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Mississippi Industrial College

The Mississippi Industrial College in Holly Springs, MS was founded in 1905 by members of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church as a training and vocational school for black students in the segregated south. Up to 400 students studied teaching, bookkeeping, auto mechanics, and industrial trades.

Desegregation led to the decline of many black colleges throughout the country in the 1960's. As enrollment fell, MIC began a major renovation and new construction plan in the late 1970's. Some progress had been made when in 1981, federal funding for the school was cut off. It closed in 1982.

There are five remaining buildings on the campus today: Carnegie Auditorium, which was designed by one of the first black architectural firms, McKissack & McKissack of Nashville. The 2,000 seat auditorium, built in 1923 is in an advanced state of decay, with partial collapse of the auditorium floor. Washington Hall, built in 1910 and used as an administration building, has almost completely collapsed. Hammond Hall, which dates back to 1906 was used as a men's dormitory and later by the Holly Springs Police Department until 2010. Davis Hall had a gymnasium and was built in 1947, and was being renovated into a multi-learning center when the school closed in 1982. The president's house is located on the south lawn of the campus.

Several other notable buildings have been demolished, including Catherine Hall, the first structure built on the campus in 1906, which was demolished in 2012 after collapsing during a severe storm a few years before. Several classroom units behind the auditorium are no longer there.

In 2008, Rust College, located across the street from MIC, bought the campus to perserve it, but efforts to secure funding to stabilize the buildings have failed.