National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Southside Neighborhood Historic District

Destefano, Jaime

A National Register of Historic Places Registration Form for Southside Neighborhood Historic District Narrative Description Summary Paragraph: "The Southside Neighborhood Historic District is a predominately working- and middle-class African American neighborhood that developed east of the railroad track southeast of downtown Laurel, Jones County, Mississippi. The Southside Neighborhood Historic District consists of a total of 560 resources including 500 primary buildings, 58 auxiliary buildings and structures, one park, and a built drainage network. The district occupies approximately 240 acres of land characterized by primarily residential construction with a scattering of commercial and institutional building types that chronicle the establishment and continuity of a vibrant and cohesive, largely middle-class African American community since the late-19th through the mid-20th centuries. Residential architecture predominates within the district, which retains modest house types typical of working-class housing as well as larger middle-class dwellings, many with brick veneer exteriors and restrained stylistic embellishments. Architectural styles occurring in the neighborhood include Folk Victorian, Craftsman, and Colonial Revival. Churches, commercial buildings, and educational facilities reflect the religious, social, and economic life of the community. A large housing project, the Triangle Housing Project, including 27 intact buildings and retains its historic site plan. The district includes 451 contributing resources and 109 non-contributing resources. Those identified as non-contributing were either constructed after the period of significance or are older building that have undergone extensive alterations and no longer retain sufficient integrity to contribute to the district's historic character." Statement of Significance Summary Paragraph: "The Southside Neighborhood Historic District in Laurel, Jones County, Mississippi is significant at the local level under National Register Criterion A in the area of Community Planning and Development. The development of the Southside neighborhood coincides with Laurel's industrial era, and the city's subsequent outward expansion, forming a distinct in-town, working- and middle-class neighborhood 'on the other side of the track.' The district includes multiple planned subdivision of land occurring from 1897 to 1927 that continued a traditional gridded street arrangement and laid out lots to accommodate a working and middle-class population. The district is also significant at the State level for containing Mississippi's second public housing project, and its first project specifically for African Americans. Constructed in 1940, the Triangle Housing Project is an exemplary representation of federally-funded public housing projects and retains its original apartment buildings and planned layout. The historic district is also eligible under Criterion A at the local level in the area of Ethnic Heritage: Black. It developed as a predominately African American neighborhood and evolved into a vibrant, cohesive community of working and middle-class residents. The neighborhood contains a number of resources important to Laurel's African American heritage and the Civil Rights movement. Finally, the Southside Neighborhood Historic District is eligible under Criterion C at the local level in the area of Architecture. Dominated by residential housing, the district also includes a number of commercial buildings and religious architecture. Collectively, the buildings types and restrained architectural stylistic influences are characteristic design trends from the late-19th century through mid-20th century...." Project funding was provided in part by a Historic Preservation Fund grant to the Mississippi Historic Preservation Division, Department of Archives and History, administered by the State, Tribal, Local Plans and Grant division, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior

National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Southside Neighborhood Historic District

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