Help Save Historic Port Gibson, Mississippi!

Many who read and post on this message board undoubtedly have visited Port Gibson, Mississippi, the beautiful little town situated between Vicksburg and Natchez along Highway 61. Incorporated in 1811, Port Gibson was first settled by Samuel Gibson, who acquired property along Bayou Pierre from the Spanish in 1788. In 1863, during the Civil War, General Grant decreed that Port Gibson was "too beautiful to burn" and left it intact. Now, 145 years later, the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) has decided to widen Church Street (Highway 61) through the town and cut down scores of beautiful centuries old trees. The logging trucks and other traffic which rumble through Port Gibson on a daily basis have already done considerable damage and with the widened roadway will cause even further structural woes to the antebellum homes and churches which line Church Street. There are various other options for a truck bypass but MDOT has decided to plow right through the middle of the picture postcard town.

I first visited Port Gibson in 1969 when I was 15 years old and have been there numerous times since, always enjoying the feeling of having gone back in time. When I was there just last week, I was both saddened and horrified to see all the beautiful and huge trees "marked for death" with yellow crime scene tape! Judy Scruggs, the very friendly and kindly lady who runs the visitors center in the relocated Samuel Gibson house on Highway 61, showed me how the vibrations from traffic have already caused the fireplace mantel to badly crack and come loose from the bricks. Bringing traffic closer will do even more damage, not to mention the issue of safety with the street literally being in the front yards of residents, many of whom walk to their churches along Church Street on Sunday morning.

Probably the most photographed building in Port Gibson, the First Presbyterian Church, built in 1860, is famed for the golden hand atop the steeple which points heavenward. The Pilcher pipe organ in the church, which I have enjoyed playing many times, was manufactured right here in Louisville in 1930. Of special interest to steamboat enthusiasts are the three chandeliers hanging in the sanctuary from the ROBT. E. LEE, famed for its race with the NATCHEZ in 1870. The great-great grandfather of H. Nelson Spencer, current publisher of The Waterways Journal, was a prominent attorney of Port Gibson and helped build the Presbyterian Church. There are seven churches along the street plus dozens of other historic structures that will be "shaken to pieces" by the enlarged highway.

You can help SAVE CHURCH STREET by signing an online petition that will be used in the fight to protect the town from senseless destruction. Go to <a href="http://WWW.PORTGIBSONHERITAGETRUST.ORG">WWW.PORTGIBSONHERITAGETRUST.ORG for news articles and a link to the online petition. Visitors from around the world are signing in an effort to overturn a very bad move on the part of MDOT! You can also call 601-437-4277 or send e-mail to [email protected]. Time is of the essence and a final decision will be made very soon. Please don't delay -- sign the petition TODAY! THANKS!!!