Hill Country History

Exploring North Mississippi's Hill Country

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Author: Phillip Knecht

Lost History

Howard-Purcell House (1910)

by Phillip Knecht
Posted on March 29, 2015August 13, 2017

Lost History

Davis-Neal House (1925)

by Phillip Knecht
Posted on March 29, 2015August 13, 2017

Holly Springs

Walter Place (1859)

by Phillip Knecht
Posted on March 29, 2015August 13, 2017

Holly Springs

Magnolias (1853)

by Phillip Knecht
Posted on March 29, 2015August 13, 2017

Holly Springs

The Pines (1871)

by Phillip Knecht
Posted on March 29, 2015August 13, 2017

Holly Springs

Greenwood (1838)

by Phillip Knecht
Posted on March 29, 2015August 13, 2017

Holly Springs

Montrose (1861)

by Phillip Knecht
Posted on March 28, 2015October 13, 2018

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Part Two of our "Quarantine History Series" is the Lewellen-Brown-White House (also known as "Tarkio"), which is a small Greek Revival cottage in Holly Springs whose unassuming exterior belies its true importance as the home of Jesse Lewellen, one of the most influential early citizens of Holly Springs who also served as Mayor of Holly Springs and as a local Judge. The house is also important as the birthplace of the African-American Lewellen line which is descended directly from the Lewellens and which originated in the surviving slave quarters located behind the house. Though the house was damaged in a fire in 2019, there is great hope that local preservationists and modern day descendants of Lewellen can save this important structure. #hillcountryhistory #hollysprings #hollyspringsms #mississippi #mississippiinhdr #hdr #mississippihouses #mshousestories #architecture #archilovers #architecturephotography #architectureporn #archi_ologie #historicbuilding #historicpreservation #houseportrait #oldhouse #oldhouses #oldhouselove #townsquare #townsquarelife #smalltown #smalltownlife #greekrevivalarchitecture #africanamerican #blackhistory

We are trying to do our part in brightening up Instagram during these difficult times, so we are starting a "Quarantine History Series", showcasing local historic sites, some standing and some long gone, with most of the sites little known and/or under appreciated. This first site is the Wheatley-Dougherty-Tyson House, better known locally as the "Tyson Apartments", an apartment complex in Holly Springs that hides an antebellum heritage behind the brick veneer. The house was first built by merchant Isaac Wheatley in 1854. The original house was a two-story Greek Revival frame house with a two-story pedimented portico and end chimneys. After Isaac’s death in 1868, the house was inherited by his daughter Sarah “Fannie” Wheatley Doughtery. Sadly, Sarah died during the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1878. The house continued to be owned by the Dougherty family until the early 1900s. For much of the 20th century the property was owned by the Tyson family, who conducted a massive renovation on the property and converted the home into apartments. Even though the current structure has been altered and brick veneered, parts of the original antebellum house can still be seen. #hillcountryhistory #hollysprings #hollyspringsms #mississippi #mississippiinhdr #hdr #mississippihouses #mshousestories #architecture #archilovers #architecturephotography #architectureporn #archi_ologie #historicbuilding #historicpreservation #houseportrait #oldhouse #oldhouses #oldhouselove #townsquare #townsquarelife #smalltown #smalltownlife #greekrevival

The Stewart House (left in picture) was a two-story frame home built in about 1874 by Mary and Annie Stewart. The Stewart sisters were Scot-Irish immigrants to Holly Springs who had lived in the town since the 1850s. The sisters were milliners by trade (designers of women’s hats), and had originally opened their millinery store (seen on the right of the picture) next to their eventual house. The Stewarts were able to build their “dream house” after many years of saving. Sadly, their dream house would soon turn into a nightmare. The house was the site of one of the most tragic and horrific episodes of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1878. While most of the town had fled from the Fever, the Stewart sisters had refused to leave the town and their beloved home. Mary Stewart died of Yellow Fever on September 17th, and her sister Annie, driven mad by both the plague and grief, refused to allow anyone to remove her sister’s body from the house. Ten days later, Annie succumbed to Yellow Fever herself, and both sisters left the house for good (at least in body, as their ghosts were said to haunt the old house). Stewart descendants owned the house for forty more years. Eventually the Elk Lodge (center of picture) was built, and the Stewart House attached to it. The Stewart House was destroyed in the 1940s, leaving nothing but an empty lot and the ghosts of the doomed Stewart sisters. #hillcountryhistory #hollysprings #hollyspringsms #mississippi #mississippiinhdr #hdr #mississippihouses #mshousestories #architecture #archilovers #architecturephotography #architectureporn #archi_ologie #historicbuilding #historicpreservation #houseportrait #oldhouse #oldhouses #oldhouselove #townsquare #townsquarelife #smalltown #smalltownlife #yellowfever

On this day, in 1878, former Mayor A. W. Goodrich died of Yellow Fever, becoming the first of many citizens of Holly Springs to die from the Fever. Just days earlier, the first victims of Yellow Fever died in this house, known today as the “Yellow Fever House”. This structure, the oldest brick building in Holly Springs, was built in 1836 as the first land grant office in Marshall County. After serving as an office for several decades, the building became bachelors quarters in the last part of the 19th century. William Holland, the hero of the Yellow Fever, died in this house at the end of the Fever. The building has been used as a residence for much of the 20th century. #hillcountryhistory #hollysprings #hollyspringsms #mississippi #mississippiinhdr #hdr #mississippihouses #mshousestories #architecture #archilovers #architecturephotography #architectureporn #archi_ologie #historicbuilding #historicpreservation #houseportrait #oldhouse #oldhouses #oldhouselove #townsquare #townsquarelife #smalltown #smalltownlife #yellowfever #yellowfever1878

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Recent Posts

Quarantine Live History Series: Episode 3 (Yellow Fever Part 3)

Quarantine Live History Series: Episode 2 (Yellow Fever Part 2)

Quarantine Live History Series: Episode 1 (Yellow Fever Part 1)

Treaty of Pontotoc Creek & Land Grant Office (1832)

Philadelphia Presbyterian Church (1888)

Taylor-Butler-Greene House (Suavatooky) (1839)

Lewellen-Brown-White House (Tarkio) (1854)

Wheatley-Dougherty-Tyson House (Tyson Apartments) (1854)

Lost History: Stewart House (1874)

Lost History: Holly Springs Christian/Reformed Baptist/Campbellite Church (1836)

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