Carr Central, which in 2012 received a new lease on life when it was purchased by Houston-based Brownstone and developed into a low-income apartment complex, has become a designated state historic landmark in Vicksburg.
Saturday morning, as more than 100 alumni of the former Carr Central High School looked on, a state historic marker was unveiled on the building’s front lawn facing Cherry Street.
It was the result of a two-year effort by two alums, George Cronier, class of 1944, and David Speyerer, class of 1948.
And it all began with a public hearing in 2012.
“I read in the paper there was going to be a public hearing on the Carr Central apartment complex,” Cronier said. “During the hearing, they said they were going to call it the Oak Village Apartments.”
He said he talked with Brownstone vice president Jeremy Mears about the name, and was told “they had to keep that name until the application (for tax credits) was approved or disapproved.”
When the project was approved, Cronier said, Mears told him the complex would retain the Carr Central name.
Cronier and Speyerer began working on getting the plaque, talking to the Mississippi Department of Archives and History and filling out the application for landmark status. The $2,500 for the plaque was paid through contributions from the school’s alumni.
Speyerer said attending Carr in the late 40s “was like (the 70s television show) ‘Happy Days,’ but it was a different time then.”
He pointed to a second floor window on the building’s south side.
“The superintendent of schools had his office right there,” he said. “He ran the Warren County School System from that little office with two secretaries. Now they have that whole complex of buildings (on Mission 66).”
“We had the best school system in the State of Mississippi,” Cronier said. “We had great teachers and good leadership. The principal was C. B. Wilson and he used a firm hand. He ran the school.”
Built in 1924 and named for John P. Carr, the superintendent of Vicksburg schools at the time, Carr Central was a high school from 1932 to 1959, when it became a junior high school. The school was closed in 1979, and the building went through several owners before Brownstone bought it in April of 2012. During that time, the building fell into disrepair and was occasionally occupied by homeless people looking for a place to escape the weather.
Speyerer said he was pleased with the new building, adding the alums also got a chance to tour the building in its new form.
“The company and the architects have done a wonderful job with it,” he said. “It’s really first rate.”
“They did a magnificent job,” Cronier said. “And the Brownstone people have been very helpful with our efforts to get this plaque.”
He looked over the building.
“You know, this was one of the prettiest school buildings in the state.”