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Walter Place estate on holiday tour  |  | | Walter Place | Waterfall in Johnson Park |
In 1857
Colonel Harvey Walter decided to build a house. He wanted this house
different and he planned towers on each side, giving the house a castle
look. The clay for the house was excavated from the house lot. Kilns
were on the property and the bricks for the house were made right
there. They first built the four parallel
walls, anchoring them eight feet into the ground, so the storms of life
would never shake them. The house literally rose from the soil on which
it is sitting. It took two years to build this
magnificent structure. No sooner had the house been finished than the
War Between the States began. Colonel Walter
thought of a way to save his house. He invited General Grant and his
family to move in here. It was December of 1862. Mrs. Walter and
children had been sent to safety (wherever that was). Mrs.
Pugh Govan and daughters were living at Walter Place as their
plantation, Snowden, north of town, had been burned. The Govans moved
over and made room for General Grant, Mrs. Grant, their son, Jesse, and
Mrs. Grant’s slave. Records don’t show how
long the Grants were here. They were treated as guests by the Govans.
Mrs. Govan invited the ladies of the town over in the afternoon to meet
and visit with Mrs. Grant. General Grant stood
on the front portico of Walter Place and proclaimed Edict No. 11,
announcing that the Jews couldn’t sell to the Army anymore causing
pandemonium to ensue. General Earl Van Dorn of
the Southern Army came to Walter Place at three o’clock in the morning
of December 20, 1862 to capture General Grant. The
local story told is that General Van Dorn and an aide went up the
winding stair at three o’clock in the morning the day of his surprise
attack on the town. All the bedrooms were upstairs. Mrs.
Govan met him at the top of the stair and inquired, “General Van Dorn,
what are your intentions?” to which he replied, “I came for General
Grant!” When General Van Dorn started to go
into Grant’s quarters, Mrs. Govan said, “No Southern gentleman would
enter Mrs. Grant’s bedroom at this hour of the night when the general
isn’t home.” General Van Dorn, being a
Southern gentleman, turned, went downstairs and placed Confederate
guards all around the house to protect Mrs. Grant and the children. During
his raid on the town that day, he destroyed millions of dollars worth
of federal supplies. When General Grant returned, he appreciated this
chivalrous act so much he destroyed nothing in Holly Springs. He
later saved Port Gibson and didn’t burn it because it was the home town
of General Earl Van Dorn. He was returning the war favor. In
1878 Colonel Walter again sent his wife and small children to safety
and he and his three grown sons stayed in Holly Springs and opened the
house as a refuge hospital for yellow fever victims. Within the week, all four were dead from Yellow Fever. In
1900, the Walter’s son-in-law, Oscar Johnson and his wife became the
owners of Walter Place. Oscar Johnson had begun a shoe factory in
Holly Springs before the Yellow Fever epidemic. After the epidemic, he
moved his shoe factory to St. Louis, where it became the International
Shoe Company. He planned a park in the back of
his property and was planning to give it to the city, but before it was
finished, Oscar Johnson suddenly died in 1916. Mrs. Johnson then sold
the house to M.A. Greene. It is now the home
of Michael and Jorja Lynn. Mike Lynn revived and rebuilt a park
between Walter Place, Polk Place and Featherston Place a few years
ago. It was a thrill to uncover the century
old plants from Oscar Johnson’s garden and have them come alive again.
The original garden plans were created by Theodore Link, one of the
world’s most famous architects of the time, but when Oscar Johnson died
suddenly at age 51 in 1916, all plans came to a halt and didn’t emerge
again until 2003 when Mike Lynn uncovered the beautiful garden for all
the world to see. Lynn also added his
fantastic touch by adding waterfalls, a pond with an island and a
finishing touch of huge gold fish. He did the garden in phases I, II
and III, but hasn’t gotten to IV yet. Lynn has
done all of this for Holly Springs as he could see the fabulous
potential of Holly Springs if it continued to be developed. He is a
real philanthropist right here in our midst and we aren’t used to
having living legends who are great men in our presence. He is so
generous and has opened all three of his houses and his park for you to
see and enjoy. Advance tickets for this
wonderful “Christmas In Holly Springs” tour cost $15 each, if you buy
10 before November 27, and $18 individually. During the week of the
tour all tickets are $22. Tickets may be purchased at the Marshall
County Historial Museum at 220 East College Ave. in Holly Springs. Call
662-252-3669.
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