Jones presents on city’s architecture

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By MATT CRANE
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The buildings lining the streets of Starkville will take center stage at the newest 175th birthday celebration speaker series.

At 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Starkville Public Library, Michelle Weaver Jones will present her program on Starkville’s architecture over the years.

“We’ll be looking at the development of Starkville through its architectural history,” Jones said. “We’ll look at the development from indian mounds and going forward to post war constructions.”

Jones, a local preservation assistance coordinator for the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, said she works with communities in their preservation programs and has been developing this specific presentation over the years.

“I had done a version of this talk at the Three Generations Tea Room before,” Jones said. “So, Paige got me to come back and do it again.”

Paige Lawes, owner of Three Generations Tea Room, has been a strong advocate and promoter for the birthday speaker series because of the importance maintaining a town’s history can be, she said.

Jones said it is very interesting how one can decipher the trends of the time through the architecture of a city.

“You’ll notice a lot of duplexes in the 1930s,” she said. “A lot of that had to do with veterans returning home from the war to attend the university.”

Jones said the architecture of Starkville is indicative of the times of prosperity and depression the city has experienced, although she said one particular area is very fascinating to her personally.

“I like a lot of different styles, but on Greensboro you have a century of homes being built between 1870 and 1970,” she said. “It’s amazing how the community has evolved and taken care of its architectural treasures.”

Jones said she hopes her program Wednesday will open the eyes of many residents who may not be inclined to study the buildings around them.

“It’s easy to get into the car or when we’re walking down the sidewalk, and have tunnel vision,” she said. “I just hope people will take the time to look at our historic buildings.”

Jones said the event should be very informative and enlightening for those in attendance.

“Hopefully I’ll show a detail or two that they didn’t realize was there,” she said. “We need to appreciate what we have here in Starkville.”

Michelle Weaver Jones will present her program on Starkville’s architecture Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Starkville Public Library.