Saturday, March 6, 2010

Railroad Depot in Mound, Louisiana

Mound is a farming community just north of Interstate 20 about seven miles west of the Mississippi River. During the early 20th century, a gent named George Yerger owned the land, which then was well-populated with tenant farmers. Like many farming centers, it once had a railroad depot, which served as the link with the outside world in an era before many people had motorcars.

The depot in Mound was a 1-story wood building with wide eaves to provide protection when material was loaded and unloaded from rail cars. The depot probably dates to the early 1900s, but a January 2005 article in the Vicksburg Post did not list an exact date. It had not been in use since before 1958.

The depot was unusual in that it still had White and Colored labels on the doors. Considering how common this practice was up through the 1960s, it is surprising how seldom you see signs like this now. Sadly, the depot is gone. I do not know who bought it and if it was moved or demolished.


The elegant little green shotgun shack is the only one left on the property. There were probably many in the early 1920s to house farm workers. A reader stated that this was used as a doctor's office by Dr. John Yerger in the early 1900s.

The clapboard farm building is a typical example for farms in the South.

All photographs taken on Kodak Ektar 25 film with a Rolleiflex 3.5F camera with 75mm f/3.5 Planar lens (5-element version), tripod-mounted. Ektar 25 was the finest resolution color negative film ever made. The negatives were scanned on a Noritsu professional system.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Andy, thanks so much for photographically preserving these little houses. Those who see them every day may not appreciate them as much as others, to whom they have become the tangible past. .... Martha Leese's daughter, Anna.

Anonymous said...

Hello, Great pics! I am actually a native of Mound where these pictures were taken and am the great great granddaughter of George Yerger. Too bad you couldn't have captured the Old Mound Store before it was torn down, in 2003. It stood approximately 100 yards from the depot. The depot was actually sold and has since been turned into a lake house on Lake Bruin. Also, a little history behind the green shotgun house...in the early 1900's it was used as a doctor's office, run by Dr. John Yerger. Later was used as a rural library. We have a lot of history in our little town, and it's very sad to see so few original structures left.

Anonymous said...

I remember the old Mound Store, it was huge, or was it that I was little.

Kodachromeguy said...

Note to all of you who contributed comments: I do have photographs of the Mound country store. But they are Kodachrome transparencies, which I will have to scan. All it takes is time....

Anonymous said...

The wife and I used to stop at the Mound General store twice a year..Always love the Smoked Bacon.. Sad that it closed..

Anonymous said...

I had pictures of the Mound store and the big house nearby..have looked for them for years and can't find them..Would like some to put on my FB Historical Page.. loslopilot@aol.com if someone wants to share a picture.