Life on the road: as one of the oldest remaining settlements on the Natchez Trace, pretty-as-a-picture Kosciusko still offers a welcome respite for history-minded travelers.Indians who first established a settlement at Red Bud Springs along the Natchez Trace Natchez Trace, road, from Natchez, Miss., to Nashville, Tenn., of great commercial and military importance from the 1780s to the 1830s. It grew from a series of Native American trails used in the 18th cent. by the French, English, and Spanish. asserted that the great chief Tecumseh stamped his foot and brought forth the bubbling water. By the late 1700s, Red Bud Springs was an overnight station on the 440-mile trail, the site of a tavern and inn for weary travelers. Returning to Tennessee from their defense of New Orleans New Orleans (ôr`lēənz –lənz, ôrlēnz`), city (2006 pop. 187,525), coextensive with Orleans parish, SE La., between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain, 107 mi (172 km) by water from the river mouth; founded , Andrew Jackson and his troops pitched camp at Red Bud Springs because of the abundance of clean water. Today, the springs are dry, but the settlement remains. Now known as Kosciusko, it is one of the oldest surviving settlements on the Natchez Trace. The town had several other names--Peking, Paris, Parrish, and Perish--before the present name was chosen in the 1830s by state representative William Dodd William Dodd is the name of several people:
As a recent visitor to the town said, "The happiest people in Mississippi must live here." That's the feeling one has driving from the Trace to the courthouse square Courthouse Square is a backlot located at Universal Studios. The set is composed of several facades that form an archetypal American town square with a courthouse as its centerpiece. . Benches for sitting and visiting dot the sidewalks and courthouse lawn. The neat appearance and slow pace of the downtown, the friendly citizens, courteous drivers, and handsome homes and businesses bespeak be·speak tr.v. be·spoke , be·spo·ken or be·spoke, be·speak·ing, be·speaks 1. To be or give a sign of; indicate. See Synonyms at indicate. 2. a. To engage, hire, or order in advance. a town that is cared for--indeed, loved--by those who live here. The square itself is a joy to behold. "Thank goodness we took down all that urban renewal stuff from the 1970s and restored the original fronts of the buildings on the square," said Jayne Gunter, owner of a store on the square. "Our small-town charm is our strength." And charm Kosciusko has. Stop first at the Kosciusko-Attala Chamber of Commerce, located on the square. Willa G. Sanders, executive director, is a veritable fountain of information and willingly shares her time and knowledge of the area with inquirers. Numerous pamphlets at the chamber guide the visitor through the history and points of interest of Kosciusko and Attala County. For the lover of historic homes, antebellum and Victorian houses Overview A Victorian house as built in the United States and Canada is a type of house popularized in the Victorian era. They are often three stories high with an octagonal or rounded tower, a wraparound porch and great attention paid to detail. sprinkled near the square are a treat for the eye. The oldest house in Kosciusko, the Wells-Roby house, was built in 1840 just off Natchez Street (the original Trace) near the old 1830 John Allen John Allen may refer to: Artists
Politicians
Mary Ricks Thornton spearheaded the purchase of the First Presbyterian Church First Presbyterian Church is a generic church name, and can refer to hundreds of churches within the English speaking world. If you followed a link here, please consider making it more specific by including the city or town in which the church resides. building in 1987 for use as headquarters of the Attala Historical Society. The building, renamed in Thornton's honor, contains exquisite stained glass windows Stained Glass Windows was an early broadcast television program, broadcast on early Sunday evenings on the ABC network. The program was a religious broadcast, hosted by the Reverend Everett Parker. The program ran from September 26, 1948 until October 16, 1949. and is being renovated by enthusiastic members of the society for use as a cultural center. "We now use the facility for club meetings, weddings, recitals, and lectures," said Judi Bell, president of the historical society. "Our Delta Gamma Memorial Room honors the memory of the three Kosciusko women who founded the Delta Gamma Fraternity in 1873--Mary Comfort Leonard, Eva Webb Dodd, and Anna Boyd Ellington." The public buildings, especially City Hall, should not be missed. City Hall is housed in the former town post office, built in 1931 in Georgian Revival style. The city fathers, in an act of imagination and foresight, in 2000 exchanged land on Highway 35 Bypass for the East Washington Street The following streets in the United States are called Washington Street:
The county courthouse stands witness to one of the town's nicknames, "Beehive Beehive (star cluster): see Praesepe. beehive heraldic and verbal symbol. [Western Folklore: Jobes, 193] See : Industriousness of the Hills." Decorative beehives adorn the four corners of the property. Built in 1897 to replace an earlier structure destroyed by fire, the present courthouse is listed on the National Register of Historic Places This article is about the U.S. Register. For the National Register of Historic Places in Canada see Canadian Register of Historic Places. The National Register of Historic Places and has been designated a Mississippi Landmark. "Beehive" is also descriptive of the economic activity of the area. The Kosciusko Museum and Information Center on the Trace features an exhibit of local products from the Attala Company, Mississippi Sportswear, Hillside Vineyard, Dream Wax Candle Company, Rose's Gourmet, LuVel Dairy Products dairy products dairy npl → produits laitier dairy products dairy npl → Milchprodukte pl, Molkereiprodukte pl , Norm Murray Spring Water, and Milwaukee Electric Tools. The town is also a "beehive" of social and cultural activity. Six festivals are held annually. The best known is the Natchez Trace Festival, held the last weekend in April each year. In 2006, the 37th festival was set to feature a family street dance, more than 200 arts and crafts arts and crafts, term for that general field of applied design in which hand fabrication is dominant. The term was coined in England in the late 19th cent. as a label for the then-current movement directed toward the revivifying of the decorative arts. and food vendors, children's activities, a motorcycle rally A motorcycle rally is a gathering of motorcycle enthusiasts. A rally can range from the mild corporate-sponsored Honda Hoot to the infamous Hollister riot. Rallies can be large or small, and one-time or recurring. , entertainment stages, 10K and 5K runs, and the crowning of Miss Natchez Trace Festival. An annual poster is commissioned, and a competition is held for T-shirt and pin designs. Lovers of history must stop by the City Cemetery on Huntington Street to see the 66-foot-tall sassafras sassafras: see laurel. sassafras North American tree (Sassafras albidum) of the laurel family. The aromatic leaf, bark, and root are used as a flavouring, as a traditional home medicine, and as a tea. tree growing there, 18 feet in circumference. Other than the tree, the most imposing structure in the cemetery is the statue of young Laura Mitchell Kelly. Local legend has it that Kelly's husband had the statue crafted in Italy from photos of his bride in her 1890 wedding gown. For shopping, visitors need go no further than the square. A variety of shops surround the courthouse, offering food, antiques, gifts, Mississippi art, jewelry jewelry, personal adornments worn for ornament or utility, to show rank or wealth, or to follow superstitious custom or fashion. The most universal forms of jewelry are the necklace, bracelet, ring, pin, and earring. , and clothing. The interiors of some stores are as fascinating as the merchandise. Claude and Jayne Gunter opened Claude Julian's clothing store 27 years ago, restored their building, and furnished it with period cabinets and display cases collected over the years. "We wanted to do something different, something that would attract customers from a wide area, plus give them service they don't get at the malls," Jayne said. "Like Kosciusko, we try to be more." Pause at Seasonings, a lunch spot just off the square, for a sandwich and salad meal, and view the bird carvings by owner Harlan Reynolds. "I've always been a bird man from youth," he said. "I used to paint wild birds, but in 1979 I started my carving. I show at craft shows all over the Southeast, and I give programs on birds for clubs and libraries." While at Seasonings, take a peek at Barbara Harvey's manicured yard next door. A retired nursery owner, Harvey grows colorful blooms in all seasons. For truly unusual yard art, drive by L.V. Hull's house on Allen Street--you can't miss it. Hull creates "urban folk art folk art, the art works of a culturally homogeneous people produced by artists without formal training. The forms of such works are generally developed into a tradition that is either cut off from or tenuously connected to the contemporary cultural mainstream. ," and her work is as unique and colorful as the name implies. She paints and decorates anything and everything--shoes, tires, hubcaps, egg crates egg crate Nursing A popular term for a foam mattress with a chicken wire-like pattern of elevations and depressions, likened to that of an egg carton, most useful for Pts with recalcitrant decubitus ulcers , propellers, bicycle and wagon wheels Wagon Wheels are a popular biscuit in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom which have a marshmallow centre and are covered in a chocolate flavoured coating. They are produced and distributed by Burton's Foods. , and pipes--you name it. Her artwork crowds every square inch of the home's small yard. The artist has been quoted as saying, "I never was crazy about no grass," and you won't find a blade there. Another noteworthy native may have left Kosciusko at age five, but Oprah Winfrey “Oprah” redirects here. For the show, see The Oprah Winfrey Show. Oprah Gail Winfrey (born January 29, 1954) is the American multiple-Emmy Award winning host of The Oprah Winfrey Show, the highest-rated talk show in television history. still belongs to this community which is proud to embrace her. Buffalo Road, where her home once stood and where her childhood church is located, is now called "Oprah Winfrey Road." The town has been the recipient of Winfrey's considerable generosity. "She is funding the building of a new Boys and Girls boys and girls mercurialisannua. Club and has provided and will continue to provide support for the club for an undisclosed number of years," divulged a city official. Red Bud Springs may be gone, but it is not forgotten. At the town's centennial celebration, children from Poland sent small packages of dirt taken from their homes to be mixed with dirt that Kosciusko children brought from their homes. The dirt forms a mound where the springs once flowed and on which a statue of Tadeusz Kosciuszko will be erected later this year. Jimmy Cockroft, mayor for nine years, explains Kosciusko's warm and welcoming aura this way: "The people here are special. They pour their hearts and souls into this town. They work hard for no recognition. Our citizens and a good Board of Aldermen make my job easier. We have excellent public schools, a safe community which offers a fine quality of life, and good homegrown home·grown adj. 1. Raised or grown at home. 2. Originating in or characteristic of a locality: "Rock is homegrown music in the United States, evolved from blues and country and Tin Pan Alley" businesses. Our future looks great." PHOTOGRAPHY BY TEMPY SEGREST keys to kosciusko WHAT TO DO Alexander Memorial Presbyterian Church Served as a black Christian education site for many years and today offers a cultural outreach center. 312 Tipton St. 662/289-3175 Attala County Library Houses a special collection of Polish and Tadeusz Kosciuszko books and a large genealogy genealogy (jē'nēŏl`əjē, –ăl`–, jĕ–), the study of family lineage. Genealogies have existed since ancient times. section. 201 S. Huntington St. 662/289-5141 City Cemetery Features the Kelly statue and an enormous sassafras tree. S. Huntington Street. Kosciusko-Attala Chamber of Commerce Walking tour brochures and visitor information. 124 N. Jackson St. 662/289-2981 www.kosciuskotourism.com Mary Ricks Thornton Cultural Center A former church now houses the Attala Historical Society and the Delta Gamma Memorial Room. Corner of E. Washington and N. Huntington Streets. Oprah Winfrey Road Site of Winfrey's home is marked, and the church she attended as a child is still located here. Off Highway 12 just north of town. Red Bud Springs Bicentennial Park Bicentennial Park could refer to: In Australia:
Commemorates the origins of the town and celebrates Polish hero Tadeusz Kosciuszko. Natchez St. Natchez Trace Festival Set for April 29 around the courthouse square. 662/289-2981 www.natcheztracefestival.com Aisle of Honor Each Memorial Day and Veteran's Day, veterans honor Attala County soldiers who died in war by marching through town behind the Kosciusko High School Brass Ensemble and planting burial flags at Parkway Cemetery. Central Mississippi Fair Now in its 98th year, the 2006 event will take place August 2-5. 662/289-2981 www.centralmsfair.com "His Last Days" Outdoor passion play presented the three nights prior to Easter on the lawn of First United Methodist Church First United Methodist Church is a common name for the first United Methodist church established in a particular locality. Many First United Methodist Churches exist around the world. . 110 E. Washington St. 662/289-1412 www.fumc-kosciusko.org WHERE TO EAT Cafe on the Square Plate lunches and salads. 114 W. Jefferson St. 662/289-5888 Freddie's Restaurant Southern home-style cooking. 1048 Veterans Memorial Dr. 662/289-0799 No. 1 China Buffet 727 Veterans Memorial Dr. 662/289-3666 Old Trace Grill 719 Veterans Memorial Dr. 662/289-2652 The Place for Fish 16944 Hwy. 19 N. 662/289-5090 Rib Alley Barbecue and noon buffet. 201 N. Madison St. 662/289-9800 Seasonings Light fare and box lunches. 307 N. Jackson St. 662/289-5244 WHERE TO STAY The Maple Terrace Inn 1912 B&B featuring four guest rooms with private baths. 300 N. Huntington St. 662/289-5353 www.mapleterraceinn.com WHERE TO SHOP Attala Discount Drugs and Gifts Large assortment of gifts. 337 Hwy. 12 W. 662/289-2312 Claude Julian's Clothing. 141 N. Madison St. 662/289-4821 Hillside Vineyard and Berry Farm Jellies and jams from homegrown berries and muscadines. Call first. Hwy. 19 N. 662/289-5037 www.hillsidevineyard.com Josephine's Fine Gifts Gifts, artwork, and bridal registry A bridal registry is a system designed by department stores for the purpose of allowing an engaged couple to manage the purchase of gifts for their wedding. From what is available at the store, the couple creates a list of items that they would like to receive, then the list is . 117 W. Jefferson St. 662/289-1056 L.V. Hull's Yard Art 123 Allen St. Leonard's Department Store 131 W. Jefferson St. 662/289-5211 www.leonardsdepartmentstore.com Natchez Trace Greenhouses Large selection of plants. 1113 S. Huntington St. 662/289-2221 Patterson Jewelers 122 N. Jackson St. 662/289-3731 Peeler House Antiques 117 W. Jefferson St. 662/289-5165 Something Special Antiques, glassware, and furniture. 133 N. Madison St. 662/289-9002 |
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