And taking a tour of the Camp Van Dorn Museum in Centreville, Mississippi!
This summer has been super busy for the IODD families. One of us (not me:)) bought a new house and is looking forward to a move. Don't worry! It is only a few miles down the road. One of us (ok, this one is me) has been getting into the "stay-at-home mom" swing of things.
We did not get a lot of blogging done this summer but the two oldest children are back in school now and we have already made two trips!
THE RECON
Started with a quick trip to run errands in Natchez...where have you heard that before? ha
We read in the newspaper about an fixer-upper house in Crosby, MS for sale. We are, of course, all about the old houses and had a few in mind we were hoping it was. Turned out to be a totally different house than we thought and we decided to head home.
Having a few hours to kill before "school bus time," we took a few roads less traveled. Started with some roads along the Buffalo River. These landed us in people's driveways (sorry if it was yours!) or wondering if that log in the swampy water was a log or possibly an alligator.
Between the Buffalo and Homochitto Rivers was a sign for a little place called Rosetta. The road was gravel for a bit, but then turned into old pavement. This old pavement landed us in Rosetta at the Faith Christian Fellowship Church. We drove on every road in Rosetta...some twice...to see what there was to see. We saw just enough to want to return with a camera (which of course we didn't have because we were suppose to be running errands!) after looking up some information on the area.
We managed to find ourselves all the way back to the south side of Crosby before heading home. On the way home we decided the next day would be a perfect road trip day!
THE HOMEWORK
Please open your Google browser and search for information regarding Rosetta, MS. If you found something more than a Wikipedia page proclaiming it an "unincorporated town in Wilkinson County Mississippi" then you did better than I did! Basically, I found out it was in Wilkinson County...helpful...huh?
Heather did not fare much better. We did find a news article about the Homochitto River bridge in Rosetta that collapsed back in the 70's due to erosion from flooding. Seeing as we saw construction crews working on the bridge when we passed, it was a little unsettling!
Cameras charging, snacks packed (you know how we roll!), and gas in the tank!
THE ATTACK
We headed out bright and early...ok just kidding...it was like 10 a.m. But we had some IODD business to handle first (business cards!!).
Once we got back to Rosetta, we took a few pictures at the no longer in use church, Faith Christian Fellowship. At least, we are assuming it is not being used...by anything other than the wasps and the pine trees growing in the doorways. As we rode around we found other picture taking opportunities.
There was also a fantastic old cypress tree dripping with spanish moss. The cows were even cooperating with the pictures. Heather was calling them trying to get them to look up when I informed her that cows only answer to "moo." Would you believe she "moo"d at the cow and it looked at her
We then stopped at the Rosetta Cemetery Circa 1890. This cemetery was pretty well covered by Find A Grave, so we took a few pictures and moved on.
The road beside the cemetery was one we had never been on. Heather had found some information about a Day Plantation. The Day Plantation was no longer standing but there was a family cemetery. I followed Heather's directions
This cemetery, and it occupants, are well loved. Just a small plot surrounded by woods and a fence with a small gate, but you get a feeling of peace upon entering. Almost every stone was accompanied by statues, or knick knacks. Most interesting...the guitars surrounding one stone. I also saw here my favorite inscription, "Lay down Maw Maw, take your rest. We loved you but God loved you best." How sweet is that?!
We left Homer Hill and found our way to the Day Cemetery. There really didn't seem to be any sign of the original plantation remaining. From here we headed in search of food...again...who didn't see that coming?!
We did some talking and driving before settling on finding sustenance in Centreville, Mississippi and taking in the Camp Van Dorn Museum downtown. I found the website during my search for information about Rosetta. I had heard about Camp Van Dorn but never knew there was a museum (and my husband works right down the street!).
The building itself if historic. Turns out this was the first bank in Centreville. It later became a small grocery store before standing vacant and falling into disrepair. The building was saved and brought back to life to become the Camp Van Dorn Museum.
Camp Van Dorn was a World War II training camp that operated from 1942 to 1945. Two divisions were stationed there in preparation for tours of duty in Germany. The 99th "Checkerboard" Division was the first group and the 63rd "Blood and Fire" Division was the last. The "Blood and Fire" Division is credited with breaking the Siegfried Line in Germany.
Camp Van Dorn was named after the Van Dorn from Port Gibson whose house we are still trying to find. The Camp covered over 41,000 acres and housed over 39,000 soldiers. The military basically bought up a large portion of the town of Centreville. All that remains today is the General's house, now an oil company, and a historical marker.
This is information we learned at the museum. The museum is run by volunteers with no funding from government. I'll take this moment to mention it is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and every 1st and 3rd Saturday. There is no fee to view the massive collection of artifacts from Camp Van Dorn and WWII but they do accept donations.
Now I would like to introduce Mrs. Emma Zell Knighton, our guide through the museum. When she greeted us at the door, this possibly 5 foot, tri-focaled, 88 year old lady welcomed us excitedly. It is pretty safe to say that Mrs. Knighton loves Centreville. She explained that once upon a time, Centreville, Mississippi was a bustling amazing town. Once the government bought up most of the town for the military camp, most of the locals moved out, never to return.
Mrs. Knighton has lived in Centreville her whole life. She was adorable! She told tons of stories and even though she claimed she didn't know everything about Camp Van Dorn, she was very informative. Mrs. Knighton has met several of the soldiers and families of soldiers who were stationed at Camp Van Dorn. She said people were asking to take pictures with her all the time, so she went home and got a photo of her at 18 and brought it back and holds it up when they take her picture. So, of course, we took her picture as well!
Even my oldest son Luke got in to the picture taking mood!
Now the race is on to get home before the school bus!
If you find yourself with some time to kill in or around Wilkinson County Mississippi, you should really check out the Camp Van Dorn Museum. I promised Mrs. Emma Zell that we would send as many people as we could her way! She is well worth the visit. While there you can also sign up for a monthly newsletter put out by the museum. From this you get great updates and information...like the fact that one of the original twelve chapels built at Camp Van Dorn is in use today in McComb, MS as Holmesville Baptist Church!
We are planning several more trips in the coming days so welcome back to IODD!. We hope you are having a great summer and that the kiddos got back to school and are enjoying it!
Until next time~
Rosemary
No comments:
Post a Comment