House Bill 1790

AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF LEFLORE COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI, TO DESIGNATE CERTAIN AREAS OF THE COUNTY AS HERITAGE SITES; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. The Board of Supervisors of Leflore County, in its discretion, may designate the following areas within Leflore County as heritage sites: Black Site in Greenwood, Black Site #2 in Sidon, Falls Site in Minter City, Lane's Chapel Site in Money, McLean Site in Itta Bena, Murphy Site in Itta Bena, Neill Archeological Site in Whaley, Rebecca Site in Sidon, Stratton Archeological Site in Sidon, Stratton Site #2 in Sidon, Sweethome Mound in Wakeland, Whaley Archeological Site in Whaley, Grand Boulevard Subdivision Historic District, Central Commercial and Railroad Historic District, Cotton Row Historic District, Four Corners Historic District, River Road and Western Downtown, Residential Historic District, Wesley Methodist Church Historic District, Williams Landing and Easter Downtown Residential Historic District in Greenwood, Malmaison Wildlife Refuge, Cottonlandia Museum, Robert Johnson Memorial, which is between Itta Bena and Morgan City; Robert Johnson's Tombstone in Quito, Lusco's, St. James Cemetery, Money, Mississippi; Browning, Mississippi; Brooks Farming Community which borders Leflore and Sunflower Counties; Alluvian Hotel and Mississippi Valley State University in Itta Bena.

SECTION 2. The purpose of the designations, as described in Section 1 of this act, are to:

(a) Forge public and private partnerships that result in creative coalitions aimed toward conserving and preserving the intrinsic values contained within the Leflore County area that is rich in heritage, culture, recreation, historic and natural resources;

(b) Establish central coordination of efforts that bring together local, state and federal governments, directly or indirectly, in designing, establishing and maintaining physical, educational and social structures that support tourism enterprises, repositories of culture and interpretive centers that promote the Delta's heritage and cultural assets;

(c) Develop collective approaches to increasing public awareness of and appreciation for the historic, scenic, natural, and cultural resources and sites in the trace area;

(d) Create incentives for the coming together of private and nonprofit cultural organizations dedicated to the restoration of any historic building or structure and of any damaged or impaired natural systems or features in the trace area;

(e) Identify and utilize educational institutions that serve as repositories for ethnic and African-American history and culture, the Civil Rights struggle, post-Civil War maroon communities, Rosenwald schools and the Delta region's early pioneers to current history makers; and

(f) Encourage, by appropriate means, enhanced economic development of Leflore County that is consistent with the goals of community and regional development.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2005.