At this place: Washington and 1st East 100 years apart

VICKSBURG, Miss. – Today, looking up Washington Street at the intersection of 1st East, comparing the pictures, it almost appears as if both nothing has changed and everything has changed at the same time.

Back when early settlers laid out the first streets in Vicksburg, they named north-south avenues after presidents, interspersed with the names of trees; some of the first being Washington, Walnut, Monroe, Cherry, and Adams.

Over time, other prominent, nationally known names were used, including Clay, Jackson, Grant, and Pemberton. The names of Vicksburg property owners and residents that played important local roles were also used. A great deal of Vicksburg’s history can be found through our street names.

One of our city’s first streets, Washington, featured in these photos, was aptly named after our first president, George Washington. 

The first image is part of the Old Court House Museum’s collection and was taken looking south down Washington Street at the corner of 1st East circa 1910. The second image was recently taken by Chris Bolm.

The Old Courthouse Museum has an amazing collection of old photos taken in the Vicksburg and Warren County area. If you are ever interested in getting an old photo printed for your home or business, contact the Old Courthouse Museum.

Starting in 2022, Chris Bolm began to take images from the Old Court House Museum‘s photo collections and pinpoint their current locations and replicate the shot. Bolm named the series “Then and Now.”