We lucked into a beautiful campsite here. Unfortunately, the bathrooms were over 1/2 mile away, situated outside the camping loops at a higher elevation.
We enjoyed an excellent tour of the Mississippi Industrial Heritage Museum, situated in the Soulé Steam Feed Works in Meridian MS. The company was founded in 1892. George Soulé invented a couple of steam engines and some other automated equipment which was primarily used in sawmills. His factory cast and machined parts then assembled the products. The facility remained pretty much the same until the company closed in 2002. The factory included a foundry with a cupola furnace, a pattern making shop, a machine shop, a blacksmith shop, and a storage and sales area. Much of the machinery was belt driven, powered by a large steam engine. In addition to manufacturing steam engines, the company took on work for other customers including casting manhole covers for many utility companies in the region. After the company closed, a local businessman worked to preserve the facility as a time capsule of early 20th century manufacturing. The tour was excellent!
