
The
Pictures
Where is Vaiden, Mississippi?


It was the
best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was
the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of
incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it
was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything
before us, we had nothing before us. . .
Vaiden's
Courthouses
Note: Vaiden had the distinction of having all three
of its Courthouses standing at one time. The first Courthouse, built in 1874 and later known as the Haman Memorial Educational
Building for the
Presbyterian Church, exploded early one Sunday morning in October, 1989, from a gas leak. The
second Courthouse, built in 1905,
was demolished in 1992
after a failed effort by the Mississippi Department of Archives to procure
funding for its restoration as a National Landmark. The third and present
Courthouse was built in 1989
on the site where the stores on Front
Street stood. The first Courthouse did not have
a bell; the bell from the second Courthouse is proudly displayed at the
entrance to the present Courthouse. The clock mechanism was given to a private
individual for restoration and was made by Seth Thomas Clock Company. The
inscriptions on the bell read: "The Seth Thomas Clock Co., New York" (side of bell facing west) and
"McShane Bell Foundry Co., Baltimore,
MD. 1905" (side of bell facing east).
McShane began casting its beautiful world-famous bells in 1856, and is still in operation
today. Because of a fire at the McShane Foundry in 1946, recent research by Mr. William R.
Parker III, Vice-President for McShane Bell Foundry, has indicated that the
records for purchases and shipment of McShane Bells from 1900-1905, were damaged, and thus
unavailable.

Vaiden's
First Courthouse -- 1874-1989
Portrait of Vaiden's First Courthouse
1930s Photo --
Old Courthouse (right) -- Used as
a Private Residence for Miss Mollie Cain at this Time
During Better Days
1981 Photo

After Explosion
-- October 1989

Vaiden's
Second Courthouse -- 1905-1992
It Was The Best of Times . . .

Portrait of Vaiden's Second Courthouse

Southern
Elevation Drawing by Roman Hudson
Western
Elevation Drawing by Roman Hudson
Northern
Elevation Drawing by Roman Hudson
Eastern Elevation
Drawing by Roman Hudson
Layout of
First Floor Drawing by Roman Hudson
Layout of
Second Floor Drawing by Roman Hudson
Sectional
Drawing by Roman Hudson
Aerial
Drawing by Roman Hudson
Entrance to
Tax Assessor's Office
Inside
Assessor's Office
Another
Inside View of Assessor's Office
Deputy
Sheriff's Office
Another View
of Deputy Sheriff's Office
Jail Cell Entrance
Jail Cell
Circuit
Clerk's Office -- Photo 1
Circuit
Clerk's Office -- Photo 2
Circuit
Clerk's Office -- Photo 3
Circuit
Clerk's Office -- Photo 4
Chancery
Clerk's Office -- Photo 1
Chancery
Clerk's Office -- Photo 2
Chancery
Clerk's Office -- Photo 3
Chancery
Clerk's Office -- Photo 4
Chancery
Clerk's Office -- Photo 5
Law Books
Second Floor Landing
Second Floor
Courtroom -- Photo 1
Second Floor Courtroom --
Photo 2
Second Floor
Courtroom -- Photo 3
Second Floor
Courtroom -- Photo 4
Second Floor
Courtroom -- Photo 5
Second Floor
Courtroom -- Photo 6
Second Floor
Courtroom -- Photo 7
Second Floor
Courtroom -- Photo 8
Second Floor
Courtroom -- Photo 9
Second Floor
Courtroom -- Photo 10
Second Floor Courtroom --
Photo 11
Second Floor
Courtroom -- Photo 12
Second Floor
Courtroom -- Photo 13
Second Floor
Courtroom -- Jury Room # 1
Second Floor
Courtroom -- Jury Room # 2
Second Floor
Courtroom -- Jury Room # 1 -- Photo 1
Third Floor Stairs
Internal
Signs of Structural Damage
Outside --
Eastern View
Outside --
Southern View
Outside --
Another Southern View
National Day of Prayer
Korean/Vietnam Memorial --
1987
Old Courthouse Picture 1 – Courtesy of Mark Shands
Old Courthouse Picture 2 – Courtesy of Mark Shands
The Vaiden
Courthouse aided in World War II. In the January 8,
1943
article ('Vaiden Outlook' section by Mrs. S.P. Armstrong), of The
Conservative (P.2),
the caption read: "Vaiden
Court House Fence Gone To War." The article
stated, "The fence around the Vaiden court house yard has been
contributed as scrap to help whip the japs."
One of the old trees that shaded
the courthouse is still standing as of July, 2001. Photo 1 -- Photo 2

It Was The Worst of Times . . .
. . .I see
The Vengeance, The Juryman, The Judge. . .I see a beautiful city and a
brilliant people rising from the abyss, and, in their struggles to be truly
free, in their triumphs and defeats, through long, long years to come, I see
the evil of this time and of the previous time of which this is the natural
birth, gradually making expiation for itself and wearing out. I see the lives
for which I lay down my life, peaceful, useful, prosperous and happy. . .I
see Her with a child upon her bosom, who bears my name. I see her father,
aged and bent, but otherwise restored, and faithful to all men in his healing
office, and at peace. I see the good old man, so long their friend, in ten
years' time enriching them with all he has, and passing tranquilly to his reward.
. .I see that I hold a sanctuary in their hearts, and in the hearts of their
descendants, generations hence. I see her, an old woman, weeping for me on
the anniversary of this day. I see her and her husband, their course done,
lying side by side in their last earthly bed, and I know that each was not
more honoured and held sacred in the other's soul, than I was in the souls of
both. . .I see that child who lay upon her bosom and who bore my name, a man
winning his way up in that path of life which was once mine. I see him
winning it so well, that my name is made illustrious there by the light of
his. I see the blots I threw upon it, faded away. I see him, foremost of just
judges and honoured men, bringing a boy of my name, with a forehead that I
know and golden hair, to this place -- then fair to look upon, with not a
trace of this day's disfigurement -- and hear him tell the child my story,
with a tender and faltering voice.
With
Apologies to Charles Dickens

Outside Views

View From South/Southwest
Western View
View From North/Northwest
View From North/Northeast
-- Jail Area
Northern View
Looking North
(B & W Photo)
Jail Window
-- Northern Side of Building
Eastern View
View from South/Southeast
Clock Tower from
East/Northeast
Clock Tower From
West/Southwest
Southern View
View From South/Southeast
Another View From
South/Southeast
Another View From
South/Southeast
Western View
Looking Westward
(B & W Photo)
Southwestern View
Courthouse and Lee's Grocery
Eastern View
Looking
Eastward (B & W Photo)
Western View
End is in
Sight -- Article
Gone with the
Wind -- Another Article

Inside Views
Chancery Clerk's Office
Colored Restrooms
Another View of Stairs to
3rd Floor Balcony
Jail
Jail Inside
(B & W Photo)
Storage Shelves (B & W
Photo)
Witness Box View of Upper
Balcony and Gallery
Almost the Same View in 1912
-- Unveiling Banquet
Down the Bell Tower Stairs
Partial View of Courtroom
From Balcony
Owls in Bell Tower
Owl in Bell Tower Steeple
Jail Cell
3rd Floor Balcony Stairs
Clock Motor in Bell Tower
Clock Motor and Bell
View Down 3rd Floor Stairs
from Bell Tower Entrance
Entrance to Bell Tower
-- to 4th Floor
Stairs to 3rd Floor
The Interior of the Vaiden
Courthouse was used in the movie "Mississippi Burning"

Gone,
But Not Forgotten

Vaiden's
Third Courthouse -- 1989-Present
Notice that the 1905 Courthouse is Still
Standing in the Background

Back
Home Again . . .Page I
Credits: Many of the wonderful
photographs available from this page, were taken by Dennis
Welch and Ricky
Downs.



Site Design and Compilation Copyright
© by Ron Collins. 2007.
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