COLUMBUS-LOWNDES PUBLIC LIBRARY
Columbus, MS
The Local History Department was created in the Columbus-Lowndes Public Library in the 1970s and expanded upon in 1992 as a result of a donation from the Snowdoun Foundation. The Department is charged with the mission of documenting the history and culture of Columbus and Lowndes County.
The CLPL digital collection contains selections from archival collections located in the Billups-Garth Archives within the Local History Department.
Type of Institution: Public Library
Partner since: 2011
Website: Columbus-Lowndes Public Library
Contact: Call (662) 329-5300
Address: Columbus-Lowndes Public Library
314 7th St N, Columbus, MS 39701
Explore Columbus-Lowndes Public Library Collections
Manuscript Collections
Columbus-Lowndes Public Library System Collection (MS 220)
Materials on the history of the public library system in Lowndes County, MS.
Cyrus Green Diary, 1866 (MS 160)
70-page transcription of the 1866 Cyrus Green Diary. Cyrus Green (1836-1914), originally from Indiana, taught in Columbus, MS from February to June of 1866 in the Freedmen’s Bureau schools after the American Civil War.
George Young Banks Plantation Journals, 1924-1937 (MS 313)
Eight plantation journals belonging to George Young Banks, 1871-1949, and one journal belonging to Cary Hartwell Cocke, 1877-1962. All journals relate to tenant farming, sharecropping, and agricultural operations in the Lowndes County, MS prairie covering 1924-1937.
Eugenia (Genie) R. Morgan (MS 455)
79-letter collection written primarily from Eugenia “Genie” R. Morgan (1873-1894) of Columbus, MS to her second cousin William Jemison Prowell, Jr. (1872-1950) in Birmingham, AL from 1889-1890 discussing their courtship. Originals and transcriptions.
In 1972, Ezra Baker, Jr. (b. 1944) and fellow Stephen D. Lee High School teachers Frank Allen Yates and Willie James Conard, sued Columbus Municipal School District for wrongful termination and civil rights violations. They won.
Ira C. Lanier, Jr. Papers, 2005-2023 (MS 477)
The Digitized portion of the collection includes a 121-page history titled “R. E. Hunt Junior-High School” written by Ira C. LaNier in 2023.
Joseph C. Prowell, Jr. Plantation Records, 1927-1939 (MS 476)
One plantation journal (1927-1939), one plantation store receipt booklet (1938-1939), and seven sharecropping contracts (1935) from Joseph Caldwell Prowell, Jr.’s Plantation in Lowndes County, MS.
Dr. Robert E. Hunt (1897-1978) was an educator and principal during segregation at Columbus African American schools Union Academy and R.E. Hunt High School.
Mary A. McClure Hutchinson Martin (MS 459)
Correspondence, documents, and photographs relating to Displaced Persons in Europe following WWII and Columbus resident Mary A. McClure Hutchinson Martin dating 1949-1951.
Morton Family Plantation Record Book, 1861-1904 (MS 473)
One 124-page plantation journal from both Whitfield Morton (1834-1862) and Martha “Matt” Elizabeth Morton (1828-1904) dating from 1861-1904. Includes information on enslaved persons.
Lowndes County Records
Government Records
Apprenticeship of Freedmen Records, 1866-1870
City of Columbus, MS Charter, 1884
Immigration Records, 1856-1931
Columbus City Minute Books, 1839-1906
School Records
Catalpa School Register, 1933-1934
Lowndes County School Board, 1870-1875
R. E. Hunt High School, 1951-2023
Photography
Marion Stark Gaines Photographs (MS 323)
Marion Viola Stark Gaines (1850-1942) is Mississippi's earliest published female photographer. From both State Line, MS and Mobile, AL, she captured not only her family, but rural life and minority communities as well. Dates cover the 1890s-1910s.
Carl Brown Photographs (MS 457)
Carl Eugene Brown (1918-1998) owned a photography studio in Columbus, MS from the 1940s-1980s. He specialized in portrait, commercial, and advertising, producing over 20,000 negatives. Collection holds 1,570 negatives from the 1940s-50s. Visit: https://carlbrownphotos40s50s.wordpress.com.
Postcards and Publications
Centennial 1921 - Columbus, Mississippi
Collection of documents, photographs and other resources showcasing the centennial celebration of Columbus, MS held October 17-22, 1921.
Lowndes County Postcards (MS 232)
Over 360 postcards of different businesses, schools, public buildings, homes, churches, events, and locations around Lowndes County, MS from the 1890s to 1990s.
Columbus Commercial Magazine Edition, 1903
Columbus Commercial newspaper special edition to highlight the area’s business and social opportunities, capturing technological changes occurring in Columbus, Mississippi during the Second Industrial Revolution.
School Annuals
Golden Triangle Vocational-Technical Center
Robert E. Hunt Junior High School
Robert S. Caldwell Senior High School
Scrapbooks
Hattie Eugenia McCreevey, 1917 (MS 466)
Franklin Academy student experience.
Laura Lipscomb Beard, 1932-1971 (MS 470)
Franklin Academy teacher and principal experience.
Sarah Elizabeth Fant Poindexter, 1917 (MS 467)
Franklin Academy student experience.
World War I, 1917-1921 (MS 111)
War activities both at home and abroad documented in photographs, newspaper clippings, and letters of servicemen and women. Compiled by Bernard Romans Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Wylie Coleman Banks, 1911-1913 (MS 435)
Wylie Coleman Banks (1896-1963) grew up in Columbus, MS, served in the US Marine Corps, and practiced law. During his childhood, Banks compiled images of family, pets, and the local community.
Secondary Sources
These materials are presented online for educational purposes only. Images may contain copyrighted material. Use of these materials on websites, in exhibits, or in publications requires the permission of Columbus-Lowndes Public Library and/or the legal copyright holder. The user bears full responsibility for securing any and all appropriate permissions. Please contact Columbus-Lowndes Public Library for further information.