The small town of Tutwiler is in Tallahatchie County, Mississippi, northwest of
Webb on U.S. 49E. The view from 49E is a bit discouraging - a closed garage, a fast food joint, not much else. I came through late one day in 2014 and had only a short time to look around.
Hancock Street was once the commercial center. Now it is pretty discouraging. These are the typical square-front commercial buildings from the early 20th century that you see in many Mississippi towns.
The railroad once came through Tutwiler, as with all Delta towns. The triangle-shaped building above fit a triangle-shaped lot between Hancock and Front Streets. The tracks are still present and, I was surprised, not completely rusted. Some traffic must occasionally run here.
The funeral home that prepared Emmett Till's body in 1955 is on Hancock Street. Sadly, the back of the building has collapsed.
The side streets in town are also discouraging. It is hard to see these communities collapsing.
A political note: both of Mississippi's United State Senators support the border wall. So, they think $5 billion would be well-spent to build a wall along the Mexican border, but meanwhile towns in their own state (communities that are largely African-American) are rotting and collapsing. I wonder if $5 billion could improve the infrastructure, open public health clinics, repair bridges, clean trash, repair drinking water piping, and upgrade schools in the Mississippi Delta? For shame. A pox on you corrupt and cowardly politicians.
These images are from a Fujifilm X-E1 digital camera, with frame size set at 1:1 ratio.
