Jefferson Davis - Gulfport Home

This is where President of the Confederacy Jefferson Davis wrote his memoirs in 1877-9 The Rise and Fall of the Confederacy.  He was a West Point graduate ( like Grant and Lee), a legislator representing Mississippi, resigned to lead the Mexican War, a US senator until MS seceded.  He moved his family to Richmond, the capitol,  when he was elected president of the CSA.  He spent 2 years after the civil war in prison for treason.  That was later dismissed and cleared by President Jimmy Carter!

This beautiful home  we went by after fish taco and sweet potato fries lunch was the last home for Jefferson Davis.  Entry fee $10, but the admission gate gal was worth the price of admission.  She was here during Katrina (You know why hurricanes are always named after women?  Otherwise they would be called himicanes.)




All the out-building were destroyed and the house badly damaged because a Casino boat 150' long was hurled  against the building and spun around and took out the 22 story Howard Johnson down the block.  They had only 5 hours
notice that the hurricane had changed course from west to Port Arthur, TX to east to  Biloxi and Gulfport.   She and her husband started running away from the beach up past the elevated RR tracks toward home when a surge of water  had them swimming as fast as they could.  She said, "It's a good thing I had on my daisy dukes cuz I couldn't fight the current,  My husband grabbed me by the belt loops and pulled me to land and we ran up to our home as neighbor homes were collapsing around us.  We got every blanket, sheets, towels, and crocheted thing and wrapped them around people and pushed them inside our two bedroom home, made like Lincoln logs like this Davis house is."  That's why their house survived.

Beauvoir  This summer home, elevated to keep it cool and take advantage of gulf breezed was well designed with 10' doors and 15' ceilings.  Shutters were closed and doors boarded up and all doors in home closed during the 18 hurricanes that Beauvoir ( beautiful view) survived.  Katrina is the only hurricane  where water got into the home with a 14' surge and the house is 13' above sea level.
 

Clock from the late 1700s  that  included the month.
How did they deal with February?

760 buried in Confederate cemetery behind grounds.
Formerly had home for confederates on property,

Library books protected by curtains .
Sun and humidity.

The home and outbuildings and presidential library have been built or rebuilt in the last 9 years.  The marble arch honoring Jefferson Davis was destroyed and the original green gate was rebuilt.  the marble replica is now near the back cemetery area where 760 confederates are buried, many who lived on the grounds in barracks.  Weddings are held on the grounds by these arches or in the rose garden.

Our guide was exceptional telling us about the Brown's home, a plantation owner who used this for a summer home.  The Davises are the 3rd owner after Mrs. Dorsey invited Jefferson Davis.  He stayed in an outbuilding while writing the book with his wife's help.  He loved the house and bought it from Mrs. Dorsey for $5500, payable in 3 payments.  She died after first payment and he was her beneficiary.

What a well designed home.  Ms. Davis gave the furniture  to family but it has come back so 90% original to the era.