BUILDING HISTORY

In February 1829, Mississippi Governor Gerard Chittocque Brandon would sign into law legislation enacted by the Mississippi state government to facilitate the acquisition of Native American lands, particularly those of the Choctaw, for white settlement. Brandon, the son of an Irish immigrant father and a mother of French descent, grew up in a slave-owning planter family in what was then the Natchez District of Spanish Florida. He was the first native-born Mississippian to become governor and the legislation he signed into law became known as the “Sale of Indian Lands Act”. It authorized the state government to survey and sell lands that were occupied by Native American tribes, including the Choctaw, within the boundaries of the state of Mississippi. This law paved the way for the forced removal of Native American tribes from their ancestral lands and their eventual relocation to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) through treaties such as the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek in 1830. In that same year, the U.S. Congress passed the Indian Removal Act.
Some 55 years later in 1884, the city of Hattiesburg, Mississippi was incorporated in Perry County. Perry County had been established in 1820 and named in honor of Oliver Hazard Perry, a naval commander known for his role in the War of 1812. Also in 1884, in accordance with the provisions of the Act of Congress of April 24, 1820, “an act making further provisions for the sale of the Public Lands,” the 21st President of the United States, Chester A. Arthur, granted “one hundred and sixty acres and seventy hundredths of an acre” to Daniel H. McInnis of Perry County, Mississippi. As part of a broader trend in the southern United States during the early 20th century, Perry County would later be renamed Forrest County in 1908 in honor of Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest.
This is the land on which Prospect On Main now stands today.

The brick building located at 522/524 Main Street in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, also known as the Heidelberg Building in its early days, is historically significant due to the role it played in Hattiesburg commerce over the last 120 years. In 1927, the local newspaper even called it “one of the oldest and best constructed [buildings] in the city.”1 At least partially built before 1902, the Building has housed S. L. Heidelberg Furniture (c.1902-1927), office spaces for various businesses (1927-1931), Scott’s Store (1931-1955), Ben Franklin Store (1955-1972), Southern Fabric (1972), Pandora’s Books (1974), and a variety of law offices, namely that of Judge Eugene Fair (1975-2022). There have been a variety of renovations through the years, and it is worth noting that throughout much of the building’s early history, the section now designated as 524 Main Street was once 526 Main Street.

Seth Lamar (S. L.) Heidelberg came to Hattiesburg around 1895 from Jasper County. The son of Washington Irving Heidelberg, the town of Heidelberg, Mississippi’s namesake, a family story says S. L. came to Hattiesburg after choosing cash, rather than take over his father’s business, in Jasper County. He used that cash to establish S. L. Heidelberg Furniture.2

Seth Lamar Heidelberg purchased Lot 10 on December 26, 1902.3 It should be noted that a general store that was a one-story brick building with a wood frame porch or canopy was located at 136 Main, the current location of 524 Main in 1898. The area that is now 522 Main was an empty lot.4 This building is likely the beginnings of the current Heidelberg Building but it cannot be confirmed. That said, by 1903, a new one-story brick building to the left of the old one, had been erected and is listed as a furniture store at 522 Main, while the store to the right at 526 Main is noted as a clothing store.5 A 1902 Hattiesburg Daily Progress article mentions that Heidelberg “has been in that [furniture] business in this city for many years.” Yet, the first known advertisement for the business was in November 1902 and included the business address as 522 Main Street.6

In September 1903, Thomas P. Crymes, a brick maker and contractor who had recently moved to Hattiesburg, is noted as working on “the job that is being done on the Heidelberg furniture building.”7 Crymes went on to build many structures in Hattiesburg including the Komp Building, Main Street Methodist Church, Camp School, Forrest County Agricultural High School, and many others throughout his career that lasted until his death in 1956.8 However, there is no other information detailing exactly what kind of work Crymes did on the building. In November 1905, Heidelberg purchased Lot 9, the present 522 Main location.9 By 1906, the 522 Main furniture store had a second story added, while 526 was still a one-story clothing store.10 This second story may have been Crymes’ work.

In 1907, Crymes was again “remodeling” the “Heidelberg store” for an estimated total of $6,500.11 While records do not exist explaining the renovations, it is likely that at this time Crymes combined the two buildings and added the second story to the 526 building because by 1910, 522-526 Main was one complete two-story furniture store. A conveyance in ½ interest of a wall was also recorded in March 1907 from K. McInnis to S. L. Heidelberg. The McInnis Building is to the right of 524 Main Street and is still standing today.12

S. L. Heidelberg sold furniture and home furnishings throughout the store’s existence. Around 1916, they also began selling vehicles, specifically Model 490 Chevrolet’s and Studebaker’s. A photograph of a parade of vehicles carrying soldiers on their way to training for Mexican border service shows the storefront at 524 Main with Studebaker and Chevrolet logos.13 At the same time, Heidelberg was very involved in city business activities and organizations such as the Hattiesburg Board of Trade and the Rotary Club throughout his life.14 Sadly, his son 14-year-old Seth L. Heidelberg, Jr., died of injuries sustained in a vehicle accident with a train in 1923.15 Less than a year later, Heidelberg filed for bankruptcy but continued to keep the store open. Yet, by January 1927, he announced his retirement and began selling his furniture stock. By March 11, he had sold his entire stock to the much larger Woodruff Furniture Company also located in Hattiesburg, leaving the building empty for a short time.16

The Heidelberg Building was not empty for long. By May, the Werlein Company, which sold musical instruments had moved in.17 Thus began a long list of tenants for the next three and half years. In September, local attorney Dudley Conner announced the remodeling of the upper floor of the building. Ten “modern” office suites were eventually completed on the top floor while the bottom floor was separated into three sections and leased. Plans called for a main stairway to be constructed in the center of the building from the street. The building was said to be the “well lighted by skylights.” The remodeling work was done by Massengale & McIntosh, plumbing by the Smith Plumbing Company, and lighting completed by the Central Electric Company.18 In late October, Conner began advertising for renters.19

One of the first businesses to lease a space in the Heidelberg Building was the Heidelberg Paint Company, founded by Fred L. Heidelberg.20 Attorney Dudley Conner also reserved a space in the building after it had been renovated.21 Then, there was Doctor S.J. Horne, a veterinarian hired by the Live Stock Board to set up headquarters to eradicate cattle ticks in Forrest County and the twelve counties surrounding it, making Hattiesburg, and the Heidelberg Building, the “hub of the fight.”22 In time, some other entities that operated would include the Mutual Building & Loan Association, the Boy Scouts, Kirkwood Furniture Store, Southern Tile Company, the Sally Ann Beauty Shoppe, the Theodore Bilbo campaign for governor, and many others.23

Things began to change in 1930. Scott Stores, a nationwide corporate chain, signed a 30-year lease on the building in April of that year. All existing tenants had to be out of the building by December 31, 1930.24 Contractors for the remodeling were announced on January 26, 1931 and the store opened on March 25, 1931. All partitions were removed from both the top and bottom floors. A new storefront was created, along with “new flooring …. new store rooms, plumbing, electric wiring, masonry, plastering, tile work, granite work, gas heating system, structural steelwork, cast iron work, counters, shelving, window guards, steel doors, painting, sheet metal work, millwork, copper storefronts, ventilating fans, granite trim, art marble, and ceramic work”.25

Local contractors were awarded nine of the thirteen bids to work on the Scott Store. The general contractor was the Lionel F. Favret Company out of New Orleans. The local sub-contractors included Central Electric Company, Southern Glass & Building Material, E. B. Caperton & Son, W. S. Glenn, Newman Lumber Company, Will-Reese Hardware Company, Art Tile Company, Hub Plumbing & Supply, and painter John G. Barksdale. The other four out-of-town sub-contractors were Lukens Steel Company of New Orleans, Ole K. Alsen of New Orleans, Acme Building & Supply Company of Meridian, and North Star Granite Corporation of St. Cloud, Minnesota.26

Scott’s was a general merchandise store with prices ranging from five cents to one dollar. They sold everything from household furnishings to clothing along with food served at a lunch counter. In 1941, they boasted the “longest counter in Hattiesburg” at 37 seats that had just been installed.27 Scott’s remained at 522 Main Street for twenty-five years, when the sign outside the building was removed and made way for a new chain store, the Ben Franklin Store in March 1955.28

Before the Ben Franklin opened, a new sign, floor, and lighting was installed. Six check-out counters were installed at the doors.29 In 1960, renovations were made again and a bakery department was installed that sold Blue Ribbon Bakery items.30 By 1972, however, the Ben Franklin Store was closed. Southern Fabrics leased the Heidelberg Building for six months after their building was destroyed by a fire.31 They remained there for at least a year when the building was purchased from the heirs of Seth Lamar Heidelberg by Personnel Placement, Inc.32 Personnel Placement had plans to turn the space into a mini-mall but those plans never materialized.33

After Southern Fabrics moved out of the Building, Pandora’s Books was located there for about a year.34 In 1975, it became the Law Office of Rogers, Morris, Fair, & Schlottman, P.A.35 The law office changed partners several times over the next few years. In January 1983, Fairmor Investments, Inc., the successor to Personnel Placement, Inc. deeded their share of the property over to John Alan Morris, Eugene (“Gene”) Fair, and Ann Wilson Morris.36 Later, in September of that same year, the Morrises deeded their share of the property over to Gene Fair.37 Fair made several renovations over the years. The Building’s two recessed store fronts were changed sometime in the 1980s.40 In 1998, Fair worked with local painter and carpenter Donnie Kingery to renovate the storefront once again.41  It remained in his hands until his death in 2020 when his heirs received the property and sold it to 522 Main Street Hattiesburg LLC., the current owner, closing on July 20, 2022.39

With a planned reopening slated for early Fall 2024, the building is currently undergoing its first major renovation in over 45 years and more than likely the most extensive renovation in nearly 100 years. With Rion Snowden of Verb Architecture as Architect, B.W. Sullivan Building Contractor was hired as the General Contractor to oversee an almost complete rebuild of the building (now known as Prospect On Main) from top to bottom, inside and out. The work being performed includes asbestos abatement (Abatement Contractors of Mississippi), the installation of all new heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems & plumbing infrastructure (American Air Specialists), all new electrical wiring (Perry Doleac Electric), sound and internet infrastructure (AVS), a new roof (Specialty Roof Service), a solar panel system (Mississippi Solar), new stairwells (Dews Foundry), extensive millwork (Dunkley’s Cabinets), tile work (Anderson Retail), glass work throughout (Mid-South Glass), interior & exterior painting (Kevin Crosby), insulation (Statewide Insulation Co.), refurbished original heart pine flooring (Bullock Hardwood Floors), extensive masonry work (Gulf Coast Plastering), structurally engineered upgrades to the stability of the entire building with added fire-rating in accordance with all modern-day building codes (B.W. Sullivan), and a reimagining of the facade in-line with some of the earliest historical records known of the building (various).

While it was deemed essential to research the history of the building and the historical construction and uses of the building to inform the remodeling, the newly created Prospect On Main is a reimagining of the space as a multi-use building filled with tenants and businesses who have a shared interest in breathing new life into not only the building itself but into Downtown Hattiesburg for the benefit of all of Hattiesburg. While the Building has changed significantly over the last 120 years, it has remained a staple in Downtown Hattiesburg and it is hoped it will remain so for at least another 120 years.

_______________________________________________________________

1“10 Office Suites in Heidelberg Building Nearing Completion”, Hattiesburg American (Hattiesburg, MS), 22 October 1927.

2Dan Hawkins Heidelberg and Jane Becker Heidelberg, “Heidelberg, Seth Lamar and Mattie Belle Hawkins” in The History of Forrest County, Mississippi (Hattiesburg, MS: Hattiesburg Area Historical Society, 2000), 269.

3Deed, Mrs. L. Welch & Mrs. L. Ellison to S. L. Heidelberg (Lot 10), Book N, Page 471, 6 December 1901.

4“Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps”, Sanborn Map Company. Hattiesburg, Forrest, Mississippi, April 1898.

5“Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps”, Sanborn Map Company. Hattiesburg, Forrest, Mississippi, April 1903.

6It should be noted that the ad says, “S. E. Heidelberg”. However, this is likely a printing error because an article also from that date says the ad in “today’s” paper is for “S. L. Heidelberg”; “Furniture”, “S. L. Heidelberg”, Hattiesburg Daily Progress (Hattiesburg, MS), 11 November 1902.

7“The job that is being done….”, Hattiesburg Daily Progress (Hattiesburg, MS), 8 Sept 1903.

8“Funeral Rites are Held for T. P. Crymes”, Hattiesburg American (Hattiesburg, MS), 5 January 1956.

9Deed, D. Emmett McInnis to S. L. Heidelberg (Lot 9), Book, W, Page 40, 11 November 1905.

10“Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps”, Sanborn Map Company. Hattiesburg, Forrest, Mississippi, October 1906.

11“Hattiesburg Improvements”, Hattiesburg Daily News (Hattiesburg, MS), 14 July 1907.

12Conveyance, K. McInnis to S. L. Heidelberg, Book A1, Page 126, 20 March 1907.

13“When The Boys Went Off to the Border”, Hattiesburg American (Hattiesburg, MS), 5 May 1942.

14“The Charter of Incorporation for the Hattiesburg Board of Trade”, Hattiesburg Daily News (Hattiesburg, MS), 1 Aug 1902. “Rotarians are Backing White for Governor”, Hattiesburg American (Hattiesburg, MS), 19 April 1927.

15“Train Hits Auto”, Hattiesburg American (Hattiesburg, MS), 24 May 1923.

16“Voluntary petition in bankruptcy”, Hattiesburg American (Hattiesburg, MS), 1 March 1924. “Heidelberg to Quit Business in Furniture”, Hattiesburg American (Hattiesburg, MS), 7 January 1927. “Heidelberg Stock is Purchased by Woodruff Firm”, Hattiesburg American (Hattiesburg, MS), 11 March 1927.

17“Werlein Well Pleased with Hub Business”, Hattiesburg American (Hattiesburg, MS), 11 May 1927.

18“Start Remodeling of Upper Floor of the Heidelberg Building”, Hattiesburg American (Hattiesburg, MS), 15 Sept 1927. 19“10 Office Suites in Heidelberg Building Nearing Completion”, Hattiesburg American (Hattiesburg, MS), 22 Oct 1927.

20“Offices for Rent in the Heidelberg Building”, Hattiesburg American (Hattiesburg, MS), 22 Oct 1927.

21“Will Open Paint Store in the Hub”, Hattiesburg American (Hattiesburg, MS), 22 Sept 1927.

221929 Hattiesburg City Directory, page 305.

23“The Hub of the Fight”, Hattiesburg American (Hattiesburg, MS), 6 February 1929.

241929 Hattiesburg City Directory, page 305. “Scout Executive Locates Office on Main Street”, Hattiesburg American (Hattiesburg, MS), 9 Dec 1927. “Tile Concern Opens Branch Office Here”, Hattiesburg American (Hattiesburg, MS), 19 April 1928. “New Beauty Parlor Will Be Opened in Heidelberg Building”, Hattiesburg American (Hattiesburg, MS), 1 June 1928. “Notice”, Hattiesburg American (Hattiesburg, MS), 5 July 1927.

25“Scott Stores Lease Main Street Site”, Hattiesburg American (Hattiesburg, MS), 11 April 1930. “Large Building in City Leased”, Hattiesburg American (Hattiesburg, MS), 14 November 1930.

26“Work on Store to Start Soon”, Hattiesburg American (Hattiesburg, MS), 15 January 1931. “Scott Store Opening Here Friday,” Hattiesburg American (Hattiesburg, MS), 25 March 1931.

27“Concerns Here Gets Contracts”, Hattiesburg American (Hattiesburg, MS), 26 January 1931.

28“Luncheonette”, Hattiesburg American (Hattiesburg, MS), 5 April 1941.

29“Scott Store Changing Over to New Chain”, Hattiesburg American (Hattiesburg, MS), 1 March 1955.

30“Ben Franklin Store Opens Friday”, Hattiesburg American (Hattiesburg, MS), 24 March 1955.

31“We’re Not Closed”, Hattiesburg American (Hattiesburg, MS), 25 March 1960; “Taste The Difference”, Hattiesburg American (Hattiesburg, MS), 26 May 1960.

32“Kroger Family Center Here to Be Closed”, Hattiesburg American (Hattiesburg, MS), 21 Sept 1972.

33Warranty Deed, Dan H. Heidelberg and Bessie H. Slaughter to Personnel Placement, Inc. Book 376, Page 390, 21 April 1973.

34“Explains What’s to Be Done with Building”, Hattiesburg American (Hattiesburg, MS), 18 May 1973; “8-Shop Mini Mall Planned Downtown”, Hattiesburg American (Hattiesburg, MS) 29 May 1973.

35“Formal Opening of Pandora’s Books Uptown Begins Wednesday”, Hattiesburg American (Hattiesburg, MS), 3 Dec 1974; “While Away Summer Hours with Reading Material From Pandora’s”, Hattiesburg American (Hattiesburg, MS), 25 July 1975.

36“Rogers, Morris, Fair & Schlottman, P.A.”, Hattiesburg American (Hattiesburg, MS) 3 Sept 1975.

37Warranty Deed, Fairmor Investments to John Alan Morris, Eugene L. Fair, and Ann Wilson Morris, Book 529, Page 311, 6 January 1983.

38Assumption Warranty Deed, John Alan Morris and Ann Wilson Morris to Eugene L. Fair, Book 530, Page 349, 20 Sept 1983.

39Executrixes Deed, Melissa Fair Wellons and Julia Myrick, Executrixes to Melissa Fair Wellons and Julia Fair Myrick, Book 1399, Page 266, 26 November 1984; Warranty Deed, Melissa Fair Wellons and Julia Myrick to 522 Main Street Hattiesburg, LLC, Book 1399, Page 271, 21 July 2022.

40Photograph, 500 Block of Main Street, South Side, Looking West, Hub City Historic District, Jody Cook, Mississippi Department of Archives and History; Photograph, Front Facade of 522 Main Prior to Current Facade, Photographer Unknown.

41“Sprucing Up”, Hattiesburg American (Hattiesburg, MS), 19 November 1997.