Rodney, Mississippi - Time Stands Still

Once upon a time there was a town called "Rodney, Mississippi". Located in Jefferson County about 32 miles from Natchez, Rodney was once only three votes away from being the capital of the Mississippi territory. A bustling river town, commerce and trade made Rodney the center of attention in this region. According to Wikipedia, Rodney was noted for its high level of culture, county fairs and business activity. Rodney once contained a bank, a newspaper, 500 people and 35 stores, artists, theater, lecture hall, schools, debating society, churches, jockey club and thespian groups.

Among the businesses fronting on Commerce and Magnolia Streets were a bank, wagon makers, tinsmiths, barbers, doctors, dentists, general mercantile stores, hotels, saloons, and pastry shops. Also, Mississippi Lodge # 56, Free and Accepted Masons was located in Rodney from the 1850's to the 1920's. it was not unusual for traveling thespians on the show boats to play at Rodney and use the Masonic Hall for their performances.

Cottonseed development, riverboat landings, taverns and high literacy made Rodney a leading river town.

There was only one problem with Rodney, you see the entire economy was based on the Mississippi River. And one day the river just... went away. The Mississippi River moved westward a mile or two because the Mississippi River is very unstable in this area and it moves around a lot. When this happened the population of Rodney basically went to zero.

Also, there was / is a huge Rodney Town Cemetery. It is now abandoned and very heavily overgrown. Many people from across the Mississippi River brought their dead to Rodney and buried them above the overflow line.

Well that's all I have to say about Rodney today, but if you get the chance I highly encourage you to find your way there. Here are a few more photos from my journey to Rodney, Mississippi.




An old gas pump from the corner drug store



The old Court House



A broom propped in the corner of the Baptist church



The old Masonic Lodge

Southern Snow

Sorry for the long delay. This is my first winter as a photographer and to be honest I am really struggling with the winter palette! This summer and fall provided colorful landscapes with plenty of saturation and I fell in love with the Autumn opportunities. But I am coming out of my Winter blues and really looking for the right frames to capture with this new landscape. Here are some of the photos captured from this last Winter blast through the deep South!



This angel face couldn't be hidden by the snow.


The Old Courthouse Museum was beautiful with the snow blanket.




The Mississippi River Bridge was an awesome site!

My Home Town - Vicksburg, Mississippi

I've lived in Vicksburg, Mississippi my entire 41 years, but only in the last few months have a ever really experienced it. I'm like so many other Vicksburgers that drive by the Mississippi River, the bridges, the Military park, and so many other scenes of Vicksburg everyday and not give them a second thought. But no more. Lately I've been into photography and have been using my home town as a backdrop for many of my pictures. There is so much of God's beauty within a 10 mile radius of my home that in my 41 years of living here I'm only now seeing for the very first time. Here are a few of those shots.




Mint Springs waterfall! A WATERFALL! Here in Vicksburg. It's off in the woods off of 61 north! Never knew it was there. It is so beautiful and this cool morning was a perfect backdrop for my camera.


This was taken Oct 17th in Ceder Hill Cemetery. The clouds were rolling in that morning and provided an almost divine backdrop for this silhouette of Christ.



The sun was setting on this barge as it headed South down the Mississippi. The reflection is what caught my eye as it pushed along.



Another barge in a BEAUTIFUL sunset that was just full of pinks and blues as the storm had just left that evening.



The old courthouse museum in downtown Vicksburg. To this day, I've never been inside. But this day was the downtown flea market and I caught the old courthouse in this sunrise.



Old Constitution Firehouse. I was driving by before sunset one morning and the lights lit up the front of the building and brought it to life.



Downtown bricks lit up by the sunset. The gas lamps and the pristine city landscaping really shows off the beautification of our city.




The same pink and blue sunset as it takes over the courthouse.