charnley norwood house tours

Charnley-Norwood House

Take a walk back into history and explore an historic house designed by Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright in 1890. Open to the public. E-mail [email protected] to schedule your tour.

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Frank Lloyd Wright And Louis Sullivan Designed A Home In Mississippi... And You Can Tour It

Daniella DiRienzo

Though Daniella was born in New York and has lived in a couple of other states, Mississippi has been her home for more than 30 years. After graduating from the University of Southern Mississippi, Daniella began to hone her writing skills through various internships. In the years since, she’s had the privilege of having her articles appear in several publications, such as the Mississippi-based Parents & Kids Magazine. She’s also had the honor of interviewing actress Sela Ward for The Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Experience.

More by this Author

If you were compiling a list of famous American architects, Frank Lloyd Wright and Louis Sullivan would likely be on it. Extremely talented, the two men designed numerous buildings – including the Charnley-Norwood House, which is right here in Mississippi. What’s more, you can actually tour the historic home. Take a look:

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Remember, the Charnley-Norwood House is open for tours by appointment only. To schedule your tour, e-mail: [email protected] . For more information on the historic home, check out the Coastal Mississippi website .

So, did you know about the Charnley-Norwood House? Ever toured it? If so, what’d you think? Know of another amazing home from the past? Tell us in the comments section.

This isn’t the only historic property that’s open for tours. Read about another here .

OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

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Charnley-Norwood House

Take a walk back into history and explore an historic house designed by Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright in 1890.

509 East Beach Drive Ocean Springs , MS 39564

Ocean Springs , MS

| Ocean Springs , MS

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Charnley-Norwood House

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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

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CHARNLEY-NORWOOD HOUSE: All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

• (0.21 mi) Amazing Beach Front House only 50 Steps from the beach.
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“Beautiful today. Goldenrod, blue shadows and Monarch butterflies… Butterflies everywhere.” Walter Inglis Anderson (1903-1965)

Monarch Walter Inglis Anderson (1903-1965), block print, 1941 Zachary Harris MFA (b. 1988), plasma-cut steel, 2019

Use and interpretation of Anderson block print  courtesy of the Family of Walter Anderson.  © The Family of Walter Anderson

The charnley-norwood house.

This historic beachfront summer home in Ocean Springs, Mississippi was designed in 1890 by Chicago architect Louis Sullivan – the father of the skyscraper – with assistance from his young draftsman, the legendary Frank Lloyd Wright. The home, evidence of this architectural collaboration, helped usher in new ideas in residential design. The home is “distinctly American,” says Robert Ivy, CEO of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), pioneering in the way that it “reaches out into the landscape and positions people in a more symbiotic relationship with their surroundings…” 

Louis Sullivan, who built the home for Chicago lumber-baron James Charnley, was so taken with the seaside atmosphere that he built his own summer cottage next door to The Charnley-Norwood House. Here, Sullivan found renewal and connection to nature, describing the surroundings as “a stately forest of amazing beauty, arranged as though by the hand of an unseen poet.”

The Charnley-Norwood House has endured devastation and rebirth, rebuilt in 1897 after it caught fire, and restored with immense effort and coordination after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Its latest renaissance was completed in 2013, and the home is now managed by the Mississippi Gulf Coast National Heritage Area.

Known as “Bon Silene,” referencing the rose garden in front of the home, The Charnley-Norwood House is a testament to the resilience and historic preservation. Past the manicured rose garden and toward the Mississippi Sound, visitors look over a wild meadow of flowers and natural growth. This ecosystem supports life of all kinds, most notably the monarch butterflies, who descend upon the meadow during their spring and fall migrations. 

Archival photos by Winnefred Norwood Shapker, from the Sutter Photograph Collection, Mississippi Department of Archives and History

A project of the Walter Anderson Museum of Art in Ocean Springs, Mississippi funded by the Mississippi Gulf Coast National Heritage Area. 

Charnley-Norwood House to open for tours in Ocean Springs

OCEAN SPRINGS, MS (WLOX) - The historic Charnley-Norwood House will open for tours every Friday and Saturday from 10am to 4pm, beginning Sept. 4. The tours are free and will be given by local architect Ligia Romer.

"The Mississippi Gulf Coast National Heritage Area staff has been hard at work to reopen the Charnley-Norwood House," said Rhonda Price, director of the Gulf Coast National Heritage Area. "This will allow visitors to have the opportunity to see the beautiful workmanship and learn about the wonderful history of the area."

The home, located at 509 East Beach Drive in Ocean Springs, was designed and built in 1890 by renowned architect Louis Sullivan of Chicago, also known as the father of the skyscraper. His young draftsman who assisted with the design was Frank Lloyd Wright. The original home was destroyed by a fire in 1897 but was rebuilt immediately.

Sullivan also designed and built homes on either side of the original house, one for himself and the other for a friend, James Charnley, a wealthy Chicago lumber merchant. Charnley later sold the home to another lumberman, Frederick Norwood.

The houses Sullivan created were different from 19th-century Victorian architecture and included horizontal design, rooms that flowed into each other, natural materials and glass throughout the home. These forms later became the hallmarks of modern architecture.

Hurricane Katrina destroyed Sullivan's home, but the Charnley-Norwood house and the octagonal guest cottage next door both were saved. The Mississippi Department of Archives and History did emergency stabilization work after the storm, and in 2011 the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources purchased the house and property for $1.4 million through the federal Coastal Impact Assistance Program. MDAH contributed $300,000.

Archives and History also received a grant to pay for the restoration of the Charnley-Norwood House, and the MDMR is managing the property through its Gulf Coast National Heritage Area Program. Currently, four groups are working together under a temporary memorandum of agreement: MDMR, MDAH, the Mississippi Heritage Trust and the city of Ocean Springs.

"The city of Ocean Springs is delighted to work with the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources and other organizations to showcase to the public one of the most important architectural venues in the country," said Mayor Connie Moran. "We value our historical architectural vernacular and recognize 'Bon Silene' as significant, not only from a historical perspective, but also for the remarkable restoration championed by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History after Hurricane Katrina."

No appointments are required for the tours, but guests are reminded that because of the uniqueness of the wood floors, no heels are allowed.

For more information, call 228-523-4150.

Copyright 2015 WLOX . All right reserved.

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Ocean Springs' historic Charnley-Norwood House, a Louis Sullivan design, to open for tours

• Updated: Sep. 02, 2015, 3:53 p.m. |
• Published: Sep. 02, 2015, 2:53 p.m.

(Courtesy of the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources)

• April M. Havens

OCEAN SPRINGS, Mississippi -- The historic Charnley-Norwood House will open for free tours every Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. beginning this week.

The home, located at 509 East Beach Drive in Ocean Springs, was designed and built in 1890 by renowned Chicago architect Louis Sullivan, the "father of the skyscraper."

His young draftsman, who assisted with the design, was Frank Lloyd Wright.

The original home was destroyed by a fire in 1897, but it was rebuilt immediately.

"The Mississippi Gulf Coast National Heritage Area staff has been hard at work to reopen the Charnley-Norwood House," said Rhonda Price, director of the Gulf Coast National Heritage Area.

"This will allow visitors to have the opportunity to see the beautiful workmanship and learn about the wonderful history of the area," she said.

The free tours will be given by local architect Ligia Romer.

Sullivan also designed and built homes on either side of the original house, one for himself and the other for a friend, James Charnley, a wealthy Chicago lumber merchant.

Charnley later sold the home to another lumberman, Frederick Norwood.

The houses Sullivan created were different from 19th-century Victorian architecture and included horizontal design, rooms that flowed into each other, natural materials and glass throughout the home.

These forms later became the hallmarks of modern architecture.

Katrina destroyed Sullivan's home, but the Charnley-Norwood house and the octagonal guest cottage next door both were saved.

The Mississippi Department of Archives and History did emergency stabilization work after the storm, and in 2011 the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources purchased the house and property for $1.4 million through the federal Coastal Impact Assistance Program. MDAH contributed $300,000.

Archives and History also received a grant to pay for the restoration of the Charnley-Norwood House, and the MDMR is managing the property through its Gulf Coast National Heritage Area Program.

Currently, four groups are working together under a temporary memorandum of agreement: MDMR, MDAH, the Mississippi Heritage Trust and the city of Ocean Springs.

"The city of Ocean Springs is delighted to work with the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources and other organizations to showcase to the public one of the most important architectural venues in the country," Mayor Connie Moran said.

"We value our historical architectural vernacular and recognize 'Bon Silene' as significant, not only from a historical perspective, but also for the remarkable restoration championed by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History after Hurricane Katrina," she said,

No appointments are required for the tours, but guests are reminded that because of the uniqueness of the wood floors, no heels are allowed.

For more information, call 228-523-4150.

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MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA

The Mississippi Gulf Coast National Heritage Area Program (MGCNHA) is funded by the National Park Service and the State of Mississippi. It supports economic growth in the state’s lower six counties by focusing on the natural, cultural and historical resources in the Mississippi Heritage Area.

Mgcnha director.

Rhonda Price

• 228-523-4150
•  https://www.msgulfcoastheritage.ms.gov
• /mscoastnha
• @MSCoastNHA

Charnley-Norwood House

The Charley-Norwood House is a late 19th-century cottage that heralds a turning point of residential architecture in the United States, whose authorship has been claimed by both Louis H. Sullivan (1856-1924) and Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959.) This house exhibits many of the traits that would come to be associated with 20th-century Modernism, such as functionally, spatial flow, natural materials, fenestration that erases inside-outside parries and integration into the landscape. Compared to its contemporaries, the Charnley-Norwood House exhibits a degree of clarity and austerity not witnessed before in residential design. This beautifully restored historic site is managed by the Mississippi Gulf Coast National Heritage Area. Tours are given upon request by emailing  [email protected] .

Nature-Based Tourism

The Nature-Based Tourism (NBT) Plan for Coastal Mississippi plans for years of economic growth in Mississippi’s coastal counties. While encouraging a local culture of natural resource stewardship, it also proposes strategic planning, marketing and management actions to achieve an optimal balance between growth and conservation. It also serves as a model for the development of a statewide Nature Tourism strategy. Under the management of the MDMR, the outcomes of the plan to date are: increased professional and marketing resources for nature tourism businesses, the establishment of the Gulf Coast Outpost recognition program and the development of a  Blueways  design guide to increase natural recreation opportunities for locals and tourists.

2024 Heritage Community Grants

The Mississippi Gulf Coast National Heritage Area (MGCNHA) program of the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources is seeking applicants for its 2024 Heritage Community Grants program. 

To help accomplish the goals and objectives of its Management Plan, the MGCNHA offers matching grants to provide and leverage funding for innovative projects across the region that preserve, interpret, and develop heritage resources that expand economic opportunity.

The purpose of the MGCNHA Heritage Community Grant program is to enhance, conserve, and provide connectivity to cultural and natural resources of Mississippi’s six coastal counties through identification, interpretation, and promotion. Residents and visitors alike benefit from increased awareness and appreciation of the environment, history, culture, traditions, and lifestyles of the Mississippi Gulf Coast. To date, the MGCNHA has funded 56 grants totaling $1,073,265 and leveraging another $1,514,905 in matching contributions from local governments and private sector with a total investment of $2,588,170. These grants have funded projects in all six counties of South Mississippi.

The range for each grant application request starts at $5,000 and may not exceed $75,000. Funding for the MGCNHA Heritage Community Grant program is provided by the federal government through the National Park Service. 

Entities that are eligible to apply include city, county, state governments, universities, and non-profit groups. Recognized Gulf Coast Outpost Businesses are also eligible to apply.

There will be a conference call at 10 a.m. Friday, February 16, 2024, for those who have questions about the applications. For call-in information please email [email protected].

Applications are available at dmr.ms.gov and msgulfcoastheritage.ms.gov. The deadline for submissions is 5:00 p.m. Thursday, March 14, 2024 .  

The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources is dedicated to enhancing, protecting and conserving marine interests of the state by managing all marine life, public trust wetlands, adjacent uplands and waterfront areas to provide for the optimal commercial, recreational, educational and economic uses of these resources consistent with environmental concerns and social changes.

RELATED LINKS

Mississippi gulf coast national heritage area environmental assessment, mississippi gulf coast national heritage area management plan, finding of no significant impact, contact mgcnha.

Official website of Mississippi Department of Marine Resources © 2023 1141 Bayview Avenue | Biloxi, MS 39530 | 228-374-5000 Transparency Mississippi | MS.gov

Legal | © 2023 Mississippi Department of Marine Resources

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Mississippi’s Gulf Coast offers a wealth of historic sites & architectural gems worth exploring

Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Photo by Chris Granger

By Dee Allen August 1, 2023

Above image by Chris Granger

This story appeared in the August/September issue  of PRC’s  Preservation in Print magazine . Interested in getting more preservation stories like this delivered to your door?  Become a member of the PRC  for a subscription!

On a balmy June day on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, architectural history buffs and preservationists headed to Ocean Springs, Miss., to get a glimpse inside the Charnley-Norwood House. Designed by influential architect Louis Sullivan in 1890 and now owned by the State of Mississippi, the site is typically open to visitors by appointment only, but a special event organized by the Mississippi Gulf Coast National Heritage Area offered an open house to celebrate the 156th birthday of architect Frank Lloyd Wright.

Walking through the restored house’s light-filled pine interiors with tour guides, visitors could easily see how its design and use of native materials worked in harmony with its natural surroundings to inspire Wright — a young draftsman in Sullivan’s office at the time — and laid the foundation for the superstar architect’s early career.

All along the Mississippi gulf coast are other surprising historic treasures like the Charnley-Norwood House. On the drive from New Orleans to Ocean Springs, the scenic ride down Highway 90 revealed a picturesque landscape dotted with hidden gems, historic architecture, small towns and bustling beachfronts. The Mississippi coast has long been a favorite respite for New Orleanians’ quick getaways because of its proximity and its sunny beaches, but the historic communities nestled along the waterfront have much more to offer to residents and visitors alike.

Thriving Main Streets with award-winning restaurants and unique mom-and-pop retailers sit at the center of friendly neighborhoods and picturesque historic homes. World-renowned museums, cultural institutions and fascinating historic sites offer a look into the history and culture of the state’s 62-mile coastline. Communities once devastated by storm damage have rebuilt and bounced back stronger than ever, and preservation projects have continued throughout the region as business owners, homebuyers and nonprofit organizations find new inspiration in Mississippi’s historic buildings.

The following list of sites can help preservationists plan a quick road trip along the Mississippi coast. During your trip, make sure to leave room in your travel plans to explore other unique places off the beaten path at the coast’s vibrant, historic downtowns.

Interactive map not displaying properly? Click here to open in a new window , or scroll below for a plain-text version of the story.

100 Men Hall

303 union street, bay st. louis.

Built in 1922 by the One Hundred Members’ Debating Benevolent Association, the 100 Men Hall has been a center for African American social life in Bay St. Louis for more than a century and is still operating as a music venue and event space today. The organization was one of the many benevolent associations common throughout the South during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The associations sought to bolster the social, economic and political power of African Americans while providing members with medical and burial benefits at a time when insurance agencies discriminated against people of color.

In its heyday, the 100 Men D.B.A. Hall hosted events and live performances with some of the most legendary musicians of the time — including Muddy Waters, Ray Charles and Fats Domino to name a few — and became a stop on the “Chitlin Circuit,” a network of venues that welcomed Black performers during Jim Crow-era segregation.

The benevolent association closed the hall’s doors in 1982, and the building was nearly razed after sustaining damage during Hurricane Katrina, but consecutive owners restored the building and breathed new life back into the space. The vernacular Craftsman building’s historic details include exposed rafter tails, wood clapboard siding, wood casement windows and a metal roof.

The venue is also one of the few extant landmarks on the Mississippi Blues Trail. Throughout the state, blue historic markers detail the history of people and sites that shaped American music. The “Blues Trail” iPhone app is available to download for free to explore all of the sites.

Bay St. Louis Historic L & N Train Depot

1928 depot way, bay st. louis.

Present-day photo by Dee Allen, historic photo courtesy of Wikicommons

The ornate Mission Revival-style L & N Train Depot was built in 1928 to replace Bay St. Louis’ previous Queen Anne-style train station that was destroyed in a fire. After years of abandonment, the depot was restored in 1996 and its stucco-clad facade now highlights ogee arches, Solomonic columns, quatrefoils and other decorative trim in a bright red-orange paint. A free museum and visitors center is located inside the building today, with exhibits about the history of Bay St. Louis, Carnival costumes and memorabilia, and the work of folk artist Alice Moseley.

Passenger rail has not serviced the station since Amtrak ended operations following Hurricane Katrina, but service could soon be restored between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala., with additional stops along the Mississippi Coast. If the ongoing infrastructure project moves forward as planned, New Orleanians could soon board trains at Union Passenger Terminal for day trips to Bay St. Louis, Gulfport, Biloxi or Pascagoula.

Phoenix Naval Stores Museum

9439 creosote road, gulfport.

At the northern edge of Gulfport in Turkey Creek — a freedmen’s community established by emancipated African Americans during the Reconstruction era — the Phoenix Naval Stores building is the last remaining structure of the former Yaryan/Phoenix Naval Stores Company and a vestige of the timber industry that once proliferated throughout the region. The industrial site was a major employer for the residents of Turkey Creek and manufactured turpentine, creosote and other pine sap derivatives.

An industrial explosion killed 11 workers at the plant in 1943, and the former paymaster’s office building survived the disaster due to its fireproof construction. The structure was then moved 1,000 feet from its original site and converted into a residential building. When the company closed its doors the following decade, the remaining buildings on the site were demolished.

The structure became abandoned in the 1990s, and the site was featured on the Mississippi Heritage Trust’s “10 Most Endangered Historic Places” list several times. The historic building was restored in 2021 with the help of the National Park Service’s African American Civil Rights Grant Program. Its interiors and front porch were rebuilt and restored, and separate front door entrances serve as a reminder of Jim Crow-era segregation. The site is now home to the Yaryan-Phoenix Naval Stores Museum and Turkey Creek Community Initiatives. Visitation is available by appointment only.

Fort Massachusetts

Ship island, gulf islands national seashore  (ferry departs from gulfport harbor.).

Adventurous visitors can take a one-hour ferry ride from Gulfport to Ship Island, 12 miles off the coast, to visit the historic military fort at the Gulf Islands National Seashore and enjoy a day at the beach.

Completed in 1866, the fort is one of the last “Third System” forts constructed in the United States in the early-to-mid-19th century. The network of 42 masonry forts included Fort Pike, Fort Macomb and Fort Proctor in the New Orleans area, and were built as the third phase of the country’s defense policy to protect the nation’s most valuable ports.

Construction on Fort Massachusetts began in 1859, and the unfinished federal fort was seized by Confederate forces in 1861 shortly after Mississippi seceded from the Union. Federal troops regained control of the fort several months later and used the site as a staging area for the recapture of New Orleans in 1862.

Later during the war, the fort was home to the Second Louisiana Native Guard, a Union regiment of free men of color organized in New Orleans. The guard was one of the first regiments with non-white officers in its ranks and one of the first predominantly Black regiments to engage in combat with Confederate troops. At Ship Island, the unit practiced military drills, constructed artillery batteries around the unfinished fort, and guarded Confederate prisoners of war.

Today, the site is operated by the National Park Service, and rangers and volunteers give free guided tours of Fort Massachusetts during the spring, summer and fall.

Old Biloxi Cemetery

1166 irish hill drive, biloxi.

The city-owned and city-maintained historic cemetery in Biloxi is a testament to the community’s centuries-old history, with tombstones and ornate mausoleums dating from the early 19th century to the present day. The cemetery’s oldest section sits along Beach Boulevard and overlooks the Gulf of Mexico, while more modern burial sites stretch further to the north. Decorative cast-iron fences and historic Live Oak trees strewn in Spanish Moss enhance the landscape.

The Preserve Biloxi Committee hosts an annual Old Biloxi Cemetery Tour in the fall and has created self-guided cemetery tours that tell the stories of the historic figures buried there. The tours earned a Heritage Award for Excellence in Preservation Education from the Mississippi Heritage Trust. To learn more, visit discover.biloxi.ms.us/old-biloxi-cemetery-tour

Biloxi Lighthouse

1050 beach boulevard, biloxi.

Biloxi’s historic lighthouse is one of the most prominent landmarks along Mississippi’s coast. The structure was engineered in Baltimore and assembled in Biloxi in 1848, making it the first cast-iron lighthouse built in the South.

Until the Coast Guard took over operations in 1939, the lighthouse was operated by civilians — many of whom were female — including Maria Younghans, who had the longest tenure as the keeper of the lighthouse from 1867 to 1919. The light was deeded to the city of Biloxi in 1968 and was opened for public tours afterwards.

The lighthouse stands at 61 feet tall and is capped with a cast-iron dome and weathervane. Visitors to the site can climb the narrow 57-step spiral staircase and a ladder up to the light cupola at the top for a panoramic view of the gulf. Tours are offered every day at 9 a.m.

Walter Anderson Museum of Art

510 washington avenue, ocean springs.

Located in historic downtown Ocean Springs, the Walter Anderson Museum of Art opened in 1991 to celebrate the work of one of the Gulf Coast’s most well-known visual artists.

Anderson was born in New Orleans in 1903 and is most known for his vibrant paintings and intricate woodblock prints that expressed the beauty of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, where the artist lived for most of his years until his death in 1965.

The museum building itself is not historic, but the collection’s crowning jewel is the artist’s “Little Room”— a floor-to-ceiling depiction of the transition from day to night on Mississippi’s Horn Island — which the artist created in the nearby Greek Revival cottage where he spent the later years of his life. The mural was discovered after the artist’s death on the walls and ceilings of a 1939 addition to the cottage, and the entire room was relocated to the museum in 1991.

Charnley-Norwood House

509 east beach drive, ocean springs.

In 1890, influential Chicago-based architect Louis Sullivan visited the Gulf Coast and decided to purchase a waterfront property in Ocean Springs. He designed two adjacent vacation homes: one for himself and one for his friends James and Helen Charnley.

Sullivan was well-known for his influence on early skyscraper designs, but the two beach houses he designed in Ocean Springs followed the architect’s famous “form follows function” philosophy with simple horizontal-oriented designs that differed from most other Victorian-era architecture of the time. The homes’ use of materials that were harmonious with the natural surroundings were inspiring to the early career of architect Frank Lloyd Wright, who worked under Sullivan as a draftsman on the project.

The Charnley home was sold to the Norwood family in 1896, and the home was destroyed by a fire the following year, but it was quickly rebuilt with Sullivan again serving as the architect.

Hurricane Katrina destroyed Sullivan’s former home in 2005, and the Charnley-Norwood House next door was heavily damaged. The State of Mississippi purchased the architecturally significant structure in 2011 and embarked on an extensive restoration. The site is now open to the public by appointment only; visit msgulfcoastheritage.ms.gov to learn more.

LaPointe-Krebs House Museum

4602 fort street, pascagoula.

Present-day photo courtesy of The Library of Congress, c.1941 photo courtesy of Wikicommons

Built during the French Colonial era, the LaPointe-Krebs House was recently dated to 1757 through a dendrochronological study performed by the University of Southern Mississippi. Predating the American Revolution, the building is the oldest extant building in the state of Mississippi and a rare example of French Colonial architecture still standing on the Gulf Coast.

The building was constructed partially with tabby walls, a concrete-like material made with oyster shells. Other wall sections used the poteaux-sur-sole (post on sill) timber framing method, with bousillage (a mixture of clay and Spanish moss) filling the spaces between timbers. The site is also an important Native American archaeological site, with excavations revealing many artifacts from the Pascagoula Indians who inhabited the site before European colonization.

The historic site had been heavily damaged by hurricanes and termites, but a meticulous restoration returned the site to its former grandeur and earned a Heritage Award of Excellence for Rehabilitation from the Mississippi Heritage Trust in 2022. The house and adjacent museum are once again open to visitors.

Dee Allen is PRC’s Communications Associate and a staff writer for Preservation in Print.

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Early Frank Lloyd Wright designed house - Charnley-Norwood House

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• Charnley-Norwood House

This house is a delight. Louis Sullivan was a genius architect and this house shows it. I love... read more

This is truly an historically important home, beautifully restored after being "rekitted" by... read more

Early Frank Lloyd Wright designed house

When open, go. Interesting and lovely. I have been to several Wright houses this is "beachy" with lots of beautiful old growth wood paneling and shows a comfortable home for the period.

I discovered this gem by accident... I emailed the tourist bureau just to see what was tours were available while we were visiting and Jeff responded. Turns out he is a very knowledgeable member of the organization and was our tour guide for the Charnley-Norwood House. He was very accommodating when booking our tour and he was able to answer all of our questions. If you like architecture & history about the area, this Ocean Springs home is well worth a visit!

HISTORIC HOMES

Take a step back in time when you visit one of Mississippi’s historic homes. Many historical establishments in the state’s six lower counties are of national significance, hosting artifacts that tell of monumental times in human history.

History lives on in Mississippi’s historic homes where visitors of all ages can observe photographs, documents, antique furniture, and more that date all the way back to the 1700’s. Found along the beaches as well as in urban and rural districts, these homes offer visitors a chance to learn about their occupants, and what life was like on the Mississippi Gulf Coast when they were constructed.

Visit Mississippi’s very own time machines when you step foot into our historic homes.

PLEASENT REED HOUSE

Built by Pleasant Reed c.1887 and owned and occupied by members of the Reed family for nearly 100 years, the Pleasant Reed House is an example of the picturesquely detailed “shotgun” houses that became one of the dominant residential types on the Mississippi coast during the late nineteenth century. The house was moved to the Ohr-O’keefe Museum of Art in 2003. While the original home was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Pleasant Reed Interpretive Center was rebuilt from the restoration plans of the original house in 2008.

BOND-GRANT HOUSE

Bond-Grant House was built by William K. Dukate as a wedding present for his daughter, Vera, who married B.A. Bond in 1904.  The house is currently home for Biloxi’s Main Street organization.

CHARNLEY-NORWOOD HOUSE

The Charnley-Norwood House, originally constructed in 1890, and completely rebuilt following an 1897 fire, has quite an impressive history in the context of its influence on 20th century American residential architecture.

KATE LOBRANO HOUSE

This little shotgun Victorian cottage is home to the Hancock County Historical Society. If you’re on a quest for photographs, documents and memories from Bay Saint Louis’ past, look not further than 108 Cue Street.

LAPOINTE-KREBS HOUSE

The LaPointe-Krebs house, built in 1757, is the oldest structure in Mississippi. Built with unusual construction techniques that highlights the ingenuity of the early European settlers to the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

OAK CREST MANSION INN

Twelve acres of serenity surround the mansion that was built in 1920. The Oak Crest grounds present country living at its finest. 

OLD BRICK HOUSE

Old Brick House was constructed between 1835 and 1840 by William Rodgers of New Orleans. The city of Biloxi currently operates the house as an event venue.

BEAUVIOR, THE JEFFERSON DAVIS HOME

This house is where former U.S. Senator and C.S.A. President Jefferson Davis’ lived following his release from imprisonment in 1865, until the end of his life in 1889. Davis spent his time here writing his book “The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government,” which was published in 1881.

THE GRAND MAGNOLIA

The Grand Magnolia was built in the 1890s as Krebs Manor and nests comfortably among old oak and magnolia trees. This historic home is a cozy inn, where visitors to the Gulf Coast of Mississippi can enjoy a night’s sleep.

THE REDDING HOUSE

Amongst all the remarkable architecture of downtown Biloxi there is but one surviving mansion listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Built in 1908, the pristine, bright white Redding House on Jackson Street remains in a league of its own.

THE SHAW HOMESTEAD

Time travel through Mississippi’s past in the footsteps of Piney Wood’s homesteaders. Follow in the Shaw’s footsteps around the grounds as you explore the jar house, corn crib, barn, and smokehouse.

THE WHITE HOUSE HOTEL

The White House Hotel began entertained many guests in the late 1800’s. The hotel would grow from a small Victorian boarding house into the current structure by the mid-20th century. Renovations began in the early 2000’s that restored the hotel to the fabulous modern facility it is today.

MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA

• Mississippi Department of Marine Resources
• 1141 Bayview Avenue Biloxi, MS, 39530
• (228) 523-4150
• [email protected]

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Emma Roberts is giving fans an exclusive look inside of her home!

The 33-year-old American Horror Story actress recently gave Architectural Digest a tour of her house in Los Angeles and during the tour, Emma revealed the expensive gift she took back from an ex-boyfriend after they split up.

Keep reading to find out more… “This is a book I actually gave as a gift to my ex,” Emma said while holding up a copy of Charles Portis ‘ 1966 book Norwood .

“But then we broke up and I saw how much it was worth and I kept it,” Emma added with a laugh.

While Emma didn’t reveal how much she paid for Norwood , AbeBooks is selling the book for $3,360.

Also during the tour, Emma shared that her current boyfriend Cody John recently gifted her a Leggy Jill doll – a 1970s Hasbro doll known for her excessively long legs – for her to add to her vintage doll collection.

“I got her for my birthday,” Emma said. “I was looking for Leggy Jill for over a year, and then my boyfriend surprised me with her.”

Despite Cody insisting that she keep the doll in the box, Emma decided to take it out.

“I feel like if you’re gonna collect dolls, you might as well enjoy them,” she added.

In a recent interview, Emma revealed what it was like kissing co-star Kim Kardashian for a recent episode of AHS: Delicate .

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