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Manship House Museum
You stumble into the Manship House from the Jackson summer, spiced with sweat and dust from the Baptist hospital expansion next door, and suddenly the world is cool, quiet, and very, very intriguing.
The house owned by Charles Manship, Jacksonian notable and mayor of the city during the Civil War, is an excellent place to spend that Saturday morning you always promise you’ll spend culturally and then instead use to boost your tan at the Res. The guy had an entire brood of kids that has quickly expanded to create a full-blown family reunion every interval of years, which you can see in sequence through the photos on the Visitor’s Center’s walls.
It is one of the only examples of Gothic-Revival residential architecture in Mississippi and one of the few antebellum buildings in Jackson. Multiple rooms have been restored to represent either exact details about the family or to be representative of a middle-class Southern family in 1888. It remains in it original location on Fortification street.
The history of Manship’s life details the backbone of the building’s history, including the owner’s interactions with General Sherman during the Federal’s indomitable march through the South in 1864. There’s even a short video where you can learn how Manship, the old piker, decorated ordinary, God-fearing Mississippi pine and other woods to make them look like fine imported timber and even marble. Yes, the rock.
The House is a great step back in time, down to the netting over everything to guard against the inevitable flyspecking. Make sure to say a silent prayer to Jackson Water Works when you see the overgrown washtub that served as the bath for Chuck and his family. There are often events hosted specially for students or kids, so keep an eye peeled for announcements. Just a long step away from North State will be one of the best free excursions into Jackson cultural history you’ve ever made.
Tuesday-Friday 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Saturday 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
The Manship House Museum is closed on Sunday and Monday. Group tours are available by prior reservation.
Where: 420 Fortification St.
Cost: Free.
Call: 601-961-4724.
Fax: (601) 354-6043
Email: manship@mdah.state.ms.us
JULY 1, 2010: Manship House Museum Closes for Restoration
“The Manship House Museum closed July 1, 2010 to prepare for a nearly half-million-dollar repair of the building’s foundation. The floor of the circa-1857 house is thirteen inches out of level, resulting in huge cracks in the plaster walls and gaps at doors and windows throughout the house. A timeline for the project will not be available until construction documents are finalized, but the site could be closed for eighteen months.”
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