In August 1902, David Jacob and Maude Rice Shlenker bought the “old Arthur homestead” at 2212 Cherry Street from H. C.
Kuykendall. The Vicksburg American reported that the Arthur house “is a two-story frame residence which is one of the oldest places in the city, having been built many years prior to the Civil War by the ancestors of Mr. Kuykendall. This place is one of the best locations in this city, being on the west side of the street just as that locality where real estate is probably more valuable than in any other neighborhood in Vicksburg.”

Shlenker told the paper that Kuykendall would live in the house for a year and then at some point Shlenker would build a new house on the lot, having previously bought the lot behind the house years before.

In November 1906, Shlenker demolished the Arthur house and hired Keenan and Weiss, architects from New Orleans who also designed the Valley, the Elks Club (both the first one destroyed by fire and the second one, which was demolished), the Fannie Willis Johnson Home on Drummond Street, the Piazza Hotel, and the Feld Home and the Craig-Flowers House, both on Cherry Street. In January 1907, the bids for construction of Shlenker’s new Prairie style house were opened in the office of supervising architect, Will Stanton. The bids were all turned down for being too high, with the highest bid being more than $17,000. Eventually, H. H. Havis was chosen to con- struct the house, completing it in 1909 for $15,000.

The Prairie style originated in Chicago with architect Frank Lloyd Wright as a reaction against revivals of earlier styles. It is one of the few indigenous American styles. The Prairie style was designed to relate to the flat, open landscape of the Midwest, but vernacular examples were spread widely by pattern books and popular magazines and are common throughout the country.This house is one of the best examples of this style in Vicksburg.

Shlenker was born in Vicksburg and took over his father’s wholesale grocery business when the elder died. He became a cotton factor in addition to the grocery concern and was elected to a four-year term as city alderman. On December 11, 1913, Shlenker died after a two-year illness at the age of 48. The Vicksburg Post reported that he was “well known and liked in all walks of life, though of a quiet and reserved disposition. He was a man of absolute honesty and integrity, and was alike loved by his employees and business associates,” and that he gave freely to all charities. He was a Mason, a member of the B’nai B’rith Literary Association, the Elks, and the Knights of Pythias. He and his wife, Maude, had one son, D. J. Jr., who was only eleven
when his father died.

Maude and her son continued to live in the house until September 1915, when she advertised that she must sell her household furnishings, rugs, and chinaware “at once.” By November the house was the home of Grey and Hester Flowers, who were beginning their married life there having just returned from their honeymoon in North Carolina.

In July 1928, the house was again for sale, the advertisement in the paper reading “two-story brick veneered dwelling, contains
living room, dining room, kitchen, screened porches, three bed rooms, two baths, large sleeping porch, good size attic and basement, hot water heat, every convenience, price reasonable, easy terms.” The house was bought by Rigby Perry, who owned Perry Lumber Company. Also living in the house then was his sister, Wylma Spann, widow of William Spann. Perry died in 1979
at the age of 103 and the house was vacant for a short time,then used as an office by J. R. Crowley and then, in 1982, it was purchased by Don and Betty Barnes, who restored the house to its original beauty. Coincidentally, Don was an alderman for the
City of Vicksburg, as was the first owner, David Shlenker. Following Don’s death and Betty’s marriage to Ed Jack- son, the house continued to be loved and cared for and it remains a beautiful part of the Cherry Street streetscape.

Nancy Bell, Vicksburg Foundation for Historic Preservation