The Masonic Lodge was later used for the movie theater and then for an ice cream shop and barber shop. The foundation footing is all that remains. It can be seen along the north side of the City Parking lot located behind the Merchant and Planters drive-thru bank. A local citizen, Marvin Oberhausen, remembers when Mr. Standifer ran the movie theater. When Marvin was a boy, Mr. Standifer would let the boys in for free if they brought their BB guns. When the movie was over, the lights would go off. In a little bit, the lights would go on again and the boys would use their BB guns to shoot the rats that had come out in the darkened theater.

The Station was operated by Lamar “Sonny” Kelly in the early 1960’s on the site of the former Gibbs and Harper Buildings. After the demise of the Gibbs and Harper Buildings, Lamar Life Insurance acquired the property. Standard Oil Company purchased the property from Lamar Life in 1940. It appears that Lamar Kelly was a franchise holder of Standard Oil Company (now Chevron) until he purchased the property in July of 1987. Merchants and Planters Bank has since purchased the property and opened a drive-thru banking facility in the old station.

The beautiful brick Gibbs and Harper Buildings were built after the fire of 1858. A 1902 Raymond Gazette article states the foundations were laid in 1858, completed two years later. The contractors were the Weldon Brothers who also built the Hinds County Courthouse across the street during this same time period. From early photographs, it appears the Harper Building (on the right) was destroyed (it is said by fire) and left the Gibbs Building (on the corner) to survive for a few more years.

The Grocery store was located in a building owned by the Standard Oil Company. It was next door to the Gibbs Building on the site of the no longer existing Harper Building. The business was purchased from Hugh and Laura Brent who moved across the Square. Madge and Dan Tabb operated this grocery from late 1940’s until Dan’s untimely death in 1965. Both WWII veterans, Army Air Corps and WAVES, they settled in Raymond in 1947 where they had long standing family ties.

Gaddis & McLauren Store, “located smack dab in the center of downtown Bolton” was founded in 1871 by Dr. John Gaddis and George C. McLaurin. The store has been in continuous operation since that time and the ownership and management has remained in the family. Its primary purpose was to supply local sharecroppers with their needs. With changing times, the store has a more modern general-purpose shopping venue while maintaining all the charm of a country store.

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Originally a two-story building, it
was known as the Price and Gillespie Building. It was renamed the Gillespie and Adams Building when James Hermon (Vap) Adams joined Judge Gillespie’s practice. Judge Gillespie served one term as Mayor of Raymond. James Hermon Adams was Mayor of Raymond 1950-1978.

The safe was made by Mosler Safe Company of Hamilton, Ohio for Merchants and Planters Bank of Raymond and shipped September 24, 1903. This was three years before the bank was chartered and the reason for its early delivery remains a mystery to this day. It weighed in at approximately 2325 pounds. Eventually the safe made its way from its location in the original bank building to where it is displayed today in the lobby of M&P Bank. It was restored by Michael Hataway.

The bank was chartered in 1906 by Mr. J. L. Gaddis, Sr. and local business men with an interest in creating a locally owned and operated bank to serve their community. Merchants and Planters Bank (M&P) was one of a few banks that did not close during the Depression. The original bank was located on W. Main Street in the same block as its present location on the corner of Town Square and W. Main. In 1981 the bank was remodeled and expanded. Following an extensive renovation twenty-five years later, M&P Bank celebrated its One Hundred Year Anniversary and Ribbon Cutting April 22, 2006.

The Raymond Consolidated School (RCS) was a two-story frame building built in 1917. It served Raymond, Learned/Lebanon, Midway, Palestine and the Dry Grove areas of Hinds County. Grades one through six met in the RCS while grades seven through nine met in a small one story building next door. Oliver Shearer (1931-2023) attended Raymond RCS as a small boy and writes in his My Memories of Raymond that the RCS building burned when he was in the second grade. The present building and auditorium were quoted as being built in 1939. The RCS was located on the site of the present Raymond Elementary School/Carver Middle School.

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The present Courthouse, constructed in the Greek Revival architectural style by brothers George and Thomas Weldon, was built of brick covered with scored stucco. The columns were formed from curved brick hand-made on the site. A notable feature of the building is the fire protection system installed by the builders…sand was layered between the floors to extinguish a fire that might break out on the lower floor. Following the Battle of Raymond on May 12, 1863, it was used as a hospital for wounded soldiers. It is believed that the long table located in the Jury Room was used as an operating table for doctors treating the wounded. Raymond is the seat of the Second Judicial District of Hinds County.

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The water tank on the square was erected on the site of the first Hinds County Courthouse. (see #28) The first Courthouse was demolished when the “new” Courthouse was built. The tank has been a visual landmark and reference point for citizens of Raymond since it was built in 1905 by the Chicago Bridge and Iron Company. It is a riveted steel tank with a hemispherical bottom. The tank is important architecturally because others of its kind are being steadily removed from small town and city centers. The crossing of Main Street and Port Gibson Street at the water tank is a clear example of how an important town structure is experienced both day-to-day as part of a person’s ordinary practical life as well as being remembered in a more eventful, symbolic way. Mississippi Landmark status was awarded by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History on October 8, 2003. Mississippi Landmark designation is the highest form of recognition bestowed on properties by the State of Mississippi. It offers the fullest protection against changes that might alter a property’s historic character. Mississippi Heritage Trust named Historic Water Towers Statewide to its 2019 Ten Most Endangered Historic Places in Mississippi.

Around 1980, Donnie Baggett, as the owner of the Depot at the time, purchased the old caboose that had been retired from Illinois Central Railroad. At the time, the rail lines were still in place and Donnie’s Illinois Central Gulf Caboose, #199835, was delivered to him by train and set on a rail spur where it remains today.

The building was purchased by Mrs. N. E. Oberhousen in 1933. It was operated as Oberhousen Café for several years. Mrs. Carrie French bought the property and passed it on to her daughter, Lillian Boteler. Lillian’s husband opened an ice cream store in the small space attached to the side of the building. When Mrs. Boteler’s last tenant left the building, she installed a single hip roof over the two structures. The building is now the office of a surveying and engineering firm.

This little space was added onto the side of Oberhousen Café after the café was acquired by Mrs. Lillian Boteler. It was Mrs. French’s and “Skin” Boteler’s ice cream shop. There was a sliding glass window on the side and a single front door for walk in customers. No seating was provided in the space.

In September 1917 Hinds County Agricultural High School opened in Raymond. The original buildings consisted of an Administration Building, two dormitories, a dairy barn, eight faculty and 117 students. In the fall of 1926, a new Administration and Auditorium Building was built on campus. It was later named Cain Hall. Cain Hall burned in 1998. It was replaced by Cain Cochran Performance Hall on the same site.