Pontotoc in Pontotoc County, Mississippi — The American South (East South Central)

United States Post Office

Pontotoc, Mississippi

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, September 18, 2024

1. United States Post Office Marker

Inscription. This property has been
placed on the
National Register
of Historic Places
by the United States
Department of the Interior

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Arts, Letters, Music • Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Notable Buildings. In addition, it is included in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) projects series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1936.

Location. 34° 14.824′ N, 88° 59.925′ W. Marker is in Pontotoc, Mississippi, in Pontotoc County. It is at the intersection of South Main Street and West Washington Street, on the left when traveling north on South Main Street. The marker is mounted at eye-level near the northeast corner of the subject building, facing South Main Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 59 South Main Street, Pontotoc MS 38863, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the North Mississippi Hills. It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Deep South.

Globally, it is in North

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America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Pontotoc County Memorial Monument (within shouting distance of this marker); Pontotoc County Confederate Monument (within shouting distance of this marker); Pontotoc Creek Treaty (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Pierre D'Artaguiette (about 300 feet away); Pontotoc County Blues (about 300 feet away); Pontotoc Electric Power Association (about 600 feet away); Chickasaw Female College (approx. 0.4 miles away); Jim Weatherly (approx. 0.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Pontotoc.

Regarding United States Post Office. Contributing property, Pontotoc Historic District, National Register of Historic Places № 93001164.

From the National Register Nomination prepared by Todd Sanders and Richard Cawthon, Mississippi Department of Archives and History,
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, September 18, 2024

2. Pontotoc Post Office (northeast elevation)
The marker is mounted above the cornerstone, near the northeast [right] corner of the building.
7/20/1993:
One-story, hipped-roof, brick, Colonial Revival post office building constructed in 1936. Central double-leaf aluminum and glass doors surrounded by a stone architrave with dentil molding in the cornice. Two 12/12 DH windows with flat arches flank each side of the entrance. There is a stone water table and cornice with dentil molding. Brick quoins at corners. Granite steps lead up to entrance.
The U.S. Post Office in Pontotoc was erected in 1936 and is a representative example of Depression era Colonial Revival federal government architecture. The building's most notable feature is a mural installed about 1939 as a part of the Department of Treasury's Fine Arts Program. This mural depicts a Christmas Feast given in 1540 by Spanish explorer Hernando DeSoto to honor the first recorded Christian marriage in North America which took place near Pontotoc. The mural was painted for the post office by Joseph Pollet.

Also see . . .
1. Town Square Post Office and Museum (Wikipedia).

Excerpt: The Town Square Museum is located in the historic US post office near the county courthouse. This space is used to house and
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, September 18, 2024

3. Pontotoc Post Office Lobby
The mural is at the south end of the post office lobby, over the original postmaster’s office.
display Pontotoc memorabilia. A full-service post office continues to operate in the building, which was built in 1937 during the Great Depression. It was one of numerous projects of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) under President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Investment in this program created work opportunities in construction of needed public buildings and infrastructure across the country, employing thousands of workers.

(Submitted on October 22, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

2. The Wedding of Ortez and SaOwana Christmas, — 1540.

Excerpt: The area now known as Pontotoc, Mississippi, was occupied by the Chickasaw people before the arrival of Europeans. The first reported contact with Europeans occurred in the winter of 1540, when the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto and his company arrived in the area and spent the winter in an abandoned Chickasaw village.
Joseph Pollet’s mural refers to that first encounter of the Chickasaw with Europeans during the de Soto expedition. However, the scene depicted is that of a wedding between a Spanish translator on the expedition, Juan Ortiz (misspelled
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, September 18, 2024

4. The Wedding of Ortez and Saowana — Christmas, 1540
From Wikipedia: The mural was painted in 1939 by artist Joseph Pollet, who had immigrated to the US as a child with his family from Germany. He was commissioned under the arts program that was also part of the federal WPA program. Many artists and writers were employed by such projects, in addition to the workers who built federal buildings. Many murals and other art were created for post offices and other public buildings.
in the mural title as Ortez), and an Indian “princess” who was not a Chickasaw. She was said to have followed them out of Florida and to have been the daughter of a cacique (chief) there.

(Submitted on October 22, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Pontotoc Post Office Cornerstone image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, September 18, 2024

5. Pontotoc Post Office Cornerstone

Henry Morgenthau JR
Secretary of the Treasury
James A Farley
Postmaster General
Louis A Simon
Supervising Architect
Neal A Melick
Supervising Engineer
1936

Vintage Mail Boxes inside the Post Office image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, September 18, 2024

6. Vintage Mail Boxes inside the Post Office

United States Post Office, Pontotoc, Mississippi (<i>east/front elevation</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, September 18, 2024

7. United States Post Office, Pontotoc, Mississippi (east/front elevation)

Credits. This page was last revised on October 22, 2024. It was originally submitted on October 21, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 222 times since then and 36 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. submitted on October 22, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.