Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Mississippi Welcomes You in Style!

Welcome to Mississippi!
The signs say, "Welcome to Mississippi," and there are thirteen Welcome Centers in Mississippi, each built to resemble the grand antebellum structures for which our state is famous. Each center is decorated with fine antique furnishings from the antebellum period, and is the epitome of what southern hospitality is all about ... its friendly staff ready and able to greet guests and answer any questions they may have.
The beautiful Welcome Center here in Vicksburg stands high on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River on one of the state's most significant historic sites. Native Indians, explorers, and early settlers all traveled this bluff, and flatboats, keel boats, and elegant steamboats all stopped here during the Civil War.
The center is very popular with photographers, who have captured thousands of glorious sunsets from its veranda overlooking the river. I recently visited the welcome center, not to photograph the river, but to capture the center itself.
Back View, overlooking the Mississippi River
This is the view that is one of the most, if not THE most,
photographed scenes in Vicksburg ... the twin bridges.
The interior of the Welcome Center is elegantly decorated,
featuring antique furniture, fine oil paintings, and beautiful architectural details.

I was very impressed with the building and furnishings, the friendliness of the staff (one of the ladies has been with the center for 27 years!), and the gracious welcome I received.  If you ever pass this way, I hope you will take the time to stop and visit our beautiful Welcome Center, have a cup of coffee, and experience true southern hospitality for yourself. I think you will come away with a new impression of this wonderful state we call home … Mississippi.
And, if you have the time, I encourage you to tour our beautiful city of Vicksburg.  It is truly a treasure trove of architectural works of art, history, and southern culture at its finest.

4 comments:

Beth said...

You're pictures really captured the exquisite nature of this welcome station! Indeed, several of these have welcomed me to Mississippi many times!

RachelD said...

Welcome, it IS! What a lovely sight it must be, atop the bluff to be viewed from the River. and that spacious stretch of VERANDAH could have hosted ladies and gentlemen and planters and dandies and belles and their swains. What tales those bricks could tell.

And I do believe that's the most sumptuous decor I've ever seen in what's usually mostly a rest stop in the states I've been to---the floors look worthy of a Pilgrimage Mansion, and the what-looks-like-red-velvet to make Mrs. Dr. Meade swoon---oh, my.

Mississippi is putting all her Best Feet Forward in welcome---daintly shod and ready to dance.

r

Dorothy said...

Those pictures are very impressive! We have been in some of those elegant welcome centers and they make me proud to be a Mississippian!

betsy said...

I love Vicksburg. My little dog and I visited a few years back just before Christmas. We drove down on the Trace. We stayed at a bed and breakfast. I think it was The Corners. The woman who owned it was very elderly, and I do not think it is open anymore. Lovely city.