Junius R. Ward House

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Junius R. Ward House

Erwin.JPG

The house in 2014
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Location Old Hwy. 1, Erwin, Mississippi
Coordinates 33°6′13″N91°2′50″W / 33.10361°N 91.04722°W / 33.10361; -91.04722 Coordinates: 33°6′13″N91°2′50″W / 33.10361°N 91.04722°W / 33.10361; -91.04722
Area 5 acres (2.0 ha)
Built 1830
NRHP reference # 75001060 [1]

The Junius R. Ward House (a.k.a. Erwin House) is a historic house and former Southern plantation in Erwin, Mississippi. [2]

Plantations in the American South aspect of the history of the American South

Plantations are an important aspect of the history of the American South, particularly the antebellum era. The mild subtropical climate, plentiful rainfall, and fertile soils of the southeastern United States allowed the flourishing of large plantations, where large numbers of workers, usually Africans held captive for slave labor, were required for agricultural production.

Erwin, Mississippi Unincorporated community in Mississippi, United States

Erwin is an unincorporated community in Washington County, Mississippi, United States.

Contents

Location

It is located in Erwin, Washington County, Mississippi. [3] [4] [5]

Washington County, Mississippi County in the United States

Washington County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2010 census, the population was 51,137. Its county seat is Greenville. The county is named in honor of the first President of the United States, George Washington.

Mississippi State of the United States of America

Mississippi is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. Mississippi is the 32nd most extensive and 34th most populous of the 50 United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico and Louisiana to the south, and Arkansas and Louisiana to the west. The state's western boundary is largely defined by the Mississippi River. Jackson, with a population of approximately 167,000 people, is both the state's capital and largest city.

History

The house was built on a plantation from 1827 to 1830, making it the oldest house still standing in Washington County, Mississippi. [3] [4] Prior to this house, a log cabin had been built at this location. [3] The logs can still be seen in the attic. [4] Thus, in 1830, Junius R. Ward, a planter from Kentucky, built this house. [3]

Kentucky State of the United States of America

Kentucky, officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state located in the east south-central region of the United States. Although styled as the "State of Kentucky" in the law creating it, (because in Kentucky's first constitution, the name state was used) Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth. Originally a part of Virginia, in 1792 Kentucky became the 15th state to join the Union. Kentucky is the 37th most extensive and the 26th most populous of the 50 United States.

In 1877, the house was passed on to his daughter, Matilda Ward. [3] [5] She was married John Erwin, the original owner of Mount Holly in Foote, Mississippi. [3] [5] Painter George Caleb Bingham did a portrait of Maltilda Ward, which still hangs on a wall inside the house. [5]

Mount Holly (Foote, Mississippi) building in Mississippi

Mount Holly was a historic Southern plantation in Foote, Mississippi. Built in 1855, it was visited by many prominent guests, including Confederate President Jefferson Davis. It was later acquired by ancestors of famed Civil War novelist Shelby Foote, who wrote a novel about it. It burned down on June 17, 2015.

Foote, Mississippi Unincorporated community in Mississippi, United States

Foote is an unincorporated community in Washington County, Mississippi, United States. Variant names include Colmere and Dudley.

George Caleb Bingham 19th-century American artist

George Caleb Bingham was an American artist, soldier and politician known in his lifetime as "the Missouri Artist". Initially a Whig, he was elected as a delegate to the Missouri legislature before the American Civil War where he fought the extension of slavery westward. During that war, although born in Virginia, Bingham was dedicated to the Union cause and became captain of a volunteer company which helped keep the state from joining the Confederacy, and then served four years as Missouri's Treasurer. During his final years, Bingham held several offices in Kansas City, as well as became Missouri's as Adjutant General. His paintings of American frontier life along the Missouri River exemplify the Luminist style.

The house was inherited by their son, Victor Erwin, who lived there with his wife, Margaret Preston McNeilly, the daughter of Confederate veteran and newspaper publisher J. S. McNeilly. [3] [5] A loggia at the back of the house was added in 1910, as well as a rear cabinet in 1925. [3] During that time, William Alexander Percy, the author of Lanterns on the Levee, was often invited to the house. [5]

Confederate States Army Army of the Confederate States

The Confederate States Army (C.S.A.) was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting against the United States forces. On February 28, 1861, the Provisional Confederate Congress established a provisional volunteer army and gave control over military operations and authority for mustering state forces and volunteers to the newly chosen Confederate president, Jefferson Davis. Davis was a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, and colonel of a volunteer regiment during the Mexican–American War. He had also been a United States Senator from Mississippi and U.S. Secretary of War under President Franklin Pierce. On March 1, 1861, on behalf of the Confederate government, Davis assumed control of the military situation at Charleston, South Carolina, where South Carolina state militia besieged Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor, held by a small U.S. Army garrison. By March 1861, the Provisional Confederate Congress expanded the provisional forces and established a more permanent Confederate States Army.

Loggia covered exterior gallery

A loggia is an architectural feature which is a covered exterior gallery or corridor usually on an upper level, or sometimes ground level. The outer wall is open to the elements, usually supported by a series of columns or arches. Loggias can be located either on the front or side of a building and are not meant for entrance but as an out-of-door sitting room.

William Alexander Percy, was a lawyer, planter, and poet from Greenville, Mississippi. His autobiography Lanterns on the Levee became a bestseller. His father LeRoy Percy was the last United States Senator from Mississippi elected by the legislature. In a largely Protestant state, the younger Percy championed the Roman Catholicism of his French mother.

In 1940, it was inherited by their daughter, Margaret Erwin Shutt, who lived there with her husband, William Shutt. [3] [5] They restored the house. [3]

Heritage significance

It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since April 28, 1975. [3]

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References

  1. ↑ National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service.
  2. ↑ William C. Alien (March 31, 1975). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Junius R. Ward House" (PDF). National Park Service . Retrieved 2014-11-12. Photos
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Jim Fraiser, The Majesty of the Mississippi Delta, Pelican Publishing, 2002, p. 46
  4. 1 2 3 Mississippi: A Guide to the Magnolia State, US History Publishers: Federal Writers's Project, pp. 355-356
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Woody Woods, Delta Plantations - The Beginning, 2010, pp. 26-27
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