Mayor Laurence Leyens stands near a house at 911 Farmer St. in the Historic District that the county government had scheduled for demolition. Leyens said the county did not have proper permits to demolish the building. (Melanie Duncan ThortisThe Vicksburg Post)

[8/27/03]Vicksburg put the brakes Tuesday on Warren County plans to level a home in the historic district to add a parking lot, insisting its permit process must be followed.

Supervisors responded that they were aware of the process and would continue to follow it.

Standing tall at 911 Farmer St., the former home of a cotton buyer when cotton was king received a reprieve of at least six months under a city order issued Tuesday.

In November 2001, supervisors bought an adjacent, one-story office-type building at 921 Farmer, and justice court operations moved there about a year ago.

Supervisors bought the home next door in May for $50,000 and approved advertising for demolition bids last week.

“The county should have to follow the rules of this community,” Mayor Laurence Leyens said before a stay was ordered by the city’s Board of Architectural Review. “They need to follow the same rules everybody else has to follow.”

Plaster had already been stripped from the walls on the first floor, but the two-story home appeared structurally sound. It had been occupied until June.

Remnants from the last residents including a 20-year-old edition of this newspaper, some jewelry, a picture, posters, television sets and furniture were strewn along the floors. Clothing blanketed the floor of the entire attic of the nearly 3,000-square-foot structure and was piled nearly 2 feet high in some parts.

Richard George, District 5 supervisor and president of the Warren County board, said Tuesday that county officials never intended to bypass the city requirements and had planned all along to seek the necessary permits.

Asbestos had been removed by contractors hired by the county, which involved removing plaster from ground-floor walls, baseboards and moldings. Front doors to the home were taken down.

In addition to the stay of demolition for 180 days, the county was encouraged to pursue people who may be interested in having the house moved, as has been done with other significant homes.

“If these people are interested in having that house moved, that’s quite all right with us,” George said. “If an interested party can afford to properly handle the project, that could be beneficial to all parties involved.”

Nancy Bell, executive director for the Vicksburg Foundation for Historic Preservation, said the house was built between 1908 and 1911 by Bernard E. Feld, a cotton buyer. In 1914, she said, city directories indicate Feld’s son, Bernard D. Feld, and his wife, Suzie, occupied the home. The younger Feld was a manager at P.H. Feld Cotton Company.

The new justice court building and the Feld residence are two blocks from the Warren County Courthouse.

Supervisors bought the justice court building for $142,500 and spent $40,428 on renovations. It has parking, as did the former justice court building at 1019 Adams, but apparently not enough.