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Holly Springs is defined by its rich and varied history. Events through the centuries have left an indelible imprint on the face of this town. In the early days, as a place known only to the brave and civilized tribe of the Chickasaw Indians, natural springs flowed through hills filled with holly trees. It became a gathering place for traders and explorers. They called it Holly Springs.
The fertile bottoms and rolling hills became the new frontier in the early 1830s. Treaties with the government sent the Chickasaws away from their land on the Trail of Tears to reservations in Oklahoma. There’s not much left to indicate their presence except honorary names of streets like Chulahoma or names of houses like Latoka or Tallalossa.
Land agents set up offices to service the demands for city lots and thousand-acre plantations by settlers coming from mostly the Carolinas, Georgia, and Virginia. They were the first to build log cabin homes, which were soon remodeled or torn down to build quaint raised-basement cottages, such as Polk Place, Featherston and Dunvegan.
Holly Springs became a center for law, commerce and agriculture. At one time the county produced more cotton and had more lawyers than any other place in Mississippi.
The fortunes being made in cotton and land sales fueled an appetite for life’s finer things among the citizens and town leaders of Holly Springs.
They set about building churches and establishing schools. For their families, they replaced the dog-trot cabins and built wondrous mansions with tall Corinthian columns, similar to the Greek Revival homes found throughout the South.
These lush times disappeared when the planters, lawyers, and shopkeepers went off with the Confederate army to fight the Civil War. Located at the crossroads of two railroads, Holly Springs was a strategic prize vigorously sought by both armies. When Union General U.S. Grant captured the town, his army camped on the lawns of the grand mansions while the general moved his wife into the Walter Place and made his headquarters at Airliewood.
When the town began to recover after the war, an even deadlier enemy struck Holly Springs. The Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1878 wiped out much of the town’s leadership.
Restoration of the city’s most historic antebellum mansions and cottages has preserved a place in history for another generation, and Holly Springs is now opening its doors to visitors year-round. More than 64 houses, churches, and buildings pre-dating the Civil War stand as a testament to a time when cotton, commerce, land and lawyers forged a raw frontier in a city of culture, wealth and refinement. Today, Holly Springs is experiencing a renaissance. Each spring its columned mansions, quaint cottages, and stately churches attract thousands to the annual Garden Club Pilgrimage. However, visitors are welcomed throughout the year!
For genealogical research go to http://marshallcountyms.org/
Get a more personalized tour of Historic Holly Springs with our audio tour. Click the link below to learn more.
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