Historic Preservation and the Choices We Make

Preservation Celebration Weekend, Vicksburg, Mississippi

September 30 to October 1, 2017 

 

What would you do to keep your community from turning into Anywhere, USA? Two dedicated preservationists led the charge against that very possibility, inspiring their community to join them in supporting the restoration of a three-story, circa 1839 Greek Revival building, the oldest commercial building still in existence in Warren County, Mississippi.

Inviting both partnership and fellowship in their quest to preserve the former Fleckenstein-Coccaro grocery at 1501 Martin Luther King Blvd, the current owners, Dr. Lamar McMillin and his wife Carol, reached out to their community and to the families of the two previous owners, the Fleckensteins and the Coccaros.  That simple opening in the lines of communication was just the beginning and would, in time, find the project’s supporters at Vicksburg’s 2017 Preservation Celebration, at the opening ceremony and dedication of the historic structure. At Lamar and Carol’s invitation, I was delighted to be there, too — to help frame their collective journey by speaking about historic preservation and communities.

 

The good news from a preservation standpoint is that the building had only two previous owners over the course of its history; as such, it bears testimony to 150 years of family life and illustrates how America is truly a “‘salad bowl’ of culture” (to quote Lamar), with each family reflecting its own cultural traditions that can still be seen today in the Phase 1 restoration.

 

The original owners, Dorothea and Christian Fleckenstein from Bavaria, Germany, built the structure in 1839 and, during their period of residence in the nineteenth century, the family operated a grocery story on the first floor and had their living quarters on the second and third floors. Christian Fleckenstein, former director of the Royal Orchestra of Berlin, taught his children music in Vicksburg. His grandson, Clarence Hammond, founded the Houston Conservatory of Music; his great grandson, musician Mozart Hammond, would later establish a scholarship to continue the legacy of the Vicksburg/Houston maestros—a scholarship that continues to this day.

 

 

 

 

Catherine and Joseph Coccaro were of Italian ancestry and acquired the building in 1905. Like the Fleckensteins, they also operated a grocery store on the first floor and took up residence on the upper floors. During the Coccaros’ time, the building would become known as “Catherine’s Palace” because of the great pride that Catherine Russo Coccaro took in the family’s home, making it an elegant showplace that she enjoyed sharing with family and friends. 

 

 

 

The Choices They Made

During my presentations on Saturday and Sunday, I spoke about how historic preservation is about making choices over what kind of future we want. It involves stepping forward by yourself first, but to be effective you have to know where you stand and also where others in your community stand. Lamar and Carol shared a love of history, and were determined that Vicksburg wasn’t going to become just Anywhere, USA. Together, they chose to make Vicksburg’s history tangible and connected to the present through the restoration of this historic building. They reached out to others in the historic preservation community, and the community at large, to communicate their vision, In turn, those individuals chose to care—to participate and to support the McMillins’ efforts. Fast forward to today and we see that seemingly simple approach—stepping forward, making choices, building bridges, and keeping the lines of communication open—take hold and produce positive results. As the third owners of this historic property, Carol and Lamar will one day open its doors to the public as a Bed & Breakfast, so that people will be able to continue to enjoy the history of Virginia, not just by visiting, but by actually experiencing it firsthand. 

 

“Looking at the property today, I see so much more than brick and mortar; so much more than historical and architectural significance. My mind wander backs to a simpler time; a time every child should get to experience; running up and down the hills, sliding down the driveway on cardboard in the snow, making mud pies in the yard and relaxing in the shade of the large fig trees out back.” –  Myra Coccaro Logue, granddaughter of Catherine and Joseph Coccaro

 

 

 

Current owners Lamar and Carol McMillin shared a love of history… Together, they chose to make Vicksburg’s history tangible and connected to the present through the restoration of this historic building. 

 

 

 

 

My Sunday presentation on the same topic was followed by my son George H. McDaniel, a current graduate student at the Center for Southern Studies at Old Miss, who is working on his PhD; George spoke about his thesis related to William Faulkner (1897-1962), the celebrated American writer and Nobel Prize laureate from Oxford, Mississippi.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Header Image: Saved! The Fleckenstein-Coccaro grocery under restoration.