 miles south of Belzoni. I suspect most travelers zip on by heading to or from Belzoni or Yazoo City and barely notice that they drove through Silver City. There is not much to see, just homes, trailers, and a few gas stations. The electronics store looked like it had been shut for years, and I saw some empty houses and a church.

Highway 149 takes you southwest out of town through what seems like endless farm fields with an occasional patch of trees or a bayou.

Midnight

Midnight Gin, Old US 49W (4×5" Tri-X, 180mm ƒ/5.6 Caltar IIN lens, yellow filter) 

Midnight Gin, Old US 49W (GAF Versapan film, 135mm ƒ/4.5 Xenar lens, yellow filter)

Midnight is an unincorporated community at the junction of MS 149 and Old US 49W. The gin just north of town caught my eye because of the shapes and patterns. It provided some opportunities to test some 1960s-vintage GAF Versapan film (see the previous posts on this topic).

Worker cottage, Box Plantation, Silver Creek Road, Midnight (Tri-X film, 90mm ƒ/6.8 Angulon lens, 1/25 ƒ/16)

I saw some nice homes on Silver Creek Road. A handsome 1800s house was being restored. A lady told me that it was once part of Box Plantation. In the back, I saw a workers' cottage with long porch. Most of Midnight is really rough. As quoted in Wikipedia, "Shashank Bengali of McClatchy Newspapers said that Midnight "feels like a place whose time has expired." Bengali explains that the clapboard houses, which were built almost one century before 2010, "rot on their cinder-block legs, tilting at crazy angles" and that Midnight's principal road is "dotted with abandoned or half-burned cabins that, older residents complain, young men disappear into to shoot dice or smoke pot as the days fade into dusk."[4]."

Louise

Main Street, Louise (Moto G5 digital file converted to B&W with DxO filmpack 5)

Main St., Louise (Tri-X, 135mm ƒ/4.5 Schneider Xenar lens, yellow filter, 1/60 ƒ/16.5) 

Louise is another little agricultural town on Old 49W in Humphreys County.

Main St., Louise (Tri-X, 180mm ƒ/5.6 Caltar IIN lens, yellow filter) 

Where is everyone? Main St., Louise in 2016 (Panatomic-X film, Fuji GW690II camera, 90mm ƒ/3.5 lens) 

Lee Hong Grocery, Main St., Louise (135mm ƒ/4.5 Xenar lens, orange filter, 1/200 ƒ/16)

Louise is another small agricultural town with only about 300 citizens. Main Street once paralleled the railroad tracks and had the usual early-1900s square-front commercial buildings and shops. Most are closed now, and some are falling down. The silos dominate the center of town.

Mobile home, Old 49, Louise (Fuji X-E1 digital file)

Much of the housing stock here in the Delta is pretty rough. These unshaded mobile homes in mid-summer must be blazing hot.

Holly Bluff

On this trip, I did not stop in Holly Bluff because I have been there before (please see The Mississippi Delta 17). A couple of miles north of town, an old silo glittered in the setting sun.

Silo north of Holly Bluff (GAF Versapan film, 90mm ƒ/6.8 Angulon lens, yellow filter, 1/25 ƒ/22)

Heading out of Holly Bluff on MS 16 towards Rolling Fork, you pass some rather beat-up trailers and old cottages.

Empty mobile home, MS 16 (Fuji X-E1 digital file converted th B&W)

Asbestos shingle-clad house, MS 16 (Fuji X-E1 digital file converted to B&W)

On this trip, I was able to continue testing some 1960s Versapan film, formerly made by the GAF company. By the time I had photographed the silo just north of Holly Bluff, I had used all my film holders, sunset was close, and Satartia Road was finally above water and open. I headed home. Standby for more of the Delta in future articles.