We started the long drive to Denton, Texas to visit kinfolk for Christmas, with a stop in Jackson, MS, where we celebrated Karen’s birthday. Her birthday coincides with Jackson’s 200-year birthday celebration.
The Jackson, MS Welcome Center offers a passport book with famous city sites. Visiting six locations and getting their stamps in the passport, earned us free Jackson, MS Bicentennial T-shirts. Walking from one end to the other in Jackson’s “Downtown Area” takes 15 minutes.
Jackson boasts two State Capitol Buildings. The Old Capitol served from 1839-1903 and was designed by a man that did not understand Mississippi’s unstable soil, creating the premature need for a new capitol. The building hosted the 1861 Secession Convention and 1868 Constitutional Convention. It was restored 1959-1961 and is now a State Historic Museum.
Next to the Old State Capitol, The War Memorial Building honors the Mississippi men and women that died in defense of their country, starting with the Battle of Ackia in 1736.
Only three public buildings survived Union demolition during the Civil War. Built in 1847, Jackson City Hall served as an army hospital.
Greek Revival Architecture was popular when the Governor’s Mansion was built in 1842. It’s the second-oldest, continuously-occupied gubernatorial residence in the US.
We had lunch at Hal and Mal’s located in the former GM&O Freight Depot built in 1927. They served up the best Bayou Gumbo ever and the bartender taught us about “Comeback Dressing,” a staple in every Jackson eatery. The name means, “You’ll want to come back for more.”
The highlight of our downtown tour was the New State Capitol building. Built 1901-1903 for $1,093,641 awarded to the state after suing Illinois Central Railroad for back taxes. The Liberty Bell is one of 55 replicas made in 1950 for the US Treasury and given to the states and territories.
The eagle on top of the Capitol building is 8-feet tall with a wingspan of 15-feet and made of solid copper covered with gold leaf.
The interior walls are Italian marble with Belgian Black marble moldings. The dome has four paintings of historic Mississippi scenes.
The columns are man-made art marble called scagliola. The balustrades are cast iron. The Beaux Arts style features 4,750 original light fixtures accenting every arch and curve. The Governor’s office’s entrance is in the middle of the second floor.
The Senate Chamber has stained-glass in the dome and an interior circle of lights. Support columns, wall panels and wainscoting are all scagliola variations.
The Senate doors were locked, so we gave them a good twist and shake to make sure. This man appeared and let us in. He said he worked in the Senate. Karen asked him what he did. He said, “I’m Senator Hillman Terome Frazier.” He invited us into his office. What a wonderful man with an impressive collection of items from places he visited all over the world and famous people he met.
The Ole Tavern began as a grocery store in 1910. The knowledgeable patrons told us the homes of Eudora Welty and Richard Ford were right around the corner, making them the only Pulitzer Prize Winners to live across the street from each other
We chose the Mayflower Cafe seafood restaurant for Karen’s Birthday dinner. The iconic Mayflower is the birthplace of “Comeback Dressing or Sauce.” The 85-year-old recipe is made from Duke’s Mayo, chili sauce, kosher salt, garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce, Crystal hot sauce, lemon juice, smoked paprika, ground black pepper and onion powder. Yum. It’s good on everything, including their famous Broiled Red Fish. Jackson’s infrastructure needs work, but the city’s filled with history, architecture and culinary delights. It’s safe to walk downtown during the day, but we were cautioned not to roam the streets at night. The city’s well worth a day or two of exploration.