Postcard collection donated to architecture

From the time he was 5 years old, Bill Parrish, history professor emeritus, loved post cards. He picked them up at dime stores, at general stores--and much later--in exchanges with collectors.

Now, his collection of more than 5,000 post cards of county courthouses will help architecture students and scholars understand more about one of the hallmarks of county life. The courthouse cards are part of a larger 45,000-card collection that also includes churches, universities and other landmarks.

Bill Parrish (c) looks over his postcard collection with wife Helen Sue and architecture dean John McRae.

The county courthouse collection, which Parrish recently donated to the School of Architecture, represents about 95 percent of all the courthouses in the nation.

"There are 3,133 courthouses in the United States, and this collection has postcards representing 2,971," he said. He has multiple cards of some courthouses if they have been destroyed and replaced with newer buildings.

Parrish, who grew up in a small town, said that he always has had an interest in historical architecture. "The courthouse, in particular, is a vanishing breed," he commented. "Today, as the old ones are replaced, you find newer buildings are more utilitarian."

When he began collecting as a child, post cards were more readily available, he recalls. "It was a matter of local pride. Photographers would take photos of the community's landmarks."

Many of these were "real-photo" postcards that now are very scarce, he explained. "About one-quarter to one-third of my collection are 'real-photo' cards."

They are all the more special because he's visited most of the sites himself. "As we've traveled, we've stopped at many out of the way places. For some, I've made photos myself and made them into postcards," he said.

The collection, which he believes to be the most complete of its type, will be an asset to the School of Architecture and especially to its Small Town Center, said architecture dean John McRae.

"A collection such as Bill's impacts our Small Town Center in terms of scholarly work," he noted. "Our center is one of the few of its type in the country with a focus on outreach into rural communities.

"Bill's collection will add to the center's base of knowledge and enhance the research capability about some of our most significant county structures."

A 17-year faculty veteran at Mississippi State, Parrish is a former history department head and president of the Mississippi Historical Society. He holds a doctorate from the University of Missouri-Columia and is a former Harry S. Truman Professor of History and dean of Westminster College in Fulton, Mo.