It’s coming! Meridian Downtown History Walk is Saturday, Feb. 22, from noon to 4 p.m.

 

In honor of Meridian’s long withstanding history, I have listed a few interesting facts about the Queen City, most of which will be on the tour.

 

The Union Train Station was built in 1906

With traffic increasing due to a growing population, the city built Union Station in 1906 to coordinate all the railroads. Along with Union Station, several hotels were built, including Hotel Meridian, Grand Avenue Hotel, Terminal Hotel and Union Hotel. By 1907 an average of 40 trains per day passed through the city, and the various railroad companies provided over 6,000 jobs to the city’s residents. By 1920 as many as 100 trains per day passed through the station. The passenger station’s central tower was demolished in the 1940s, and further demolition took place in 1966, but the city has since rebuilt the station in its original Mission Revival style. After its completion in 1996, the station was renamed the Meridian Multi-Modal Transportation Center.

 

One of Meridian’s Carnegie libraries is now the Meridian Museum of Art

 

The Fortnightly Book and Magazine Club, formed in the 1880s, built wide support for a Carnegie library in the city in 1908. Israel Marks, a city leader, also led a group including Professor Shaw, Professor Triplett, Dr. Howard, Jeff Wilson, Frank Berry, Henry Strayhorn and John Harris, to raise money for an African-American library. The club women enlisted Marks to approach the national philanthropist Andrew Carnegie for funding assistance.

 

Two Carnegie libraries were built in 1913 — one for whites and one for African Americans. The latter was the first and only library for blacks in the state until after World War I and is the only Carnegie library ever built for African Americans in the country. The library for whites was established in a building originally owned by members of the First Presbyterian Church of Meridian, who sold it to the city on Sept. 25, 1911.The city used the library for whites until 1970, when it was renovated and converted into the Meridian Museum of Art. The library for African Americans was built at 13th Street and 28th Avenue on land donated by St. Paul Methodist Church. It served various community uses after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ended segregated facilities. Despite the demolition of the former African-American library on May 28, 2008,[31] both buildings are currently listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[32]

 

World Wars I and II

The doughboy monument, erected after World War I to honor Meridianites lost in battle.

 

When a commission government brought 90 industrial plants to the city in 1913, industry in the city began attracting many settlers from the surrounding areas causing the city’s population to continue to climb into the 1920s. After World War I, the city erected a monument on the corner of 6th Street and 23rd Avenue depicting a doughboy in uniform to honor fallen soldiers from the city and surrounding area. During the industry boom of the 1920s, Meridian’s automobile industry began to grow. Livery stables that were built around the city later evolved into service stations for vehicles. The former streetcar system was replaced by a system of buses with the creation of the Mississippi Power Company in 1925. Buses were seen as a superior mode of transportation at the time, especially since the buses could pass freely over the railroads which divided the city’s southernmost neighborhoods from the downtown area and the rest of the city.

 

In 1929, the Threefoot Building, Meridian’s tallest skyscraper at 17 stories, was built in the Art Deco architectural style. Today, the historic building, located adjacent to the former Grand Opera House, is an important city landmark and is a contributing building within the Meridian Downtown Historic District, one of nine recognized historic districts in the city.

 

This is just a bit of the history on display at Downtown History Walk on Feb. 22. Come to Dumont Plaza and pickup a map for the self-guided walking tour which encompasses Fourth and Fifth Streets. Storytellers in period costume will be entertaining with the documented stories. The event is perfect for all ages, especially children. We must teach our children the true facts of our history and not rely upon strangers who write, sometimes only fiction about us.

 

One more thing, let us celebrate Meridian’s birthday in a big way. We are survivors. Meridian’s birthday is Feb. 10, 1860.

 

Anne McKee is executive director at Meridian Railroad Museum.