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March 4, 2016
Benton County Courthouse (1873)
3012 × 2002

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Benton County Courthouse (1873)

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Time for Throwback Thursday, and this one was a blast to research! The Falkner House was one of the most unusual and interesting houses in Ripley and north Mississippi, and was owned by one of the most interesting figures in north Mississippi history. The original house was a much smaller home, but was renovated into this "Italian Villa" in 1884 by Colonel William Falkner. Falkner was an attorney and veteran of the Mexican War and Civil War, and was also something of a hothead, who killed two people in town before the age of 30 (though he was acquitted of both murders). Falkner was responsible for the success of the Ripley Railroad, constructed in the early 1870s. The design of this house was influenced by a trip Falkner took to Europe in 1883. Falkner wrote several novels in the 1870s and 1880s, the most famous of which was "The White Rose of Memphis", a murder mystery. Falkner only lived in his Italian Villa for a few years, before his own murder on the Ripley Square in 1889 by his arch-nemesis, T. J. Thurmond. Falkner's exciting life heavily influenced his great-grandson, William Faulkner, Mississippi's most famous author, who based his character Sartoris on his great-grandfather. The Falkner House itself stood for another 50 years, before it was destroyed in 1937 to make room for the new Ripley Post Office. #hillcountryhistory #ripley #ripleyms #mississippi #mississippiinhdr #hdr #mississippihouses #mshousestories #architecture #archilovers #architecturephotography #architectureporn #archi_ologie #historicbuilding #historicpreservation #houseportrait #oldhouse #oldhouses #oldhouselove #townsquare #townsquarelife #smalltown #smalltownlife #throwbackthursday #losthistory #falkner #faulkner #williamfaulkner

The Harris-Finger House in Ripley, Mississippi was built in 1884 by James C. Harris. It is one of the few Second Empire houses in north Mississippi. According to local legend, the house was given to James Harris and his wife Mary Thurmond as a wedding gift by Mary's father, R. J. Thurmond, a figure of local notoriety who killed WIlliam Faulkner's great-grandfather. William Faulkner himself supposedly lived here as a young boy from 1900 to 1901, making this the oldest extant house associated with the noted Mississippi author. Beginning in 1904, the house was owned by local merchant S. S. Finger, and his family continued to own the house for nearly 100 years. #hillcountryhistory #ripley #ripleyms #mississippi #mississippiinhdr #hdr #mississippihouses #mshousestories #architecture #archilovers #architecturephotography #architectureporn #archi_ologie #historicbuilding #historicpreservation #houseportrait #oldhouse #oldhouses #oldhouselove #townsquare #townsquarelife #smalltown #smalltownlife #victorian #victorianhouse #secondempire #secondempirestyle #mansard

The town of Ripley, Mississippi is the county seat of Tippah County. One of the earliest towns of the Chickasaw Cession, Ripley was founded in 1837. The town was slow to grow before the Civil War, and was partially destroyed during the War. In the 1870s the town was rebuilt and a new railroad was created, connecting the small town to several other major railroads in Tennessee and Mississippi. Many of the surviving Victorian and Italianate houses were built during this period. The current Colonial Revival Courthouse was built in 1928. Ripley holds one of the longest surviving outdoor markets, First Monday, once a month. Perhaps the most famous resident in Ripley’s history is Colonel W. C. Falkner, a local veteran, author, dueler (he was twice tried and acquitted for murder) and the great-grandfather of famed Mississippi author William Faulkner, who lived in Ripley for several years. #hillcountryhistory #ripley #ripleyms #mississippi #mississippiinhdr #hdr #mississippihouses #mshousestories #architecture #archilovers #architecturephotography #architectureporn #archi_ologie #historicbuilding #historicpreservation #houseportrait #oldhouse #oldhouses #oldhouselove #smalltownlife #smalltownliving #townsquare #faulkner #williamfaulkner #dronephotography

Besides the Holly Springs Pilgrimage, another great event occurring in Holly Springs this weekend is the Behind the Big House Tour. “Behind the Big House” returns for its seventh year, April 20 through 22nd, at the historic Hugh Craft House and adjacent slave quarters and kitchen. This FREE event will offer visitors the complete antebellum story, with local and nationally-famous artisans, authors, historians and historic interpreters present throughout the weekend. Joining us again this year will be noted author and culinary historian, Michael Twitty (author of the Cooking Gene), who will be conducting his antebellum cooking demonstrations, and Joseph McGill, founder of the Slave Dwelling Project, who will be discussing the lives of the enslaved people who would have lived and worked on this site. Also joining us will be Dr. Carolyn Freiwald, of the University of Mississippi Department of Sociology and Anthropology, who will be conducting an active excavation at the slave quarters. For much more information on the Behind the Big House program and our events, visit here: http://preservemarshallcounty.org/behind-the-big-house/ #hillcountryhistory #hollysprings #hollyspringsms #mississippi #mississippiinhdr #hdr #mississippihouses #mshousestories #architecture #archilovers #architecturephotography #architectureporn #archi_ologie #historicbuilding #historicpreservation #houseportrait #oldhouse #oldhouses #oldhouselove #behindthebighouse #slavedwellingproject #slavedwelling #josephmcgill #michaeltwitty

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Phillip Knecht

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