Vicksburg's First Bank

Vicksburg's First Bank. . , Planters Bank of Mississippi , Built in 1834 Planters Hall housed Vicksburg's first bank. During early banking in Mississippi, state law required the bank president and his family to live on the second story of the bank. When the bank failed in 1842, the building became a private residence. , Close Call , William McRae, one of Warren County's sheriffs, purchased the house in 1854. During the shelling of the city in 1862, Lucy McRae, described in her diary the day "Papa almost died." Papa was standing in the front bedroom watching the battle between Federal gunboats and Confederate batteries when a shell fragment broke the window, passed through his beard, and imbedded into the wall next to him! , Union Occupation , After the Surrender of Vicksburg on July 4, 1863, many of the local homes were occupied by Union troops during Reconstruction. Planters Hall was used by Union General Elias Smith Dennis for his headquarters. , Another First in Vicksburg , Foot-specific shoes were invented in 1818, but "straight" shoes continued to be the most commonly sold through 1850. In 1884 Phil Gilbert's Shoe Parlor in Vicksburg, Mississippi was the very first merchant to put shoes together in pairs and sell them in boxes! , Lest We Forget , Vicksburg's Memorial Auditorium, built in 1951 in honor of those who fought in World War II and the Korean War, sits just across the street. Beginning in 1957 the Miss Mississippi Pageant was held in this Art Deco building for 40 years. In 1997, the pageant moved to the new and larger Vicksburg Convention Center.