The pretty blue butterfly in front of the Vaughan-Smitherman Museum is called the "Caring" butterfly, because this building once served as a hospital.
Its hospital exhibits depict the mid-20th Century when it served as the Vaughan Memorial Hospital. Prior to those days, it was a mid-19th Century school "for orphans and children of indigent Masons," and later a Confederate hospital, Freedmen's hospital, county courthouse and military school.
The building houses many other exhibits, including a replica of the late Mayor Joe T. Smitherman's office and much of his memorabilia, Confederate-era items, railroad history and military uniforms.
This weekend, the museum will again serve as headquarters for the Selma Historic Pilgrimage. Stop here first for tickets and a tour.
(The butterfly was painted by artist Sally Jordan and sponsored by Vaughan Regional Medical Center.)
To see more photos of this butterfly, visit The Butterfly Project.
5 comments:
That's an impressive building with an even more impressive history! Perfect name for the pretty butterfly.
The history is intriguing because of the wide variety of institutions and people it served. The columns look massive and the style is ?????. A long time ago I would have known but my knowledge is a bit rusty.
What a long and interesting history this building has! It looks beautifully preserved. I really like the columns. The butterfly adds a lovely accent of blue!
Most interesting. Very attractive building and the butterfly is to die for!
Neat! We've got some visitors from Germany coming in later this week. We're planning to take them down to Natchez and Vicksburg to see the old homes.
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