While some states paid a bonus to returning veterans, Mississippi offered them low-cost suburban lots for building houses. In 1946, the state legislature set aside 153 acres, and the State Building Commission developed about 300 lots of various sizes and held three drawings in 1948 and 1949 to distribute the land. Reedbridge, another 372-lot subdivision in West Jackson near Hawkins Field Airport (with streets named after Eisenhower, Nimitz, Halsey, and other World War II military leaders) also filled quickly. Both were for white veterans only; African American veterans were offered no similar developments.
The GI Subdivision (and the adjoining Broadmoor neighborhood) is characterized by small one-story single-family houses. While the earlier houses retain a symmetry and verticality reminiscent of prewar Colonial styles, the later ranch houses spread horizontally with low-pitched roofs and attached garages. Materials include wood, brick, asbestos shingles, steel-framed windows, and iron porch posts. The houses are set back from the street and have ample front and rear yards.