General Pemberton's first headquarters in Vicksburg

[Cal]

Still standing but scheduled for demolition

 

[cheesydn]

This is the property of 1414 Grove St. in Vicksburg, Mississippi, for sale around $28,740. It's a 2758 square foot building. Many think that City of Vicksburg's should save it because of history involved during the Civil War. It was built in 1834, a 191-year-old building.

 

[huskerblitz]

This is the property of 1414 Grove St. in Vicksburg, Mississippi, for sale around $28,740. It's a 2758 square foot building. Many think that City of Vicksburg's should save it because of history involved during the Civil War. It was built in 1834, a 191-year-old building.

Yeah, but how much would it take to renovate it to a usable state? Upkeeping should have been done years ago, unfortunately.

 

[iron bender]

Inquiry sent to @Championhillz. Backstory/history/city planning etc. I'd love to buy a historic home in Vicksburg!

 

[cheesydn]

Remember, the bathroom is 0.75, not a full bathroom.

 

[13 IL Cav & 64 GA Inf]

Inquiry sent to @Championhillz. Backstory/history/city planning etc. I'd love to buy a historic home in Vicksburg!

Any effort at all is worthwhile.

 

[Tom Hughes]

There has to be a way to save and stablize this house. Heck, a private donor recently donated over $2 million to the national park to do some preservation on the battlefield. It would be nice if $28,000 could be carved out of that to at least hold off demolition until a more permanent stabilization could be done. I can think of a least a dozen people off the top of my head that would at least donate time to cleaning it up and doing patch work on it.

 

[Missouri Swampfox]

Where's the local Round Table or the SCV?

 

[Samwisep86]

There has to be a way to save and stablize this house. Heck, a private donor recently donated over $2 million to the national park to do some preservation on the battlefield. It would be nice if $28,000 could be carved out of that to at least hold off demolition until a more permanent stabilization could be done. I can think of a least a dozen people off the top of my head that would at least donate time to cleaning it up and doing patch work on it.

The 2 million was earmarked to restore the Illinois State Memorial. That's pretty close to the stated cost of its restoration. The house on Grove is not in the NPS's boundary to preserve at this time, plus with the cuts to the NPS this year, its unlikely the money exists.

I'm sure there's other historic preservation organizations around Warren County that could preserve the house if the desire is there.

 

[13 IL Cav & 64 GA Inf]

The 2 million was earmarked to restore the Illinois State Memorial. That's pretty close to the stated cost of its restoration. The house on Grove is not in the NPS's boundary to preserve at this time, plus with the cuts to the NPS this year, its unlikely the money exists.

I'm sure there's other historic preservation organizations around Warren County that could preserve the house if the desire is there.

Darn it, I still agree with @Tom Hughes in hoping there is a way to save the house.

 

[Tom Hughes]

The 2 million was earmarked to restore the Illinois State Memorial. That's pretty close to the stated cost of its restoration. The house on Grove is not in the NPS's boundary to preserve at this time, plus with the cuts to the NPS this year, its unlikely the money exists.

I'm sure there's other historic preservation organizations around Warren County that could preserve the house if the desire is there.

Why wouldn't it be in the NPS boundary? They preserved the current Pemberton H.Q. house, Grant's Canal across the river in Louisiana as well as property at Champion Hill near Edwards and Port Gibson. What would be their "boundary"? Just curious.

 

[Tom Hughes]

Darn it, I still agree with @Tom Hughes in hoping there is a way to save the house.

Vicksburg, in and of itself is captured in history within the context of the 1863 campaign and siege. This house is a part of that. Surely something can be done. Even if it wasn't Pemberton's first H.Q., it stands as a "monument" to the time period that Vicksburg is known for. Tourism impact is real for Vicksburg. It is probably Vicksburg's greatest economic driver. Another tour home with a history would make a great addition. Sorry for my ranting, I'm just crossing my fingers for a miracle I guess....lol

 

[Samwisep86]

Why wouldn't it be in the NPS boundary? They preserved the current Pemberton H.Q. house, Grant's Canal across the river in Louisiana as well as property at Champion Hill near Edwards and Port Gibson. What would be their "boundary"? Just curious.

The NMP's boundaries are specific, not general. For each of those instances you mentioned, Congress had to pass a law expanding the NMP's boundaries (beyond the 1899 boundaries) to include those properties.

Here's the law for Grant's Canal Expansion: https://www.nps.gov/vick/learn/management/grantexpand.htm
Here's the law for Pemberton's Headquarters: https://www.nps.gov/vick/learn/management/pembertons-hq-legislation.htm
I don't have the law handy for Champion Hill and Port Gibson, but the same thing happened.

 

[Samwisep86]

Vicksburg, in and of itself is captured in history within the context of the 1863 campaign and siege. This house is a part of that. Surely something can be done. Even if it wasn't Pemberton's first H.Q., it stands as a "monument" to the time period that Vicksburg is known for. Tourism impact is real for Vicksburg. It is probably Vicksburg's greatest economic driver. Another tour home with a history would make a great addition. Sorry for my ranting, I'm just crossing my fingers for a miracle I guess....lol

Also, I don't disagree with a word you're saying here. I think the house should be preserved, it just doesn't have to be by the NPS. Not everything in Gettysburg is owned/preserved by the NPS either.

 

[cheesydn]

So, how do we proceed of saving it.?

 

[huskerblitz]

Has anyone asked the hard question, can it be saved??? It looks pretty dilapidated. Im worried it would take more to restore than what is practical. Which is sad, because I would definitely visit it.

 

[cheesydn]

Since it is two-story building, and by code, the foundation has to be secure. Another question would be asked, why isn't it registration as over 100 years old building. Most building in America are protected or did this one slip thru the cracks.

 

[Samwisep86]

Another question would be asked, why isn't it registration as over 100 years old building. Most building in America are protected or did this one slip thru the cracks.

Depends if the owner is interested in it. Not every old building is automatically entered into the National Register of Historic Places, and this one was not (yet).

 

[Tom Hughes]

The NMP's boundaries are specific, not general. For each of those instances you mentioned, Congress had to pass a law expanding the NMP's boundaries (beyond the 1899 boundaries) to include those properties.

Here's the law for Grant's Canal Expansion: https://www.nps.gov/vick/learn/management/grantexpand.htm
Here's the law for Pemberton's Headquarters: https://www.nps.gov/vick/learn/management/pembertons-hq-legislation.htm
I don't have the law handy for Champion Hill and Port Gibson, but the same thing happened.

Thanks for the explanation. Makes sense.

 

[Tom Hughes]

Has anyone asked the hard question, can it be saved??? It looks pretty dilapidated. Im worried it would take more to restore than what is practical. Which is sad, because I would definitely visit it.

True. It looks like it would take a lot of money to restore for sure. This house reminds me of the condition of the Coker House at Champion Hill some years back. It had fallen into a desperate state and not many (including myself) thought that it could be stablized and restored, but it was and is currently undergoing renovations. So, it can be done. But at what cost??