A Community Assessment for Port Gibson, Mississippi Site Visit Conducted March 23, 2007
"First Impressions" is a program designed to capture the thoughts and feelings of visitors as they observe for the first time the characteristics of a community. Following a very structured visitation program, a team of individuals with diverse backgrounds document their perceptions of both positive assets and challenges to social and economic growth in a community. Information contained in this report is a compilation of observations by a team of individuals from Mississippi State University, assembled by the Mississippi State Community Action Team (MSCAT) at the request of the Commission on the Future of Port Gibson and Claiborne County. This report is not intended as a recommendation for any specific future action or support for any one course of action already being implemented in Port Gibson or Claiborne County. To maintain this sense of neutrality, the question/answer format used by the team members to make their assessments is rigidly followed in presenting the team’s overall assessment.
Welcome to Port Gibson

How easy was it to get information on the community that you were visiting?

Finding information on the Web was easy. A quick Google search on "Port Gibson Mississippi" results in links to several Web sites. The chamber site is www.portgibsononthemississippi.com and contains basic information, but without much detail. It is a very attractive and professionally designed Web site, portraying a very positive image for viewers. The site is brief, but it does contain links to other sites with more detail and contact information for the chamber. The chamber site is third on the search list, both at MSN and Google (as of March 26, 2007).

The chamber site points to Jerry Bangham’s site, www.win.net/~kudzu/portgibs.html, and his cultural crossroads site, www.win.net/~kudzu/crossroa.html. The Bangham site does not have the look of a professionally developed site, but it includes more details about the Port Gibson area than the chamber site. Mr. Bangham is obviously very proud of his community and provides visitors with interesting facts and pictures of Port Gibson.

The main street program site www.portgibsonmainstreet.com is limited. In fact, Mr. Bangham’s site includes more pictures of the main street association’s projects. The City of Port Gibson’s site, www.cityofportgibson.com/history.html, is neatly done with good visual appeal. It provides visitors with some history, departments and contact information, and dates for a few major community events.

We also found www.portgibson.org/, a Web site sponsored by the Bernheimer House. It looks like a home-developed site, but because it has an "official looking" domain name, visitors might be confused as to the authenticity of the information. It appears first on the search list at MSN and Google as of March 26, 2007.

Port Gibson also turns up on the site www.positivelymississippi.com/index.html. This site features Port Gibson, but includes general Mississippi items. The contact address on the site is a Port Gibson address.

Did it accurately reflect what you saw?

As it should, the Web sites portray the very best Port Gibson has to offer. During our visit we found the places of interest depicted on the Web sites. The Web sites generally give you the feeling that Port Gibson is larger. The before-and-after images of downtown found at Mr. Bangham’s site are a good indicator of the contrast in buildings we found on our visit.

Did the information arrive in a timely fashion?

Although we did not request printed information prior to our visit, we did collect several brochures available at the chamber building. The brochures are well done and give visitors a good idea of what to do in the area. The brochures compliment the online information sources, with a focus on civil war sites and historic features of Port Gibson.

What was the quality of the information obtained from regional/state agencies and organizations?

In addition to the Port Gibson sites noted above, we found information about the schools at the Mississippi Department of Education’s (MDE) site and general demographic information at the Mississippi Development Authority’s (MDA) Web site of community profiles. The MDE and MDA sites provide good quality information that is considered credible and accurate.