Sunday, Dec. 14:
909 Cherry St. — host and hostess Mr. and Mrs. Bill Seratt
2108 Cherry St. — host and hostess Pierre Patry and Cindy Thrana
810 Adams St. — hostess Barbara Hill
*Executive director of the Vicksburg Foundation of Historic Preservation Nancy Bell has comprised a history of each home that will be on tour. This week, The Vicksburg Post will feature five of the homes. In the Nov. 22-23 edition of The Post, the remaining seven homes will be highlighted.
2421 Marshall Street
This Greek Revival house was built about 1869 by Dr. Joseph Hamilton Daviess and Elizabeth Bowmar which at the time was outside the city limits. The Bowmars had four children who lived to adulthood: Fannie (Dabney), Josephine (Barr), James, and Florence (Carson). On Nov. 12, 1869, their daughter, Fanny, was married in the house to Thomas G. Dabney. The couple later lived in the house with their six children. Bowmar was a native of Woodford County, Kentucky and moved to Louisiana before the Civil War, becoming a very successful real estate broker and a wealthy landowner. The family moved to Raymond during the war and then to Vicksburg after the war. Bowmar was a friend of Jefferson and Joseph Davis and for years acted as Jefferson’s confidential agent in Warren County. He was also the executive of the estate of Joseph Davis. Bowmar died on July 16, 1890, at the age of 84, two years after his wife, Elizabeth. The 1895 Vicksburg City Directory lists a house full of family including, J.C. (real estate agent), Miss L.B., A.L. (a civil engineer), Miss E.B., James, J.B. (deputy circuit clerk), Frederick, T.G. (a druggist), and Miss T.M. Dabney. Shortly afterwards, T.C. moved to Memphis and the house was listed for rent for $30 a month. It was then sold to a Mr. Paxton, who sold it to Mat Cox in 1904. Cox listed the house for rent, stating that it was the “coolest house in city; all modern conveniences; hot and cold water, gas and electric lights, 10 rooms all screened. Suitable for one or two families.” The house had a variety of tenants until it was purchased by Lee Davis Thames in 1967 and was returned to a private residence. The house is an Airbnb today.
8 Glenwood Circle
The Neoclassical residence was built in 1939 for Glover and Mabel Warner. Designed by Jackson architect Jack Canizaro for about $30,000, the house quickly drew attention. The Vicksburg Post reported in March 1939 that “There seems to be nothing finer in Vicksburg than the Glover Warner home now developing in Glenwood, a new addition fostered by the Hennesseys in what was once Dyer’s pecan grove. The big brick house has a very sturdy appearance, with its tall double chimneys on the gables. It is unlike any home I know of hereabout. The setting couldn’t be more compatible on the base of a green slope, with a hill rising behind.” The Warners moved into the home in June 1939 with their two children, Lawrence and Chick. A third son would be born later. Glover served as head of Warner and Searles, one of the oldest business firms in Vicksburg, established by his father, Lawrence, who later left the company to devote his time to First National Bank. Both Glover and Mabel Warner were active in Vicksburg’s community and social affairs and held many meetings and parties in their new home. The family’s joy in their new home was short-lived. Glover died at age 47 on July 16, 1945, and his funeral was held in the house. The house remained in the Warner family for generations until it was sold recently to another family.
1339 Baum St. In September 1906, the lot at 1339 Baum Street was sold by Emma Collier to Sue Nield for $1,700. Sue and C.M. Nield then built this Queen Anne house, completing it in 1907. In September 1907, The Vicksburg Post reported that Mr. A.F. Shaffer, accompanied by his wife and daughter, Ginevra, were in Vicksburg because Shaffer was interested in incorporating the Vicksburg Ash Oar Company and setting up a manufacturing facility in the city. “Prof. Kemper was out this morning with Mr. Shaffer endeavoring to find a home, as the Shaffers wish either to rent or buy a place suitable for a permanent home in Vicksburg. When the Vicksburg Ash Oar Company was incorporated shortly thereafter with the incorporators named Shaffer, C.P. Kemper, and O.W. Catchings. Shaffer bought 1339 Baum Street from the Nields for $7,000 in November and the oar plant construction near the Refuge Oil Mills was started and was soon in operation. In Jan. 1918, the Shaffers sold their Baum Street house to Judge George and Bertha Anderson and they moved into “the remodeled Suburban Club Building.” Anderson was a lawyer in the firm of Vollor and Kelly. By 1924, Otto and Carrie Maganos lived in the house. Otto was an accountant and engaged in farming in Arcola. After his death in 1942, the house became rental property and remained such for the next seventy years, listed for sale a number of times in the 1970s, 80s and 90s. The house remains a beautiful feature of the Baum Street neighborhood.
810 Adams St.
The Adams Street home is a Colonial Revival residence built between 1915 and 1918 by African Americans Sumner and Frances Oliver. Sumner was a U.S. Postal carrier in Vicksburg. His first wife, Leola Foote, great granddaughter of Kitty Foote, a well-known Vicksburger, died in 1909 at the age of twenty-three not long after giving birth to their daughter, Clover. Clover was raised by her uncles and graduated from the University of Iowa, Chicago Normal College, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Sumner later married Frances Feiser Bell, whose first husband had died leaving her with two children — Dr. James H. Bell and Hazel (Cannon). Frances was active in community associations and clubs. The Vicksburg Post reported on Nov. 18, 1925, that the couple entertained their whist club and a party of friends at their beautiful residence… Sumner was also civic-minded, active on the board of the Jackson Street YMCA and the Mississippi Mail Carriers Association. He was elected the president of this association in 1925 and chosen to represent the state at the national meeting. Frances died in 1962 and Sumner in 1974. Thereafter the house was sold to Sylvester and Mattie Liggans. Sylvester was an equal employment opportunity specialist with the U.S. Department of Labor and Mattie was a schoolteacher at Jett Elementary School. The Liggans had one daughter, Queietasha, born in 1977. In 1979, scenes of the CBS movie, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” were filmed in this house. Sylvester Liggans died in 1994, and Mattie continued to live in the house for a few years. The house had new owners by 2000 and was eventually completely rehabbed by Mike and Barbara Hill, and it continues to be a beautiful house in the north Vicksburg neighborhood.
909 Cherry St.
This Italianate townhouse was most likely built by Sarah and Jacob Blum in 1878. Also living in the house by 1886 was Sarah’s sister, Caroline Susman. On August 21, 1886, the Blums celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary at their home on Cherry Street. Jacob was a merchant and a member of the Knights of Honor, the I.O.B.B. and the K.S.B Lodge. While getting out of his buggy on Sept. 13, 1892, Blum fell to the ground and broke the bone in one of his thighs. Dr. O’Leary was called, and he set the broken limb, which, he said had sustained a serious fracture. Jacob died a month later and his funeral was from the house. Sarah continued to live in the house until 1904. Caroline Susman and her daughter and son-in-law, Melanie and Sam Kaiser, moved into the house with Sarah. Caroline died on Jan. 25, 1911, and the funeral was also from the house. Melanie moved to Chicago shortly thereafter and the house became the home of Frank and Clara Coleman. He was a salesman with the Valley Dry Goods store and had moved from Port Gibson for the position. By 1918, Burrus and Emma Shannon called the house, home. Burrus was the county tax assessor and then was elected to the office of Warren County sheriff in 1919. He was a native of Copiah County and came to Vicksburg while in his teens. The Shannons had three sons, Winfield, Burrus, and Walton and a daughter, Thelma. On Aug. 1, 1923, Burrus died in Memphis while visiting a doctor there. Thereafter, Emma Shannon rented out rooms in the house for about a year, and then in October 1924, sold all her house-hold furniture because she was leaving the city. The house was listed on and off for the next seventy-plus years until it was purchased by Carolyn and Webber Brewer who completely rehabbed it.
