Gone Forever: Smith Hall at the Bonner Campbell Institute, Edwards, Mississippi

The Bonner Campbell Institute or college, formerly the Southern Christian Institute, is west of Edwards, Mississippi, along Old U.S. Highway 80 (once known as the Dixie Overland Highway). The college was one of the early institutions in America dedicated to educating African Americans during the era when most southern states did not consider them worthy of education. I have written about the Bonner Campbell before. In late January, while driving west on Old U.S. Highway 80, I saw that the handsome pillared building known as Smith Hall was totally gone. This motivated me to scan my 2010 film negatives and share the photographs.

The Southern Christian Institute was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007. A Vicksburg friend, Ms. Nancy Bell, who is director of the Vicksburg Foundation for Historic Preservation, did the survey work and wrote the descriptive text. She confirmed that at that time, the buildings were in good condition. The following text is from the official description:

"The Southern Christian Institute (SCI) is situated on 53.6 gently rolling acres at 18449 Old U.S. Highway 80 near Edwards in western Hinds County. The property is rectangular in shape and has 1,434 feet of frontage along the south side of Highway 80 and a maximum depth of 1,776 feet. The campus' seven buildings are situated to either side of a roadway that runs perpendicular to Old Highway 80, and these buildings are linked by concrete walks. The one and two-story structures are constructed of rusticated concrete block, brick, and stucco. Also on the campus are a bell tower and a water tower, and other amenities include a swimming pool and a playground. There are mature pecan, live oak, and cedar trees scattered throughout the property.

In 1882, SCI purchased the plantation of Col. McKinney L. Cook and immediately began repairing the existing buildings, which included the c. 1853 Greek Revival mansion house, a two-story, frame, five-bay, center hall structure with hip roof and two-tiered, full-width gallery. Within five years, a two-story classroom building, a small bam, and two two-room tenant houses were constructed. In 1891, an addition was made to the original plantation mansion to house a girls' dormitory, and over the next 44 years, numerous buildings were constructed, including dormitories, a president's house, a teachers' home, industrial building, and classroom building, in addition to auxiliary buildings such as a grain house, stables, buggy shed, and laundry building.

The campus presently includes seven buildings: the president's house, administration/ classroom building with auditorium, an assembly hall, dormitories, cafeteria, and a multipurpose building that was constructed in 2000. The old Cook mansion was destroyed by fire around 1970, and all that remains is a chimney, which stands on the north end of the campus. The existing historic resources were built by the students during the first 35 years of the 20th century, and many reflect the Colonial Revival style that was popular during that period."

I had always admired this building from the road. When I photographed it in 2010, it has suffered some vandalism, but the building looked sound and the asbestos roof seemed intact.  From the official description:

"Smith Hall Girls' Dormitory 1915 Colonial Revival. Facing west, this building is a two-story, U-shaped, stucco-over-metal lathe, dormitory building (15,412 s.f.) on a raised rusticated concrete block basement with an asbestos covered hip roof. Several colors of asbestos tiles were used to spell out "1914 Smith Hall" on the west side of the roof. There is a two-tiered porch that extends across two thirds of the front fa$ade and over one-third of the north side. This porch is covered by an asphalt-shingled hip roof, with exposed rafter tails, which is supported by tapered stuccoed wooden columns (on the second floor) resting on rusticated concrete block."

Approximate location where Smith Hall once stood (digital photograph).

Allison Hall, the cafeteria complex, has also been demolished.

"Allison Hall (Stanton Hall, Cafeteria) 1909 Colonial Revival influence. Facing east, Allison Hall is built in two sections: the rear section is a two-story square and the front section is a long, one-story, rectangular building. The front section is constructed of rusticated concrete block and topped with an asphalt hip roof. There are ten bays on the main facade: two 2/2 double-hung wooden windows, a single-leaf glazed wood door with a sidelight and transom (configuration of this entry was originally double-leaf with a transom), and two 2/2 double-hung wooden windows."

This building is still standing, but I was unable to check it during my recent visit.

"Administration/Classroom Building 1926. The Administration/ Classroom Building, which faces west, is a two-story, brick, rectangular classroom building on a raised stuccoed basement and crowned by a gable roof with parapeted end walls. A three-bay, gabled, projecting pavilion is in the center of the main facade. There are nine bays on the front facade: four large multi-light, metal, louvered windows; two pair of non-historic, double-leaf doors with covered transoms; and a central pair of non-historic double-leaf doors flanked by multi-light metal louvered windows. A wide concrete band separates the first and second floors and another accents the cornice. The second floor windows have plain concrete lintels. There is an additional wide concrete band that runs across the gable end of the cross gable, above which is a pair of fixed six-light windows with a shaped concrete head mimicking a hood mold."

"Bell Tower 1926. The bell tower is a two-tiered brick structure with an asbestos-shingled hip roof having exposed rafter tails. Brick piers support a wide concrete platform on which brick piers support the roof, which is trimmed by a wide concrete cornice. The bell hangs from the upper tier's ceiling."

The site was also listed on the 10 Most Endangered Places in Mississippi register, which needs to be updated to register the loss of buildings.

Dear Readers, this is how we lose out architectural heritage.

The 2010 black and white photographs were taken on Kodak Panatomic-X film with a Fuji GW690II medium-format 6×9 camera, tripod-mounted. I developed the film in Agfa Rodinal 1:50 and scanned it with a Minolta Scan Multi medium format film scanner.

Mouldering Away: the Elks Club Lodge 148, Greenville, Mississippi

For at least 20 years, when I passed through Greenville, I admired this stately building at 504 Washington Avenue. The imposing structure of Greek temple appearance, like many banks of the era, was intended to convince viewers of classical architecture, permanence, and the prosperity of its proprietors/builders/owners.

Card 90710, Cooper Postcard Collection, Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH)  

Card 90936, Cooper Postcard Collection, MDAH.

Card 91689, Cooper Postcard Collection, MDAH

The 1906 Neoclassical-styled building is attributed to architect Patrick Henry Weathers, according to a Mississippi Department of Archives and History fact sheet.

The only recent information I could find was a 2016 article by Suzassippi in Preservation Mississippi about how Mississippi Action for Community Education (M.A.C.E), owner of the building, was trying to secure funding.

The grand entrance stairway is gone, replaced by two opposing narrow stairs under the overhang. The concrete limestone block lower surround was also removed for unknown reason. Let's hope this structure can be saved.

2014 photographs taken with a Fuji GW690II medium-format camera on Kodak Panatomic-X film, developed in Rodinal 1:50. I scanned the negatives with a Minolta Scan Multi medium format film scanner operated with Silverfast Ai software.

Update March 10, 2018: I drove by the Elks Club in the morning. A chain link fence in poor condition surrounds the property. Some of the plywood panels over the windows have fallen off. There is no indication of any repair or stabilization. Fate: unknown.

The Mississippi Basin Model Update 2017: Some Tender Loving Care

The US Army Corps of Engineers' (USACE) Mississippi Basin Model, in Buddy Butts Park, Jackson, is finally receiving some tender loving care from the The Friends of the Mississippi River Basin Model. Volunteers are clearing away trees, underbrush, and jungle. The City of Jackson provides dumpster trucks to haul away the trees and material that the volunteers drag out to the road. It is a major effort considering the decades that the site was neglected. Eventually, The friends will post interpretive signs and will offer educational programs.

Coverage of the Mississippi Basin Model. From the USACE, undated.

The Basin Model was the largest hydraulic model of a waterway ever constructed. Its purpose was to model the flow of the Mississippi River, learn how the river responded, and predict engineering modifications, such as changes to levees or overflow features.

Most of the buildings are in poor condition and have been looted of any remaining instruments or technical equipment. Some of the roofs have collapsed.

This catwalk goes over an impressive sump. The brick building in the back housed pumps. I think some of the pumps refilled a water tower, whose purpose may have been to provide constant pressure water to various manifolds, which in turn directed water to specific sections of the model.

A couple of corrugated utility buildings are standing, but some of the wood structures have collapsed.

Poison ivy has taken over. I need to be especially careful when I help out on the clean-up days.

Some earlier articles about the Basin Model (click to see the articles):

https://worldofdecay.blogspot.com/2010/01/mississippi-river-basin-model-jackson.html
https://worldofdecay.blogspot.com/2010/07/update-on-mississippi-basin-model-in.html
https://worldofdecay.blogspot.com/2010/12/update-mississippi-basin-model-further.html
https://worldofdecay.blogspot.com/2013/01/mississippi-basin-model-construction.html
https://worldofdecay.blogspot.com/2015/11/mississippi-river-basin-model.html

These photographs are on Kodak TMax 100 film, exposed at ISO 80 and developed by Praus Productions in XTOL developer. I used a compact Olympus Trip 35 camera, a tiny thing with a selenium photocell exposure metering system and an excellent 40mm f/2.8 Tessar-type lens.

Photographing Decay with the Olympus Trip 35 (Good Things in Tiny Packages)

The Olympus Trip 35 is a compact 24×36mm-format point-and-shoot camera that was sold in the millions in the 1970s and 1980s. The specifications are pretty modest, but it takes amazingly good photographs when you use fine grain film. With the recent revival in film photography, the Trip 35 has become somewhat of a cult classic because it is compact, has a precision feel (like most Olympus cameras), and is fun to use. Prices range from about $30 to over $100, depending on condition. Sure, it is no Leica, but for many situations, the negatives from this Olympus are highly satisfying.

As you can see, this is a simple device. Film winding is via a wheel on the back. Exposure is automatic, controlled by a selenium meter that is coupled to the aperture and shutter. If the light is too low, a red flag pops up in the finder to tell you that the shutter button is locked.

The 40mm ƒ/2.8 lens consists of 4 elements in 3 groups, so it is probably a Tessar-type optic. Tessars have been in use for a century. Because of the limited number of glass-air surfaces, they are resistant to flare and are contrasty. And they have a characteristic that is sometimes called edge effect, where density builds up at abrupt feature edges on the negative. This gives the appearance of enhanced sharpness. Wide open, at ƒ/2.8, the sides of a frame are not too sharp, but stopped down, the scene is uniformly crisp (examples below). The lens is not as well corrected as a 6- or 7-element Sonnar- or Summicron-type lens, but those are much more expensive and complicated designs.

This Olympus lens is front-element focussing, meaning only the front part moves. My Voigtländer Vito BL camera has a unit focussing Color-Skopar lens, meaning the entire lens moves back and forth to focus. The Vito is definitely better optically than the Olympus, but that may be specific to my cameras. Many people have excellent results with element focussing Tessar-design lenses.

This little Olympus has limitations:

1. There are only two shutter speeds: 1/40 sec and 1/200 sec. The camera sets them for you based on the amount of light, but if you turn the aperture dial off "A" to one of the f-stops, the shutter is 1/40.
2. The light meter, being a selenium cell, does not have low-light capacity. The selenium cell (behind the bubbly plastic) surrounds the lens. If you want a low-light camera, you need one with a battery-powered CDS or SBC cell.
3. The viewfinder does not have a focus aide, so you need to estimate the distance. The lens has some symbols to help you, such as a mountain or a person. Really, it is not difficult. Millions of photographers in the 1970s and 1980s successfully used the little Rollei 35 cameras with their zone focus lenses.
4. The filter size is a unique 43.5mm fine pitch. Why did Olympus do this? Filters are very hard to find, and they do not screw in easily.
5. For some unknown reason, hoods are rare in the USA. I had to order one from a UK vendor, and it cost as much as the camera did.

Regardless of these limitations, this Olympus is fun. I always used manual cameras, where I set aperture, shutter speed, and focus myself. With this little Trip 35, you can leave the focus at infinity (the mountain symbol), raise the camera to frame, and snap away.  It is so simple, so liberating. But I noticed I still carry it in the same way as my bigger cameras: left hand cradling the lens and right hand holding the right side and index finger on the shutter button. Solid grip, no breathing, and careful press.

11th Street (Route 66), Tulsa, Oklahoma

Route 66, Canute, Oklahoma

Here are two examples of Trip 35 photos taken on Kodak BW400CN film in bright sunny conditions. I used a polarizing filter to darken the sky.

Gray Street (Route 66), McLean, Texas

The lens has some barrel distortion, as shown by the curved sidewalk in the picture of the historic Phillips 66 gasoline station in McLean, Texas. Software could correct it, but I left it just as scanned.

Warehouse, Mississippi Basin Model, Jackson, Mississippi

Pump house, Mississippi Basin Model, Jackson

The long-neglected hydraulic model of the Mississippi River basin in Buddy Butts Park, Jackson, is finally being cleaned by the Friends of Mississippi River Basin Model volunteer group. The buildings are good examples of texture, patterns, and shapes. Here I used TMax 100 film under contrasty conditions. Again, no complaints about this Olympus lens!

Country store, Hwy 457 east of Pattison, Mississippi.

At low light, you can see the limitations of this Olympus. The picture of an old country store near Pattison was low contrast with some flare around the tree branches. The shutter speed would have been 1/40 sec and probably close to ƒ/2.8. Good, but not Leica quality. Still, I will test the Trip 35 some more to learn its limitations, and I have not yet tried color negative film. Its tiny size makes it a good travel camera if you need to pack light. If any of you readers want to experiment with film photography, a Trip 35 or one of the other compact Japanese rangefinder cameras from the 1970s or 1980s is an inexpensive way to get started. Write me and I will be glad to help.

For more information, the 35MMC blog reviewed the Trip 35 as well as many other compact cameras of the 1970s and 1980s. A blog by Peter Vis has a description of a tear-down.

This is the tenth article in my irregular series on tools for photographing decay. Previous articles (click the links):

Decay with the Leica camera
Decay with the Rolleiflex TLR camera
The Leica IIIC camera
Kodak Panatomix-X film
Fomapan 100 Classic film
The 35mm Super Takumar lens
Decline of an industrial giant: Eastman Kodak
Ilford XP-2 film
Kodak Ektar 25 film

Footloose around Vicksburg with Black and White Film

Abandoned cement silos, Redwood, Mississippi

Dear Readers, Vicksburg is an interesting town topographically and historically. When the light is diffused, which means winter when there is rain or mist, I can't resist driving around and looking for interesting scenes. The following will be a semi-random set of film photographs. We will start in the north in Redwood on Hwy 3 and work our way south to U.S. 61 and then on into town. The silos in the photograph above have been empty since the 1970s. If you are interested in more views near Redwood:  https://worldofdecay.blogspot.com/2017/06/the-mississippi-delta-19-into-woods-in.html

Chimney, U.S. 61 north of Vicksburg near Redwood, Mississippi

This chimney sits all by itself just west of the southbound lane of 61. Most people drive by quickly and ignore it.

Road leading from gravel quarry, North Washington Street, Vicksburg (Update March 2019: the house on the left has been demolished)

Kings Point ferry boat landing, Chicasaw Road (Mamiya C220, 50mm lens)

Drive west on Chicasaw Road, and eventually you reach the ramp for the Kings Point Ferry. The ferry is operated by the Warren County Board of Supervisors and provides access to Kings Point Island. Most of the traffic consists of logging trucks and hunters, but if the weather has been dry for a few weeks, a 2-wheel drive car can pass on the roads.

Beulah Cemetery is a historic burial ground at the end of Martin Luther King, Jr., Blvd. The cemetery was overgrown and neglected for many years but has been cleaned and put on city maintenance during the last 5 years. It is a peaceful spot.

Empty house at 2228 MLK, Jr., Blvd, directly next to Beulah Cemetery

1904 MLK, Jr., Blvd., Vicksburg

Condemned house, 1844 MLK, Jr., Blvd, Vicksburg

Georgia Ave., Vicksburg

Head back downtown, and you pass empty or condemned houses on MLK, Jr. Blvd. Georgia Ave. drops steeply down to the south. There were once many more houses in this valley (and I may have some pictures of them from decades ago), but today, the City could cease maintenance of this road with no obvious inconvenience to anyone.

2212 Grove St., Vicksburg

We have lost many early-20th century houses and cottages. There just is not an economic incentive to fix up a house that has been neglected too long. This little asbestos-shingled cottage on  grove Street is an example.

61 Coffeehouse, Vicksburg

By now, it is time for a coffee. Vicksburg's best espresso or other java beverage can be found at 61 Coffeehouse at 1101 Washington Street, right at the corner of Grove Street. Decades ago, this building housed Velchoff's Restaurant. The always interesting Attic Gallery is upstairs.

Morgan Lane, east of Washington St. and south of Bowmar Ave.

2008 Pearl Street, Vicksburg

Pearl Street parallels the railroad tracks. Decades ago, Pearl Street was lined with modest cottages and shotgun houses. But residents and the operators of bed and breakfast homes complained of the noise from the locomotive horns. Over the years, the railroad bought properties and tore down the houses. And the city closed the grade crossing, after which the train engineers no longer needed to sound the warning horns. Click the link for photographs of many of these houses: https://worldofdecay.blogspot.com/2014/03/more-pearl-street-cottages-vicksburg.html

2511 Cedar Street, Vicksburg

We head east to Military Avenue, another historic part of town. Here, too, many of the early 20th century houses have been neglected or torn down.

Copeland's Bar & Grill, 2618 Halls Ferry Road, Marcus Bottom. As of 2018, the establishment looks closed.  

Marcus Bottom, Halls Ferry Road, Vicksburg

We can end our short tour at Marcus Bottom, an old neighborhood at the junction of Marcus Street and Halls Ferry Road. A new convenience store has been built on the site of this toilet.

The square frames are from a Rolleiflex 3.5E 6×6 camera with 75mm f/3.5 Xenotar lens, using Panatomic-X film. Most of the horizontal frames are from a Fuji GW690II 6×9 camera with Fuji 90mm f/3.5 lens on Panatomic-X or Tri-X film. The grainier horizontal frames are from a Leica IIIC 35mm camera with Kodak TMax 100 film.