VICKSBURG, MS. – Residents and onlookers in downtown Vicksburg today saw a piece of the city’s history: one of the trolley cars that carried residents and visitors alike through the city over one hundred years ago, transported to it’s new home outside the Old Depot Museum.
The trolley car, which was purchased by prominent local attorney Emmett Ward, was converted into a kitchen for his Long Lake Hunting Club, founded in 1908. When it was originally installed, the car and surrounding clubhouse were set eight feet off the ground. After the 1973 flood, it was raised another eight feet. The car remained in remarkably good condition, having been protected from the elements high among the trees and surrounded by the rest of the clubhouse.
Photo by David Day
In 2020, Long Lake Hunting Club members, including Don Miller, contracted Paul Lynn Construction for the daunting task of removing the trolley from its 16 foot perch. The crew worked all day to dislodge the streetcar from the rest of the clubhouse and lower it safely to the ground. Since it’s removal, the car has been stored at the old Blackburn building.
The Vicksburg Electric Street Railway opened the first line of eight miles of streetcar track in Vicksburg on April 24, 1899. Electric trolley cars continued to serve Vicksburg under a succession of companies until 1939, when streetcars were replaced with busses for public transit. At the height of the streetcar era, Vicksburg had 12 miles of track serving as many as 22 trolleys.
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