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The Emma Balfour House, 1002 Crawford St.

The Baum House, 2125 Cherry St.

The Bomer House, 2315 Cherry St.

The Polk-Sherard-Hinman House, 2615 Confederate Ave.

1306 Mulvihill St.

George and Hattie LaBarre House, 2435 Drummond St.

3220 Drummond St.

JJ. and Delia Lum House, 1333 Chambers St.

All Saints' Chapel, 2715 Confederate Ave.

St. Grayson and Jennie Dyer House, 1642 Chambers St.

Humphreys and Frances Moore House, 1615 Chambers St.

2011 Cherry St.

The German Christmas carol “O Tannenbaum,” or, in English, “O’ Christmas Tree,” is a song that dates to the 1500s. Based on a traditional folk song that was about a fir tree, composer Ernst Anschutz, in 1824, took the tune and wrote contemporary lyrics in which he referred to the fir’s evergreen quality as a symbol of constancy and faithfulness.

Perhaps it was the characteristics in this song — constancy and faithfulness — along with her memories of German Christmas stories, that inspired Vicksburg resident Mahala Roach in 1851 to gift her children with a Christmas tree — the first in the state of Mississippi.

Adorned with twinkling tiny candles, confections and toys, Roach’s children were, by all accounts, delighted on Christmas morning. Inspired by Roach’s desire to delight, last year the the Vicksburg Heritage Guild partnered with Vicksburg Main Street to host O’ Christmas Tree, a tour of historic homes decorated for the holidays.

Last year’s event, Vicksburg Heritage Guild board member Dinah Lazor said, garnered more than $7,000 that went to Vicksburg Main Street’s façade grant, which allowed work to begin on historic buildings on Main Street.

With its overwhelming success in 2023, Lazor said, O’ Christmas Tree will be offered again this year.

“The heritage guild is very pleased to offer the tour for a second year and we are just grateful to all of the homeowners who are participating,” Lazor said. “This actually carries on with the story of Mahala Roach and her hospitality of having the first Christmas tree in Mississippi.”

Like last year’s event, there will be 12 historic homes available for tour, with each home on tour for one day only. The tours will take place Dec. 7, 8, 14 and 15 and will run from 1 until 3 p.m. Transportation will be provided by the city of Vicksburg. Tickets for each day are $25 and are available at tickettailor.com/events/ochristmastree/1279199.

In addition to raising funds to support Main Street and, this year the Old Courthouse Museum, Lazor said the O’ Christmas Tree event also gives people the opportunity to take a step back in time.

“This seems to be a way that we can share, particularly for people living in our historic homes and in the city, of what it’s like to live in a home that has such a long history and its different families,” she said.

The Heritage Guild, Lazor said, is a nonprofit group that embraces Vicksburg’s history and encourages people to become involved with preservation.

In addition to the traditional tour of homes, this year’s event includes the O’ Christmas Tree Holiday Lights Trolley Tours. The trolley tours will run, beginning at 5:15 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. this weekend (Dec. 5-7) and next weekend (Dec. 13-14).  

The 5:15 p.m. tours are geared towards children and families and the 7:15 tours are for adults.  The tours will start and end on Washington Street and will travel through the downtown area on the Vicksburg Trolley. Notable sights include downtown residential areas, churches, and historic homes. 

The trolley riders will vote on the best decorated neighborhood on the route and there will be a prize and recognition. The three neighborhoods in the contest are (1) Fostoria (limited to the 2100 to 2500 blocks of Cherry Street and the 2300-2500 blocks of Drummond Street); (2) Chambers Street; and (3) Glenwood Circle.

Tickets are currently on sale. The family tours are already sold out, but there are adult tour tickets left. However, the tour can be driven by anyone in the community even if they do not have trolley tickets. 

The event is sponsored by the Heritage Guild of Vicksburg and Warren County and the proceeds benefit Vicksburg Main Street and the Old Courthouse. Tickets may be purchased by visiting the O’ Christmas Tree Facebook page.

Tour Homes

History provided by Nancy Bell, Vicksburg Foundation for Historic Preservation

 Dec. 7

Emma Balfour House, 1002 Crawford St.

(Chris Smith and John Schaumburg, homeowners)

The Balfour House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was originally the home of Dr. William and Emma Balfour. Built in 1835, the red-brick, two-story structure features elements of Greek Revival and Federalist styles. Emma Balfour is most known for the diary she kept during the Siege of Vicksburg in 1863. In 1862, during a Christmas Eve ball at the Balfour home, the guests — mostly Confederate officers and their wives — were interrupted during the party when a Confederate courier entered the home. The courier, wearing a cape that was dripping water through the house from the rainy night, made his way through the crowd to deliver a message to Gen. M. L. Smith. Upon reading the note, the general turned to the party-goers and announced, “This ball is at an end. The enemy is coming down the river. All non-combatants must leave the city.” The men had only seconds to bid loved-ones good-bye as they rushed away and reported to station. Later, on December 26, came the Battle of Chickasaw Bayou, the initial battle of the Vicksburg Campaign.

The Baum House, 2125 Cherry St.

(Bobby Alvarado, homeowner)

This five-bay galleried house at 2125 Cherry St. was originally located at, what is today, the end of Baum Street and was the home of Jacob and Ellen Baum after they purchased the property in 1859. Jacob Fredrick Baum was born in Baden Baden, Germany, in 1828 and came to the U.S.  in 1834. Ellen Chambers, who was originally from Lebanon, Ill., had lived in Vicksburg for a number of years. The couple had 10 children, several of whom did not live to adulthood. Jacob Baum died Nov. 10, 1891, and, according to the Vicksburg Evening Post, “about a year ago Mr. Baum accidentally fell through a hatchway in one of his store-buildings, injuring one of his legs and affecting his general health, for since that time he never regained his former robust health, and has been afflicted with kidney and liver troubles, and to this unfortunate accident his untimely death can no doubt be primarily attributed.”  He was 64 years old.  After his death, Ellen continued to live in the house with her children. And in 1893, she had the house moved from the back of the lot to the front, facing Cherry Street. The Vicksburg Herald reported in 1895 that Ellen had “opened a new street, to be known as Baum Street through her property on South Cherry running east from Cherry Street some 800 or 900 feet. It is a 50’ street and will open up new territory for the extension of the town in that direction.”  After Ellen’s death in 1907, her daughter Fannie and husband Knight M. Brough continued to live in the house. Fannie died Sept. 14, 1929, and Knight then married Mamie Cunningham. On Nov. 16, 1931, while transacting business in the First National Bank building Knight died but Mamie continued to live in the house, dying there on March 15, 1961. Charles Brough, Knight’s brother then put the house up for sale and it was sold to Mr. and Mrs. W.T. Walker, who then sold it to Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Henderson in 1973. They lived there until 1979 and later it was the home of a number of people including Kathy and Ben Bast and John and Linda Moss. The home continues to be an important part of the architectural history of Cherry Street.

George and Hattie LaBarre House, 2435 Drummond St. 

(Cliff & Melissa Geter, homeowners)

This simplified Queen Anne cottage may have been built about 1885 as the 1886 city directory records that George, Hattie, and their children George Jr. (known by his middle name, Pascalis), Louise, and Oscar were living here along with H.T. Moore, the superintendent of county schools, and his family.  LaBarre was the secretary of the Planters Cotton Press, Storage and Transfer Association and the Vicksburg Street Railroad and was the Warren County treasurer when he died on February 25, 1898.  Hattie continued to live in the house with her children, often taking in boarders.  Louise was a teacher at Speed Street School and married Joe Garrett.  In 1916, Hattie advertised the house for rent and then did so again in 1919, calling the house a six-room modern cottage with all conveniences.  Presumably, Hattie had moved in with her daughter Louise, who lived at 2501 Drummond and she remained there until she died on December 19, 1929.Residents of the house included M. M. Robertson (1918), Mrs. O. K. Wild (1920), Howard and Roberta Turpin (1929), Albert and Florence Spengler (1935), Mrs. Charles Wright (1941), Mr. and Mrs. C. H. Harris (1943), Mr. and Mrs. N. D. Calo (1951), Mrs. Kim Dronin (1961), and Katherine Gordy (1962).  Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Jackson were listed in the house in 1968 and Ernest died there in 1972 at the age of 85.  His wife and daughter, Mary Jane, continued to live there and then the house was for sale in March 1978.  It was bought by Mary Sweet.

Dec 8th 

1306 Mulvihill

(Natalie and Bobby Bailess, homeowners,)

The Prairie style-influenced house was designed by the New Orleans firm of DeBuys, Churchill, and Labouisse in 1909.  It was built for Harris and Madeleine Dickson and cost $10,000.  Harris Dickson was a well-known author who was born in Yazoo City and educated at the University of Virginia and George Washington University, earning a law degree with high honors in June 1894.  After graduation, he returned to Vicksburg where his brother was living.  He opened a law firm and then in 1905 was appointed city judge.  On April 24, 1906, Dickson married Madeleine Metcalf of Louisville, Kentucky, and they had three children, daughters Elizabeth (Shortle) and Madeleine (Bell), and a son, Harris Jr. who lived for only one day. Dickson is best known as an author of short stories and novels and, in fact, this part of his life required that he visit locations for research.  He said that travel took too much time away from his position as judge, so he resigned from city court in January 1908. Dickson also wrote stories and essays for Saturday Evening Post, Collier’s Weekly and other publications of the time. And he served as a correspondent for Collier’s Magazine during World War I and in the 1930s was a technical advisor to the Works Progress Administration in Mississippi. Dickson died on March 17, 1946. Madeleine continued to live here with her daughter, Elizabeth, and son-in-law Robert, a contractor. In about 1953, she sold the house to Natalie and Theo Hardy, the president of R. C. Wilkerson, Inc.  They sold the house in 1958 to the D. P. Waring family and then in 1989, the Waring’s daughter, Natalie Bailess, and her family moved into the house.

The Bomer House, 2315 Cherry St.

(Grover Ainsworth, homeowner)

Edwin Jefferson and Mosella Bomer built this eclectic house in 1909.  The Bomers had two children, Cherry and Lottie. Bomer and his brother John were from Tennessee and owned Bomer Brothers Lumber Company.  They were manufacturers and dealers in hardwood lumber.  Edwin was active in the Board of Trade and Crawford Street U. M. Church and Mosella was a member of the board of directors of the Old Ladies Home.  In 1915, the Bomer Brothers moved their operation to Blanks, La., but Mosella and the children stayed in Vicksburg and Edwin traveled back and forth when he could.  Cherry was married to Rundle Smith, an attorney, in 1917 and the couple made the house their home as well. Rundle Smith was a soldier in World War I and on returning to Vicksburg after the war was considered a “brilliant young attorney.”  Cherry was involved in the American Legion Auxiliary as the corresponding secretary.  By 1924, only Cherry and Rundle Smith were listed as occupants in the home on Cherry Street and they were there as late as 1935. By 1950 the house was the home of Dr. and Mrs. Walter Johnston.

3220 Drummond St.

(Jim and Logan Peay, homeowners)

This Craftsman style house was most likely designed by architect Will Stanton for Martha and Stephen Thrasher in 1910.  Martha purchased the lot in January 1910 from George Hackett for $1,050 and the house was built by W. H. Bruser for $4,500.  The house was completed by June because the Thrasher’s daughter, Eliza Brady, married Robert Flowerree in the house on June 9.  Stephen Thrasher was a native of Indiana, but had spent nearly his entire life in Port Gibson, where he practiced law.  He was also a planter in Claiborne County and the president of the Port Gibson Oil Works.  He served Claiborne County twice in the state legislature. Thrasher’s first wife died in Indiana, he then married Mrs. Charles Hamilton, who died, and in 1908 he married Martha Brady.  Thrasher died at the age of 81 in December 1913 of blood poisoning after cutting a corn off of his foot.  Martha continued to live in the house with her daughters Priscilla and Mrs. William Morehead, and occasionally her son, Albert.  In about 1924, Martha and her family moved back to Port Gibson and the house was sold to George and Lucille Sudduth. The Sudduths remodeled and enlarged it at a cost of $6,500. Sudduth was a cotton factor and commission merchant.  He was also a director of the Peoples Savings Bank and Loan Company and the Vicksburg Oil Company, secretary of the Vicksburg Chapter of the American Red Cross, treasurer of the YMCA, and a distributor of National Highway Cars. In about 1943, the house was purchased by Charles and Mallory “Mal” Wilkerson.  Charles was a member of the R. C. Wilkerson Insurance Agency and was associated with Glenwood Funeral Home. He was also a member of St. Paul’s Church, Y’s Men’s Club, Knights of Columbus, the American Legion, and the Chamber of Commerce.  He died at the age of thirty-two after a week-long illness, in 1946.  His wife and two children, Charles and Mallory, continued to live in the house after his death. Twenty years later, on May 9, 1966, Mal died at the age of forty-nine, after a long illness. Her obituary stated that she was a former state golf champion and a member of the Vicksburg Garden Clubs and a volunteer with the Girl Scouts. The house was then sold to Patricia and Jinx Peterson, who raised four daughters. Jinx was associated with the Mississippi Hardware Company for fifty years.  Patricia was the vice president of E. J. Platte Fisheries, a former Southeastern Zone Champion Trap Shooter, past president of the Ladies Golf Association of the Vicksburg Country Club, and a member of Junior Auxiliary and Kappa Delta Sorority. She died at 46 years old in 1970.  Jinx later married Cecelia Burdette. Jinx died in 1997 and his youngest daughter, Logan and her husband, Jim, live in the house today.

Dec 14 

2011 Cherry St.

(Joyce Clingan, homeowner)

The Craig-Flowers House is a Tudor Revival-style house completed in 1906 for William and Hattie Craig. Designed by W.W. Knowles, a New York architect, the house cost $60,000 and featured a three-door refrigerator, a built-in silver safe, a plate warmer, servants’ bells, and an interior fire hydrant with 100 feet of hose. Craig owned a cotton brokers company —  W.C. Craig and Company. In 1928, the house was deeded to the Craigs’ daughter, Hester, who had married Uriah Grey Flowers. The house remained in the family until the 1980s when it was sold to John Bobb, who had planned to turn it into an inn. It was sold again in the 1990s to Dr. Robert Clingan.

The Polk-Sherard-Hinman House, 2615 Confederate Ave.

(Mary Jane Fant, homeowner)

The house was built in 1926 by Paul and Alice Downing Polk and designed by M. J. Donovan, a Vicksburg architect who practiced during the first half of the 20th century. The two-story stuccoed frame residence is fashioned in an English Arts and Crafts tradition in the Tudor Revival style and is locally significant as an outstanding example of Donovan’s professional ability as an architect and as the only Vicksburg example of this variant of the style. Donovan designed houses, schools, churches, schools and commercial buildings in Vicksburg and Louisiana.

Paul, a civil engineer and canal inspector for the government raised chickens and cows on the back of the large country lot as well as maintaining a large vegetable garden. A chicken house and barn were also built on the property (not extant). The Polks also owned a farm in Warren County.  In 1936, when money became tight during the Depression, Paul chose to save the farm and let the bank foreclose on the house. In 1939, the house was sold to J. Gillan and Ruth Sherard for $7,750, less than half of the $18,000 that it cost to build. In 1967, the house was sold to Ed and Elizabeth Hinman who added the kitchen wing that same year and then the glassed-in garden room at the rear in 1975.

All Saints’ Chapel, 2715 Confederate Ave.

(Garrett and Dorothy Wallace, caretakers)

When the construction of All Saints’ School was first discussed in 1908, the plan was to build a separate chapel building. When funds were not available for the building, a chapel was included in the new main building instead. For a number of years thereafter, student groups held fundraising concerts with the proceeds being set aside for a chapel building.  Enough funds were not forthcoming, however, and then in 1945, the Council of the Diocese of Mississippi voted in favor of having a chapel constructed. It was decided that the chapel would be dedicated to the memory of Bishop Theodore Dubois Bratton, 3rd Bishop of All Saints’.  It was not until 1956 that the Gothic Revival chapel was constructed. The building was designed by Charles Roberts of Alexandria Louisiana and N. W. Overstreet of Jackson and built by W. T. Walker company of Vicksburg for $104,750 and held 150 people.  Construction was supervised by J.  Rigby Perry, chairman of the properties committee and Dr. George Street, chairman of the finance committee for All Saints’.  Furnishings for the new chapel were chosen by the properties committee of All Saints’ and the Committee of the Women’s Auxiliary of Mississippi. The women chose the altar, pews, and other furnishings. They accepted a bid from Feld Furniture Company for the carpet to cover the sanctuary, chancel, and center aisle. They also chose the George Payne Studio of Patterson, New Jersey for the stained glass rose window over the altar. The first services were held in the new Bishop Bratton Memorial Chapel on March 19, 1956.

Dec 15

Humphreys and Frances Moore House, 1616 Chambers St. 

(Homeowners, Keith and Jessica Flowers)

This Minimal Traditional House was built in 1939 for James Humphreys and Frances Moore. The Vicksburg Post reported on September 1, 1939, that the family had moved into their “pretty new home.”  Humphreys began his career with the U.S. Corps of Engineers in the same year that the Waterways Experiment Station was established, and he worked for the Corps for forty-two years before retiring in 1972.  He started work at the Vicksburg District and transferred to WES.  He was the first administrative support employee at WES and, as the accounting officer there, had the responsibility for the operation of the accounting systems. The Moores had two daughters, Elizabeth Anne and Mary Louise. Elizabeth Anne died when she was only four months old. Mary Louise graduated from Ole Miss in 1958 with a degree in education.  Frances was very involved in her daughter’s schools and was the president of the PTA at Bowmar Elementary and later Carr Central.  Humphreys died in the house on November 21, 1990, and Frances followed on February 23, 1996.

J.J. and Delia Lum House, 1333 Chambers St.

(Homeowners, Easy and Mary John Biedenharn)

This house was built in 1898 for the Lums.  John Joseph Lum was a cotton factor and he and his wife were very involved in the Vicksburg community, opening their home for church and association events, including the United Daughters of the Confederacy. The Lum family moved out of this home in the spring of 1912 and relocated to their country home. Handsel G. Blanks and his wife, Ethel, were set to move into the house and plumbing work was being done prior. On July 24, 1912, only days before they were to move in, fire broke out, at 10:30 p.m.  According to the Vicksburg Post, “the flames had reached good headway, but were promptly checked when the fire department under Chief Joe Wilks reached the scene.”  The house was sided in clapboard originally, with the cast concrete block probably added after the fire. H. B. Blanks owned a lumber company and a levee construction company. In 1924, he was the manager of the National Park Cigar Stand, and the proprietor of Jones Smoke House and the family had moved to South Street. In 1929, the house was home to Anita Cowan, widow of Percy Cowan. By 1935, Dr. Hugh Johnston and his family were in residence here and Hazel Johnston lived here into the 1990s.

Grayson and Jennie Dyer House 1642 Chambers St.

(Homeowners, Lee and Virginia Thames)

 This Craftsman style house was built for William Grayson and Jennie Lane Dyer in 1927 and cost $7,000. Dyer and three other men in Vicksburg owned the Chambers Street Extension Improvement Company in 1925. At this time Chamber Street ended at the bayou. The goal of the Improvement Company was to build a bridge over the bayou and develop a neighborhood similar to that that had already been established on Chambers and Baum streets. The group announced in January 1925 that they had acquired the Lane’s Hill property and that “the hillside will be graded and made level and streets graded and paved.” Jennie Lane Dyer was a great granddaughter of Newit Vick and granddaughter of Rev. John Lane who married Sarah Vick. The Dyers had three children — Jennie, W. Grayson Jr., and Vick Lane. The Dyers moved out of the house in about 1931 and Mr. and Mrs. J. L. Schwartz from Canton moved in. J.L. was a manager of agents for the Stonewall Life Insurance Company. Other inhabitants of the home were Mrs. G. B. Bebout (1934), Mrs. Seybold (1937), Mrs. Charles Willis Wilkerson (1941) and then Judge and Susan Thames, Jr. from about 1944. Susan continued to live in the house after her husband died in 1987.

About Terri Cowart Frazier

Terri Frazier was born in Cleveland. Shortly afterward, the family moved to Vicksburg. She is a part-time reporter at The Vicksburg Post and is the editor of the Vicksburg Living Magazine, which has been awarded First Place by the Mississippi Press Association. She has also been the recipient of a First Place award in the MPA’s Better Newspaper Contest’s editorial division for the “Best Feature Story.”

Terri graduated from Warren Central High School and Mississippi State University where she received a bachelor’s degree in communications with an emphasis in public relations.

Prior to coming to work at The Post a little more than 10 years ago, she did some freelancing at the Jackson Free Press. But for most of her life, she enjoyed being a full-time stay at home mom.

Terri is a member of the Crawford Street United Methodist Church. She is a lifetime member of the Vicksburg Junior Auxiliary and is a past member of the Sampler Antique Club and Town and Country Garden Club. She is married to Dr. Walter Frazier.

“From staying informed with local governmental issues to hearing the stories of its people, a hometown newspaper is vital to a community. I have felt privileged to be part of a dedicated team at The Post throughout my tenure and hope that with theirs and with local support, I will be able to continue to grow and hone in on my skills as I help share the stories in Vicksburg. When asked what I like most about my job, my answer is always ‘the people.’

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