The year was 1863. The country was mired in civil war, but in the small town of Columbus, Miss., Father J.B. Mouton, a French missionary, had a vision. He saw a new church, one inspired by his memory of the glorious 13th-century Sainte-Chapelle in the heart of Paris.
In spite the ongoing war, a cornerstone was laid on College Street for Annunciation Catholic Church. The chaos of conflict and Reconstruction would delay completion for several years. But today, in what was the original sanctuary, Gothic arches soar gracefully to a domed ceiling and embrace a series of vivid Jacoby stained glass windows depicting the life of the Virgin Mary.
Only a block or so from that cornerstone in 1863, First United Methodist Church’s present sanctuary had been started three years before. But, as almost everywhere, the stress of battle infiltrated. Tin portions of the roof of this Romanesque revival structure were removed to make canteens for soldiers. The building was used as a hospital for the sick and wounded.
A short distance to the west, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church’s current sanctuary stood, having been completed in 1859.
“Their architecture was English in inspiration: It was really inspired by an entire movement in the Anglican church called the ecclesiological movement,” explained Ken P’Pool, deputy state historic preservation officer for the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.
It is P’Pool who will share knowledgeable insight into these, and other sacred spaces, on a double decker bus tour Nov. 5 during the four-day Decorative Arts and Preservation Forum and Antiques Show and Sale presented by the Columbus Cultural Heritage Foundation.
“The architecture of Columbus’ historic churches is so significant,” said Nancy Carpenter, executive director of the Columbus Convention and Visitors Bureau. “We want to heighten awareness of these buildings and the need to preserve them.”
Dixie Butler of the Columbus Cultural Heritage Foundation added, “We always try to focus on a theme that not only involves the decorative arts but also preservation and history.”
The Saturday tour visiting the mentioned churches, plus the more contemporary B’nai Israel synagogue and Friendship Cemetery, will complement lectures that same day by P’Pool and by Columbus native and historian Dr. Marchita Mauck. Her topic will be “My Personal Experiences in the Sacred Spaces of Columbus.”
“Columbus has some magnificent church history and architecture — Gothic revival, Victorian Gothic, Greek revival,” said P’Pool, who once lived in Columbus. “We’ll hopefully uncover a few interesting facts that some folks didn’t know.”
The larger event
Of course, the lectures and tours are part of a larger weekend that encompasses an expansive three-day antiques show and sale at Trotter Convention Center Nov. 4-6, an opening gala and preview party Nov. 3, floral design and gardening forums with national experts (plus a shrimp-and-grits brunch) Nov. 4, and special evening events for those who purchase Grand Patron tickets.
Advance tickets are available at the Convention and Visitors Bureau, 117 Third St. S., or call 800-920-3533.
Antiques show and sale
“I love this show, and I love Columbus,” said Jay Melrose of Ohio. His Melrose and Johns LLC will manage the antiques show this year. He’s attended as a dealer many times in the past. “We’ll have some very interesting new dealers I think everyone will like — among them, two dealers of oriental rugs and a new dealer of some really great 19th century furniture and decorative accessories.”
As in the past, Trotter’s main floor will be filled with booths of jewelry, china, silver and other decorative arts from approximately 20 dealers from around the country.
Longtime attendees will notice a different look. Booths will be walled, for a more room-like setting, Melrose said.
The antique show and sale will be open Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Admission is $5 per day. (Included in Grand Patron or Gardening Symposium tickets.)
Floral fantasies
Floral design and gardens are also decorative arts, and the forum doesn’t overlook that.
On Friday, a two-part gardening symposium features experts Brian Vetter of Arizona and Phillip Watson of Pennsylvania.
Vetter’s talk and demonstration, “Award Winning Floral Design,” is at 8:30 a.m. in the Artz Fellowship Hall of First United Methodist Church. Following brunch on Trotter’s lower level, landscape designer Watson presents “Garden Magic: All Things Great and Small.”
“I’m going to show a lot of the big estate gardens I’ve designed but concentrate on the details that have application to big and small gardens — all the bells and whistles that make a garden special,” said Watson, speaking by phone Thursday from Tommy Hilfiger’s greenhouses, which he is refurbishing.
“My firm belief is that the best garden is a garden that reflects the personality of the person who spends their time there,” stressed the landscape designer, who grew up in Lexington and graduated from Mississippi State University in 1976.
Tickets for Friday’s Gardening Symposium and shrimp-and-grits brunch are $20; advance reservation is required.
For Grand Patrons
Fine dining — even complimentary carriage rides — await supporters who purchase an all-inclusive Grand Patron ticket for $150. It admits the holder to everything the Forum has to offer, including the antiques show and two special evening events — a dinner buffet at the CVB building Friday and, on Saturday, a tantalizing Southern buffet of quail, fried oysters and much more at Rosedale, the circa 1856 Italianate home of Gene and Leigh Imes, Carpenter pointed out.
“We already have reservations from visitors coming from Missouri, Atlanta, Nashville and other places to the forum and sale,” Carpenter mentioned. “It’s just a great weekend of fellowship, great food, advice and entertainment — a wonderful opportunity to complete your (antiques) collection or to purchase that perfect Christmas gift.”
The show and sale is held annually for the benefit of the preservation of the Tennessee Williams Home at 300 Main St.
Whether those attending purchase a $5 ticket at Trotter’s door to visit the antique show, or become a grand patron, organizers encourage everyone to pause to appreciate the sacred places in our midst — places of meditation, worship, sanctuary, serenity and history.
“Sometimes we attend or see these churches or places on a daily basis,” said P’Pool, “but we don’t stop and think of how significant they truly are.”
Decorative Arts and Preservation Forum and Antiques Show and Sale
Purchase tickets at the Convention and Visitors Bureau, 117 Third St. S., open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Thursday and until 4 p.m. Friday. Or call 800-920-3533.
Jan Swoope is the Lifestyles Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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