History takes time, and lots of it.

You may preserve your family’s history with an album of aging, delicate photographs. The fragile photos need special attention.

Or antiques may be your thing. Great-grandmother’s antique cabinet is likely to need at least a little restoration work.

On a grander scheme, our part of the world is filled with blocks upon blocks of history. Antebellum houses dot Natchez from one corner to the other, and it takes entire boards to care for the history.

But Natchez isn’t the only historic place in the Miss-Lou. Several blocks in downtown Ferriday hold just as many secrets of the past and need just as much supervision.

But, up to this point, Ferriday has had no guidelines regulating the buildings in historic downtown. Some buildings have been allowed to literally fall apart because they haven’t been given time and attention.

Now, the Ferriday Historical District and the Ferriday Downtown Revitalization Committee want to see a few rules in place.

The historical district is planning to meet soon to craft a few rules for its history. These guidelines are long overdue.

Ferriday has a good role model down the street in the Historic Natchez Foundation and the Natchez Preservation Commission. The members of the Ferriday group would be wise to seek a little advice from those who’ve long legislated rules intended to protect and preserve history.

Ferriday needs guidelines fast, and then it needs a strong enforcement policy. It may take time to get some buildings up to snuff, but the historical investment is worth the time.