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Main Street build on the progress they’ve made,” Frey adds.
Main Street America was formed in 1980 as a response
to the decline of historic commercial areas during the
1960s and 1970s. With many small businesses not able to
compete with large suburban shopping malls, many down-
town merchants were forced to close their doors or vacate
to more popular areas. These store closings led to a loss of
significant historic structures, deterioration, and a sense of
loss in these communities, according to Ken P'Pool, a re-
tired deputy state historic preservation officer at the Mis-
sissippi Department of Archives and History and board
member emeritus at MMSA.
In 1980, the Department of Housing and Urban Devel-
opment proposed to fund establishments of Main Street
Programs in five different states. Even though Mississippi
was not chosen as one of the original five states, it was due
to the hard work of then-governor William Winter and the
Mississippi Department of Archives and History that Mis-
sissippi was allowed to enter the entry-level program at a
reduced cost. Due to a lack of funding, these early initia-tives collapsed, leaving nine communities with local pro-
grams but no assistance from a statewide program. This
caused the creation of the Mississippi Downtown Devel-
opment Association, whose name was later changed to the
Mississippi Main Street Association. “The greatest boost to
the program’s promotion was the hiring of Beverly Ming as
MDDA’s executive director,” says P’Pool. “Her knowledge
for the program derived from years working with the South
Carolina Main Street Program, and her infectious enthu-
siasm for the program was a key factor in attracting many
Mississippi communities.”
MMSA has been one of Mississippi’s most active and
cost-efficient economic development activities over the
past 30 years, according to P’Pool. “Despite the fact that
the Main Street concept generates significant economic
development, it is not actually an economic development
program,” he says. “It is a quality-of-life-program. MMSA is
proof that if a community maintains a good quality of life,
economic development will follow.” The Main Street Pro-
gram is suitable for both the community’s soul and econ-