Graceland Too, also known as Bryant House, was originally built by James McKinney, an early citizen of Holly Springs. In 1857 the house was sold to Edward Frank, who owned it until 1866. From 1866 until 1889the house was owned by John H. Record. In 1889, the home was purchased by Needham T. Bryant (1852-1937) and his wife Jennie A. Bryant (d. 1913).
The Bryant family owned the house for the next 85 years. Needham and Jennie’s son Henry W. Bryant (1873-1953) owned the house from 1937 until 1953, and Henry’s son Harry E. Bryant (1912-1983) owned the house from 1953 until he sold it in 1974 to Charles S. Corey Sr. (1923-2002) and his wife Dorothy H. Corey (1921-2013), who owned the house until 1980. Charles N. Dean Jr. (1927-1983) and his wife Phoebe owned the Bryant House from 1980 until it was sold to Paul MacLeod (d. 2014) in 1986.
Paul MacLeod and his son Elvis Aaron Presley MacLeod was one of the World’s Greatest Elvis Presley fans. Beginning in the early 1990s, Paul MacLeod and his son Elvis opened Bryant House to the public, displaying his massive collection of Elvis memorabilia and original pieces of “outsider” artwork. They called the house/museum “Graceland Too”, after Elvis’ famous home in Memphis. Tens of thousands of visitors came to see Paul and his collection over nearly 25 years. MacLeod and Graceland Too were the subject of countless books, essays, interviews and documentaries. The house itself has been painted many colors over the years, most famously bright pink and light blue.
Paul MacLeod died in 2014, and Graceland Too largely died with him, though several Graceland Too fans were able to save much of the Graceland Too artifacts and archives. In December 2015, Geoff and Marie Underwood, of Peoria, Illinois, bought the house at auction. They began much-needed repairs and renovations on the house. In 2016, they brought many of Paul MacLeod’s iconic pieces of Elvis Presley artwork back into the house.
Graceland Too is a Greek Revival, two-story flanking-gable frame house, with a single-bay pedimented portico supported by Tuscan columns. The giant stone lions at the front of the house are iconic pieces of Graceland Too.
Hill Country History 