April 18, 2024
On March 30 (Saturday), we rode into Vicksburg to tour the Old Courthouse Museum. It sits at the top of a hill overlooking over the Yazoo Canal and Mississippi River.
We parked the motorcycle and started taking pictures. The garden surrounding the old courthouse is beautiful. The dogwood trees, azaleas, and Irises were blooming.
Near the motorcycle, we noticed a sign.
We admired the “new” courthouse across the street from the old courthouse. It is a beautiful building built in 1940.
We went inside the Old Courthouse Museum and paid to tour the museum. The first floor is full of artifacts. The second floor is still set up as the courtroom. We learned a lot about President Jefferson Davis and Mrs. Mary Lincoln.
I admired the women’s clothing and jewelry collection.
The staircase was stunning. It was cast iron and I didn’t get a picture of it. The judges’ cast iron dais matches the staircase.
The courtroom was beautifully preserved.
The former judges’ chamber was devoted to information about President and Mrs. Jefferson Davis.
We decided to walk around downtown Vicksburg after our museum tour. That will be another post.
Blackberry Homestead 
The new 1940 courthouse was constructed by the Federal Works Agency (FWA) Public Works Funding, and Public Works Administration (PWA). I attempted to find it once, and apparently if I had looked across the street, I would have. 😁 It is in the Art Moderne style and reminds me of several courthouses in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. Interesting post, Julia.
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It was beautiful! I thought it might be Art Deco, as I knew it wasn’t mid-century modern. (I loved my mid-century modern house and still find myself missing it.) I had never heard of Art Moderne style. In looking it up, it seems to be a streamlined style of Art Deco. I learned something new! Thanks! It is a really beautiful building and worth seeing. I would’ve loved to see the interior as well.
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It is indeed a streamlined Art Deco. It was introduced after the beginning of the Great Depression and many of the era’s courthouses and public buildings financed by the New Deal Administration were built in the style as were commercial buildings, such as the Greyhound Bus Stations. Mid century modern followed and brought such interesting architecture.
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That is a museum I think I would enjoy. Was there a specific purpose for the secret pocket in the one display? Was it to smuggle wartime documents, or was it merely to keep money safe?
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It was to smuggle Civil wartime documents. In other cases, food and medicine was smuggled to Confederate troops using these secret pockets.
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I like learning about the history of clothing. Historically pockets were a separate thing from clothing, tied on under womens big skirts. That started to change when skirts became narrower. I found the following here https://www.mdhistory.org/the-ongoing-evolution-of-the-pocket/
In the days when people often shared bedrooms and household furniture, a pocket was sometimes the only private, safe place for small personal possessions” (“A History of Pockets”, 2013). Why did this clear need for a private and safe space within garments disappear? The detachable pocket leaves the women’s garment altogether when the drastic silhouette change of the late 18th century occurs, as shown below. When full petticoats and wide hoops were no longer in style, the sleeker high-waisted gowns that replaced them did not allow for any form of pocket due to how much it would alter the shape of a gown and the smooth silhouette it created. Instead, a decorative purse, known then as a reticule, came into use for women. We see in this example how fashion is the driving force behind the evolution of pockets and other accessories.
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Thanks for sharing! I love seeing actual period clothes and accessories. The Old Courthouse Museum had some very interesting period clothing. Some of it was well preserved and some of it was not in good shape.
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