
Only remnants scattered near the railroad tracks point to Magnolia’s late-nineteenth-century resort era, when vacationers arrived at the one-story frame depot (1893; 101 E. Railroad Avenue). At 160 E. Railroad, the former Victoria Hotel (c. 1900) has a two-story brick octagonal corner tower and a two-tiered porch, and the Magnolia Hotel (c. 1900; 110 E. Railroad) occupied the two-story brick Buie Building. A wooden two-story residence (c. 1900; 225 Magnolia Street; pictured) is the only survivor of Magnolia’s greatest resort hotel, the Excelsior (c. 1900). The side-hall plan building—a common urban plan rarely used in Mississippi—accommodated overflow guests and traveling salesmen. The delicate Eastlake woodwork on its gable end and two-story gallery is unique in the state.