Ricks Memorial Library is steeped in history when it comes to its Yazoo connection and in the state, serving as the one of the oldest library buildings in Mississippi.
But it’s the story behind the lady who donated the funds to construct the building that holds a deep mystery. Mrs. Fannie Ricks and her husband Gen. B.S. Ricks were the wealthiest and most prominent citizens of Yazoo City in the 1800s until her death in 1918.
But it’s her love of circles that carries an unsolved mystery that literally followed her to the grave. Historic documents and files offer no explanation as to why she favored the shape, leaving much speculation over a century past her death.
Fannie came from a successful family when she married Gen. B.S. Ricks in Switzerland on Sept. 10, 1873. She met the soldier and businessman during a family vacation, and the couple established themselves well during their travels as newlyweds.
The couple eventually settled in Yazoo City on the Ricks family plantation. Later, they built a large home on the corner of North Main Street and East Powell Street.
B.S. Ricks was a soldier, businessman and planter within the community. In fact, he was one of the largest planters in the Delta, owning 18,000 acres of land. Annually, he would raise about 3,000 bales of cotton. He would later serve as president of the Bank of Yazoo City and was considered “Yazoo City’s wealthiest and most public-spirited citizen.”
But in a time when women kept their homes and families, Fannie was ahead of her time. She owned her own businesses, including an icehouse and a few dwellings let out for rent on the east end of Canal. The homes, which were geared for families who wanted to live in small residences with low rent was referred to as “Ricksville.”
Despite being a successful businesswoman, Fannie also had an “at home day,” which was a day of the week she received visitors at her home. Newspaper articles said that “in spite of hearing problems, she gave the most beautiful dinners and parties. She also kept a handsome surrey (carriage), always drawn by black horses.”
Fannie was also known for her determined spirit, often spearheading many campaigns and efforts within the community. After fire and flood, she was labeled as having the most “courageous spirit and optimistic attitude.”
After her husband died, Fannie never strayed from her community spirit and charity. She founded the first dormitory for women at the University of Mississippi called Ricks Hall. She donated Goose Egg Park to the City of Yazoo City.
And she approached the Yazoo Library Association at the end of the 19th century with her wish to build the association “a home befitting its role in the community.” She donated that no less than $20,000, which was quite a sum in the 1890s, to be used to construct the building in the Beaux Art Classicism style.
Newspapers praised her, calling her a citizen “who stands out from all others as a leader in progress and public spirit; one who is moved by a spirit of utilitarianism and an unselfish spirit to help mankind and promote the public good.”
Fannie would later move to North Carolina on a piece of property she said was perfect for her in her later years. She lived in a tent while the home, later named Rickshaven, was constructed. On the property, she would also operate a farm with many animals and crops.
But, sadly, Fannie died on Nov. 2, 1918 at Rickshaven from poisoning. Death reports said “the cows ate some plants that didn’t hurt them but caused their milk to be poisonous.” After consuming a large quantity of the poisoned milk, she never recovered and soon died.
Her body was returned to Yazoo City, where she was buried next to her husband in Glenwood Cemetery.
The mystery behind Fannie was her love for the circular shape. Ricks Library itself has circles scattered throughout the structure. The building has a rotunda, circular windows and ceilings.
Goose Egg Park, which she donated to the city, is an oval shape. Photographs of her home on North Main show rotundas. And it was also reported inside the home, most family photographs were placed inside oval-gilded frames.
Files within the library also contain a relic from the North Caroline Rickshaven home. Although broken in three separate pieces, once placed back together…circle.
The grave plot of her and her husband are also the only circular lot within the entire Glenwood Cemetery. Her grave marker is also a circular scroll.
Shifting through piles of records, newspaper articles and historical files, there is no explanation or even mention on the use of the circular shape within Ricks’ productive life. The answer may never be discovered, only to remain a mystery for future generations.
But what is no mystery is the impact the Ricks family left in Yazoo and the state. Later generations, patrons enter the Ricks library much like was predicted when the building was dedicated in 1901.
The mystery behind the circle may remain only known to Fannie herself. But her legacy and memory always return to full circle.
