By 1884, Artesia was a boomtown. It sat on the M&O Railroad and was a busy center for business. Mississippi was a bit of a wild frontier in many ways, and Artesia embraced that image fully. It was known for all its saloons and the blind eye the town fathers appeared to turn to the rules of Prohibition. The Prohibition Presidential Platform was ignored, and the Anti-Saloon League and the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union were not active or remotely influential in the town. Artesia was riding high on the coattails of the World’s Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition in New Orleans and the prosperity of the price of cotton. Cash began to flow again after a post-Reconstruction depression, and the businesses in Artesia benefited. Beyond the gin and the cotton warehouses, the town had saloons, restaurants, and businesses on a busy main street.

While the town had grown affluent, whites were worried as they were outnumbered by their Black neighbors, whom they distrusted.

 Jake Doss was an African American living in the Black Belt prairie about six miles from Artesia, Mississippi. Doss and his wife, Anne, were listed as sharing a household with their three children in the Lowndes County, 1880 Census. Doss is listed as roughly 27 years old with three children living at home with him and his wife.

In the heart of Columbus, Mississippi, stands a testament to the grandeur and complexity of antebellum architecture. The Colonnade, built circa 1860, offers a unique glimpse into the rich tapestry of Southern history and architectural innovation. This magnificent structure serves as a living museum, bridging the gap between the Old South and the present day, inviting visitors to step back in time and experience the opulence and craftsmanship of a bygone era.

The story of The Colonnade begins with William T. Baldwin, a Georgia planter who saw opportunity in the fertile Black Belt Prairie along the Tombigbee River in Lowndes County, Mississippi. Baldwin, drawn by the promise of rich farmland ideal for cotton cultivation, constructed this magnificent home in 1860, marking the twilight of the antebellum era.