Our Tour Venues
Ahern's Belle of the Bends
This breathtaking Italianate mansion sits
atop a bluff overlooking the
Mississippi River
and is one of Mississippi's best preserved
historical homes.
It showcases beautiful oval,
arched woodwork and trim and intricate Bavarian
plaster and gold leaf crown moldings throughout.
Four original chandeliers
and many original
antiques adorn its interior.
Private Residence
Duff Green
The lovely 3-story Duff Green Mansion was
constructed by skilled slave labor in
1856 by a local cotton broker for his bride. The
mansion was built for
entertaining in the grand antebellum lifestyle,
a life that was short-lived when
war reached Vicksburg in 1863. Duff Green is
credited with saving his
neighborhood, including adjoining Christ
Episcopal Church, by designating the home
as a hospital for both Union and Confederate
soldiers.
http://www.duffgreenmansion.com
McNutt House
Alexander Gallatin McNutt (Mississippi's 12th
Governor) purchased the
house in 1829 and added the rear wing in 1832.
He and his wife (Betsy) lived
in the house during his terms in the State Senate leading up to his
election
as Governor. McNutt was considered one of the
great speakers during a time
of many great orators and a strong proponent for
banking reform. The
main floor contains beautiful original coal
burning fireplaces, family antique
period furnishings, and antique and vintage curios and letters. It is
among the oldest residences in Vicksburg and is
listed in the National Register
of Historic Places in addition to State and
County Historic Landmarks.
http://www.themcnutthouse.com
Featherston-Magruder House
One of the few surviving antebellum
homes in the dead center of historic
Vicksburg, the Featherston-Magruder House is
a magnificent example of an
Italianate
Revival remodel of a classic Greek Revival
architecture. The original
building, erected
in 1831, was built by Richard Featherston, a
planter and
school teacher, to put his
family and the town's first school room all
under the
same roof. The Featherston family
was a perfect example of early American
migration and its impact on the civil war.
Private Residence
McRaven Tour Home
Hear the fascinating and sometimes
eerie stories about the people who once
called McRaven home. National Geographic
Magazine has called it the
"time capsule
of the South." Explore the architecture
of three different time
periods:
Frontier (1797), Empire (1836), and
Greek Revival (1849).
https://www.mcraventourhome.com
Christ Episcopal Church
The cornerstone of Christ
Episcopal Church was laid on
April 19, 1830.
A simple structure of brick
and mortar with wood framing
complete with a
cast iron bell from
Philadelphia. Bishop James
Harvey Otey of Tennessee
conducted
the formal consecration ceremony on May 3, 1843.
Reverend W. W. Lord was
rector in 1851 and despite
constant bombardment
from Union gunboats during
the Civil War, conducted
daily church services.
The historical marker in
front of the church offers
all who come, a place to
find,
at least for a short time,
in all the turmoil, a sense
of peace, some degree of
sanctuary,
and maybe for a time not be
afraid.
St. George Orthodox
Church
At the latter part of the
nineteenth century, a
handful of people
who migrated from Syria and
Lebanon traveled up the
Mississippi River
to settle in Vicksburg. They
formed a community of their
own, thousands
of miles from their
homeland. Although the early
days were difficult and
challenging,
these courageous people
worked hard and stuck
together to acquire
their own house of worship.
St. George was one of the
first Orthodox churches
in the southern part of the
United States.
In 2006, St. George
celebrated its 100th
anniversary, as the oldest
Antiochian Orthodox Church
in Mississippi and the
South.
http://www.stgeorgevicksburg.org
Baer House Inn
In 1870, Leona and Lazrus
Baer constructed this huge
Victorian home
with a goal of impressing
guests with the elaborate
woodwork and a grand
ballroom.
It was designed to be
similar to the large
Eastlake Victorians just
becoming
popular for the wealthy in
America. Mrs. Baer was
adamant that the kitchen be
inside the house and that
there be privies on the
first floor for guests
and on the second floor for
family; a his-and-hers
two-story outhouse
was the result! The home had
11 fireplaces, 4 cisterns, a
wellhouse
and a carriage house. It is
one of the best examples of
Eastlake Victorian style
in the state of Mississippi
and is included in
"Victorian Houses of
Mississippi.”
The Baer House Inn is listed
on the National Register of
Historic Places.
http://www.baerhouseinn.com
Cedar
Grove
John Alexander Klein, a
planter and businessman,
built this Greek Revival
style mansion for his
16-year-old bride. Klein
bought many of the Italian
marble fireplaces, French
empire gasoliers, Bohemian
glass for the doorway,
towering gold leaf mirrors,
exquisite clocks and
paintings while in Europe on
their
honeymoon. The mansion was
completed in 1852. During
the siege, the home
experienced
bombardment by cannon. A
cannon ball is still lodged
in the parlor wall.
The house remained in tact
mainly because it had been
used as a Union hospital.
http://www.cedargroveinn.com
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Holy
Trinity Episcopal Church
Holy Trinity
Episcopal Church was
founded in 1869 by members
of Vicksburg's
first Episcopal parish,
Christ Church. Over the next
decade, the congregation
worshipped regularly in the
chapel while raising funds
to build the new church.
In 1878, a yellow fever
epidemic struck Vicksburg
and three of the founding
members of Holy Trinity
died. The building project
was delayed six months
while the congregation
mourned this loss. The
congregation worshipped in
the
new church building on March
28, 1880, and celebrated the
completion of the
building and also
installation of the first
stained glass windows. The
church building
was finally consecrated on
June 24, 1894, after
completion of the interior
work,
furnishing, and payment of
the final construction debt.
The Mary
Harwood House
The house
was built on a
bluff facing the
Mississippi
River.
In 1862, an
ammunitions
magazine was
built in front
of the house by
Confederate soldiers for a cannon on this property that was used in the
defense of
Vicksburg.
Damage from
intensive
shelling by
Union gunboats
during the Siege is still visible inside the house.
Private
Residence
Corey's Place
aka the Swartz
House
The Schwartz
House (currently
known as Corey’s
Place) was built
about
1880 by Sam and
Caroline
Schwartz. This two-story
clapboard
Queen Ann
residence with a
slate-covered
hip roof with
cross gables
over projecting
bays has plenty
of Eastlake
detailing.
Mr. Schwartz, a
German immigrant
who came to
America when he
was
just 17 years
old, was a
wholesale
grocer, a cotton
factor, heavily
involved
in community
affairs, and a
prominent member
of the Jewish
Synagogue.
Private
Residence
The Magnolias
This site was
once owned by
the Vick Family
for whom
Vicksburg was
named.
Hand-picked
lumber was air
dried on site
before
construction
began.
Materials and
workmanship for
the special
pierced columns
on the front
porches,
finely-crafted
brackets,
balustrades and
friezes were
reputedly
the finest of
the period.
Some of the
original gas
light fixtures
remain. Iron
medallions
decorate the
chandeliers in
the parlor and
dining rooms,
which are
joined by massive pocket doors. The stairway has an elaborate hand-sawed
Newell that
ascends straight
to the second
floor.
Private
Residence
The Vicksburg
This 11-story,
200-room
Colonial Revival
style hotel was
designed by
Chicago
architect H.
L. Stevens & Co.
Termed a "modest
skyscraper"
upon completion
in 1929 it was
the tallest
building between
Memphis & New
Orleans.
It was acclaimed
as "one of the
most modernly
equipped hotels
in the South."
A refrigeration
system supplied
ice water to
every room and
to Art Deco
drinking
fountains, one
of which remains
in the lobby.
The hotel closed
in 1975 and 5
years later was
converted to
short-term
rental
apartments. It
is on the
National
Register of
Historic
Places.
The Nurses
Quarters
This Greek
Revival style
house was built
in 1830 and is
on the
National
Register of
Historic Places.
One of the first
owners of the
property was
Sheriff Stephen
Howard, who led
a revolt against
local
gamblers during
the “Murrell
Excitement” of
1835. During and
after the
Siege of
Vicksburg, this
cottage was used
as a barracks
for nurses who
operated the
makeshift
hospital and
Soldier’s Home
located across
the street.
The home has
been beautifully
restored and
appointed with
antique
furniture
and interesting
artifacts found
on or near the
property.
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