Legislature allocates money for drainage projects, also Ford Home renovations
The Mississippi legislative session that ended Friday included funding to address downtown Columbia’s flooding problems and do work at the John Ford Home and West Marion High School.
Senate Bill 3049 provides $500,000 to the city of Columbia for water and sewer repairs and $350,000 to assist the Marion County Historical Society with renovations at the John Ford Home in Sandy Hook.
Also, Senate Bill 3065 provides $100,000 to repair the bus route near West Marion High School in Foxworth.
State Rep. Ken Morgan called it “one of the most productive sessions I’ve had.”
The Republican from Morgantown said funding for downtown drainage became a top priority after flash flooding caused the cancellation of Freedom Fest last summer. Morgan said Columbia is promoting businesses to come downtown and doesn’t need to have water coming into stores and sandbags sitting outside.
Mayor Justin McKenzie expressed similar concerns, saying he’s excited to see stores filled up with new retail outlets and clothing stores coming back and wants to keep it up.
“We’re wanting to explore and see every option available to mitigate that flooding and make sure our downtown is somewhere you want to invest without the threat of being flooded out,” he said.
The mayor said the funding could go toward replacing sewer lines or upsizing drains from catch basins that get overwhelmed during flash floods. He said the city is also exploring ideas about underground pumps that would kick on automatically to get water off the streets. McKenzie said he wants to make sure they know a solution will work before spending the money and plan to test a pump during the next heavy rain to see how the idea works.
Also, work is slated to begin Monday on a city project to repair a void in the sewer line underneath Main Street near the courthouse that is allowing water into the line and contributing to drainage problems for businesses in the area.
At the John Ford Home, money will go toward preserving the house that dates to the early 1800s as Marion County was being settled as well as developing the site as a tourist draw, according to Kelly Roberts and Ken Knopp of the Historical Society.
“We want a regional heritage destination. We want it so visitors can come on a daily basis and tour the entire site,” Roberts said.
The Historical Society has owned and maintained the home since buying it in 1961 from the Rankin family, which had purchased it from the Fords around 1830. The society has a 10-year development plan for the whole seven-acre Fordsville. That includes a visitors center, building an original-style barn, adding a blacksmith and grist mill, fixing Payne’s Chapel and possibly recreating slave quarters believed to have been located across the street from the Ford home.
Knopp said they consider the Ford Home to be the “crown jewel of Marion County” and want to preserve its history. It’s the oldest standing home in the Pearl River Valley and one of the few still standing from the era when Marion County was a rugged frontier.
Knopp and Roberts said they’ve received great support from officials, including Marion County Supervisor Tater Rowell, State Sen. Angela Hill and State Reps. Ken Morgan and Bill Pigott. The Pearl River Valley Electric Power Association also recently buried power lines to give the historic home a more authentic look.
“We can’t thank them enough,” Knopp said.
At West Marion, Morgan said the existing bus route is filled with potholes and will be resurfaced.
Finally, one version of SB 3049 stated it would provide $100,000 “to assist Marion County with improvements to the roof and other construction for Bryan Public Library.” However, the Bryan Public Library is in West Point in Clay County, and the final version of the bill sent to Gov. Phil Bryant corrected that error to clarify that the money is to assist Clay County, not Marion County.
TV show to feature local history
An upcoming episode of the Travel Channel show “Mysteries at the Museum” will feature materials from Marion County.
The episode entitled, “The Headless Horseman, Tug of Love and Space Angels” premieres at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 10.
It features material related to the 1912 kidnapping of 4-year-old Bobby Dunbar of Louisiana, who was allegedly found in Marion County.
Pictured Above: The Marion County Historical Society has a 10-year plan to renovate the John Ford Home in Sandy Hook into a full regional heritage destination. The Legislature funded $350,000 that will help start that process.
