Post by shellyb on Mar 28, 2009 11:37:44 GMT -6
Anchuca Mansion
Vicksburg politician J. W. Mauldin built this mansion in 1830. The name "Anchuca" came from a word of the Choctaw Indian language that translates as "happy home." Mauldin would later sell the house in 1837 to the family of Richard Archer and his five daughters. They would stay for ten years and then would sell the mansion to local coal and ice merchant, Victor Wilson. He immediately added the Greek Revival front to the home, as well as the two-story dependency in the back. Those renovations are still with the house today.
The Civil War
When the Union Army surrounded Vicksburg and lay siege over the months of May through early-July, 1863, the Mansion reportedly escaped the damage that was inflicted on so many others in the area. Instead, the house became a shelter for those who had suffered severely through the War.
Jefferson Davis
Joseph E. Davis was believed to have purchased the home around 1868. Davis was the brother to Confederate President Jefferson Davis, who visited his brother in January of 1869 after the war. During his stay, Davis went on the balcony and spoke to the residents of Vicksburg in what would be one of his last public speeches. Joseph Davis would pass away shortly thereafter in September of 1870 at the age of 87.
Hauntings
People have reported paranormal activity in the former slave quarter on the property and sightings of a Civil War soldier walking the grounds. The predominant sightings seem to be focused on a young woman in a brown dress seen by the fireplace mantel in the dining room and even in the parlor as well. The story goes that it was in Anchuca that one of the Archer daughters (nicknamed Archie because she resembled her father) fell in love with a plantation overseer. Her father became furious with this romance and sent the young man away. After that, his daughter barely spoke to him again and would rather eat her dinner by the fireplace mantel than sit with the family as they ate. The speculation is that the apparition is that of "Archie" Archer, who has still not gotten over her father's betrayal and the love she held for the plantation overseer.
The Mansion Today
Anchuca Mansion is a bed and breakfast and restaurant today in Vicksburg's Historic District. It has rooms available in the Main House as well as the Carriage House. Refer to the site below for more information.
www.darkdestinations.com
www.thecabinet.com/darkdestinations/location.php?sub_id=dark_destinations&parent=country&by=state&locale=Mississippi&location_id=anchuca_mansion
Vicksburg politician J. W. Mauldin built this mansion in 1830. The name "Anchuca" came from a word of the Choctaw Indian language that translates as "happy home." Mauldin would later sell the house in 1837 to the family of Richard Archer and his five daughters. They would stay for ten years and then would sell the mansion to local coal and ice merchant, Victor Wilson. He immediately added the Greek Revival front to the home, as well as the two-story dependency in the back. Those renovations are still with the house today.
The Civil War
When the Union Army surrounded Vicksburg and lay siege over the months of May through early-July, 1863, the Mansion reportedly escaped the damage that was inflicted on so many others in the area. Instead, the house became a shelter for those who had suffered severely through the War.
Jefferson Davis
Joseph E. Davis was believed to have purchased the home around 1868. Davis was the brother to Confederate President Jefferson Davis, who visited his brother in January of 1869 after the war. During his stay, Davis went on the balcony and spoke to the residents of Vicksburg in what would be one of his last public speeches. Joseph Davis would pass away shortly thereafter in September of 1870 at the age of 87.
Hauntings
People have reported paranormal activity in the former slave quarter on the property and sightings of a Civil War soldier walking the grounds. The predominant sightings seem to be focused on a young woman in a brown dress seen by the fireplace mantel in the dining room and even in the parlor as well. The story goes that it was in Anchuca that one of the Archer daughters (nicknamed Archie because she resembled her father) fell in love with a plantation overseer. Her father became furious with this romance and sent the young man away. After that, his daughter barely spoke to him again and would rather eat her dinner by the fireplace mantel than sit with the family as they ate. The speculation is that the apparition is that of "Archie" Archer, who has still not gotten over her father's betrayal and the love she held for the plantation overseer.
The Mansion Today
Anchuca Mansion is a bed and breakfast and restaurant today in Vicksburg's Historic District. It has rooms available in the Main House as well as the Carriage House. Refer to the site below for more information.
www.darkdestinations.com
www.thecabinet.com/darkdestinations/location.php?sub_id=dark_destinations&parent=country&by=state&locale=Mississippi&location_id=anchuca_mansion