Columbus’ Grand Old Homes Draw Visitors From Around the Globe
civil war, columbus historic foundation, friendship cemetery, historic homes, history, tennessee williams,
Columbus is justifiably proud of its storied history, and protective of it as well.
The city withstood repeated attacks during the Civil War when Union forces tried to enter to disable munitions works. Ultimately, Columbus and its 600-plus historic homes were spared because this was a hospital city where the wounded from both sides were tended.
And because Columbus was saved, the window to the past remains largely open and remarkably pristine. Founded in 1821, Columbus has three National Historic districts with 676 homes. The National Trust for Historic Preservation just named Columbus one of its Twelve Distinctive Destinations. In bestowing the honor, Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, said, “As one of the best kept secrets in the state of Mississippi, it is an unrivaled destination for anyone who enjoys Southern architecture, savors down-home cooking, and seeks an escape to the great outdoors.”
Without question, one of the great attractions of Columbus is its antebellum homes – a string of exquisite architectural treasures that open their doors each spring to hundreds of people from around the world.
Chief tour guide of the Pilgrimage – the annual home tour now in its 68th year – is Nancy Carpenter, who exudes all the charm, passion and love for the past that one so often associates with the best of the Deep South.
“We literally host people from around the world - nineteen countries - so it’s very familiar and very popular with visitors,” says Carpenter, director of the Columbus Historic Foundation.
“All of the homes are pre-Civil War and range from cottages to mansions. We also have many historic churches, including First Methodist ... and St. Paul’s Episcopal, where the grandfather of Tennessee Williams officiated. (Williams was born and spent his early childhood in Columbus.)
The home, called Twelve Gables, has a particularly noteworthy history, and Carpenter explains why: “There was never a battle fought [right] here – Vicksburg [to the west], and Shiloh to the north, but never here, so troops would bring the wounded by trail to Columbus to either recover or die, and there are in fact over 2,000 Confederate soldiers buried at Friendship Cemetery. In 1866, the spring after the war, five ladies got together at a home called Twelve Gables and tried to decide how to honor the dead [and] they went to Friendship to put the flowers on the graves of each soldier. But one lady said, ‘I’m a mother and I can’t stand here without placing the flowers on the graves of Union soldiers as well.”
Besides Twelve Gables (circa 1838), there’s Rosedale, an Italian jewel (1856), Amzi Love Home and Garden, White Arches, Shadowlawn, Temple Heights, and Bryn Bella, recently restored and new to the tour, and once the seat of a 5,000-acre cotton plantation.
Story by Verne Gay
Photo by Staff Photos
