Small Towns in Mississippi: Bolton

Madison St. (Old US 80), Bolton, Mississippi

Bolton is an old agricultural town in Hinds County on the east-west Kansas City Southern railroad line between Jackson and Vicksburg. Many Vicksburgers who go to school in Raymond take the exit from I-20 and pass through Bolton in a hurry, likely not paying much attention. Like many other small towns, Bolton has faded. The small commercial strip is mostly empty, the shops and nearby houses rather run-down. It is sad.

The gas station at the corner of Old US 80 and Bolton-Raymond Road is now a fast food joint.

I do not know if Bolton ever had a passenger depot. This old railroad warehouse or shed is at the crossing of the Bolton-Raymond Road. I have photographed it several times over the years. The tracks and bedding are in good maintenance because this is the main Kansas City Southern east-west line.

Jackie's Beauty Boutique is just a few steps from the railroad warehouse. On January 9, 2014, the Hon. Bennie G. Thompson in the House of Representatives asked his colleagues to recognize Ms. Jackie Bailey for her contributions to the community (Congressional Record, 113th Congress, Second Session, Volume 160-Part 1) 

East of Bolton, Old US 80 runs through woods interspersed with farm fields. I am not sure how much of the route is the real 80, the former Dixie Overland Highway, and how much is 1970s-vintage frontage road.

Proceed west on Madison Street, which is also Old US 80, and you reach the police station in a tiny modern office. Across the street is a closed gas station.

Continue west, and we have cottages and shotgun houses in various states of habitation and maintenance. I like the symmetry of these older cottages. Unfortunately, there is not much more to see in Bolton.

I took most of the black and white photographs with an Olympus Trip 35 compact 35mm camera on Kodak film. I wrote about the Trip 35 in January. I also wrote about the Trip 35 on the 35MMC blog.

Update: I found a 1996 Kodachrome slide of Bolton.

Madison St., Bolton (Kodachrome 25 film, Leica M3, 90mm ƒ/2.8 Tele-Elmarit lens)

Small Towns in Mississippi: Hermanville

Hermanville is a small agricultural town about six miles east of Port Gibson on MS Highway 18. The town was probably more prosperous in the past, but not much is happening here now. People hang around, stores are closed, and the shopette sells cigs and beer coolers. The surrounding area has cotton and soybean fields and timber. What can be done to revive towns like this? We can send a trillion Dollars to bail out the politically-connected investment banks in New York but yet allow small towns to rot away?




A friend and I stopped to take photographs. The locals were a bit curious and friendly. They may not get many tourists here.















Drive west on Highway 80 towards Port Gibson and you come to "The Store," a classic Mississippi juke joint. We stopped to photograph. The proprietor came by in a pickup truck full of little kids. She was very nice and said she was trying to make a living and did not allow any violence or drugs in her place. She invited us to come by some Friday night.



I took the color photographs with a Sony DSC-W7 digital camera. And I exposed the black and white frames on Kodak Panatomic-X fine-grain film using a Fuji GW690II 6x9 camera. I developed it in Rodinol 1:50. The classic thin-emulsion Panatomic-X is my all-time favorite film. Used carefully, it shows astonishing detail. I still have plenty in the freezer and plan to keep using it.