Stories of the South - Noxubee County Library



Believe it or not the Noxubee County Library was originally built as the county jail, complete with gallows. Originally built in 1907, it is a beautiful Richardsonian Romanesque building built from dark red brick and three stories tall. It was in use for 70 years until the new modern jail was built. It sat vacant and finally local historians worked to name it to the National Register of Historic Places and achieved their goal in 1979. In 1982 a fund-raising project was started by the community to restore the building and make it into the county library. There was a county library at this time but it was in a smaller building. The historic integrity and character were preserved including some of the iron cell bars, original doors, barred windows, and gallows which remain in working order. The work was complete in 1984 and has been in use since.

Since the building's rededication the library has won numerous awards including:

· 1984 Award of Merit for Adaptive Restoration from the Mississippi Historical Society

· 1990 Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts

· Included in the publication LIBRARY: The DRAMA WITHIN, which featured forty-six outstanding libraries of the world.

I’ve visited the library a few times and the interior is just as beautiful as the exterior. There is a computer lab on the second floor, and several classes on different subjects are offered throughout the year. The Sally Ethel Stevens room contains the genealogy collection, and they have the Harold Gibson Brown Collection which was left to them by Dr. Harold Gibson Brown a professor of English at the University of Mississippi.

Probably the most interesting thing I have found in the library is the oral history archives. On the library website there is an entire page of wonderful interviews with Noxubee county natives telling stories about everything from the Mennonite migration to Noxubee County to the Ice Plant in Brooksville. There’s even one interview with my husband's great uncle, Dr. Glen Pugh. If you’re interested in every day history in Mississippi please go have a look at the page.

I love libraries, and it’s amazing that a small town like Macon has such a beautiful one. It’s right off Main St across from the Courthouse. If you’re ever in Macon drive by and have a look.

And in other news......Happy Friday my lovelies!

Information taken from the library website http://www.noxubee.lib.ms.us/