Stonewall to honor its heritage at Come Home to Stonewall Day'
By By Penny Randall / staff writer
Oct. 15, 2004
The Stonewall Historical Society will host "Come Home to Stonewall Day" at the town's Old Mill Park beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday.
Activities will include live music, food, games, arts and crafts and a Confederate encampment.
A special part of the day will include the dedication of a gazebo. The gazebo was once part of the mill property; it has been returned to its former location in the park and will be dedicated to all former mill workers.
Much of the history of Stonewall is centered around the town's manufacturing plant. In 1867, shortly after the end of the Civil War, three Noxubee County men ventured south in search of land to build a textile mill.
This was an attempt to bring textile manufacturing to the region where cotton was being grown.
Land south of Enterprise was pinpointed as a possible site for a mill and in 1868 the Stonewall Manufacturing Co. was established. Shortly after, the town was established and named after the legendary Confederate Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson.
The company built not only a textile mill, but houses for the workers, a theater and a company store where items from live chickens to caskets could be purchased.
The mill was in continuous operation from its establishment in 1868 to its closing in March 2002. Since that date, the old mill some portions dating back to the late 1800s has sat empty.
Weeds and vines began to take over the once-bustling building.
On a drive through Stonewall, Meridian businessman Gil Carmichael was stuck by the beauty and potential of an adjacent house to the old mill property. Listed on the National Registry of Historic Places, the house was built in the early 1900s as a dwelling for the mill's second-in-command.
Carmichael purchased the house with plans to restore it and open it as a bed and breakfast. He has named the home, The Stonewall House. It also will be open for viewing on Saturday during the event.
Carmichael then formed a partnership with Tom Sebring and purchased the entire "old mill" property. Parts of the mill will be torn down, but some of the buildings are being restored and maintained as historic sites.
The old office building is the one currently be restored.
With encouragement from Carmichael, a group of Stonewall citizens formed the Stonewall Historical Society. Their goal is to "preserve and maintain the uniqueness of the town."
