MCCOMB, Miss. (AP) - The city of McComb celebrates two centennial anniversaries this coming weekend - one for the laying of the cornerstone at city hall and one for the display cars at the McComb Railroad Depot.
In conjunction with National Train Day on May 10, the city will celebrate the 100th anniversary of city hall, which was rebuilt after the fire of 1904 destroyed the building.
“We are celebrating McComb’s history and the fact that 100 years ago, in 1914, the cornerstone was laid at city hall, and the railroad postal car at our railcar display was also built in 1914,” Mayor Whitney Rawlings told The Enterprise-Journal (https://bit.ly/1n5Ka4q ).
The festivities kick off at 9 a.m. with a program at city hall with Rawlings and former mayors of McComb. Rawlings will give an oral history on city hall and the artifacts found in the time capsule discovered behind the city hall cornerstone a few weeks ago.
Though some of the papers were damaged from condensation over the years, a letter from former Mayor O.B. Quin describes McComb in 1914 and gives a brief history of the town since all of the city’s records were destroyed along with city hall in the fire.
City officials are preparing to plant another time capsule with the help of local Masons. Rawlings said he is looking for suggestions from residents about what to add to the capsule.
“I’m excited about the day and the fact that we’re asking the citizens what to put back in the time capsule,” Rawlings said. “We have to put the cornerstone back, and we want to know what kind of history they want us to put in the box for citizens of McComb to read 100 years from now.”
Rawlings said city hall also is being spruced up ahead of the celebration with some exterior painting this week and some decorating next week. National Train Day festivities follow from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 10 at the railroad depot.
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Information from: Enterprise-Journal, https://www.enterprise-journal.com
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