Anne McKee
That’s right – Calling all history buffs and that would be 90% of all Mississippians don't you think? Yes, everyone meet at the lovely home of Martha and Larry Buckley on Saturday, October 17, 9-4:00 pm. The home is known as Twin Gables, circa 1848, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The address: 220 South Stonewall Street, Enterprise, MS – right there in Clarke County, Mississippi.
The Constantine Rea Historical Society & The Lauderdale Rifles, Company F, 46th Mississippi Volunteer Infantry sponsor the Living History & Antebellum Home Tour. For some of you with a nice memory, members of another historic organization sponsored a similar event at Merrehope a few years ago. Merrehope is a lovely local historic home on tour in Meridian, phone number (601- 483-8439). Since I was the Meridian Restorations Foundation, Inc. (owner of Merrehope) Board President that same year, I remember the excitement this unique opportunity brought to our community. Hundreds of families attended – did you hear me? That was hundreds of families -- grandparents, parents, children, and young people all came together to celebrate history. It was a wonderful time.
So, dear readers, here is another awesome chance to celebrate history. The members of the Major Constantine Rea Historical Society and The Lauderdale Rifles, Company F, 46th Mississippi Volunteer Infantry are all hardworking and dedicated volunteers. They present period correct activities and demonstrations. Here are some of the planned areas of interest for The Living History Confederate Camp at Enterprise:
1. 9:00 am — Raise Colors with pomp and circumstance.
2. Cooking demonstration (the ladies will cook apple butter.)
3. Musket firing.
4. Ladies trunk show on the front porch at 1:00 pm.
5. Tours of the home, Twin Gables.
6. Live music (bluegrass and gospel) throughout the day.
7. Retire Colors with Revere at 4:00 pm.
Admission fees:
Adults $5.00
Students (6-12 years of age) $3.00
Children (5 years and younger) Free
Quickly, I must add – beginning at 9:00 am, The Enterprise Woman’s Club will serve/sale biscuits, coffee, soft drinks, and water. Also, beginning at 11:00 am, the Meridian VFW, Post 79, will serve/sale hot dogs and hamburgers. The Collinsville Boy Scouts will sale popcorn and candy. If after all of that food you still find yourself hungry, then drive five minutes over to the Bridge Street Grill at Enterprise, or Long’s Fish Camp, located nearby, for some yummy fixings.
For safety, the Enterprise Police Department will be on hand. The Boy Scouts of Collinsville will help with parking your horse and buggy, err, I mean your mode of transportation. I'm really getting into this!
The beautiful historic home, Twin Gables, was originally a working plantation before the War Between the North and South. The original core of the house was a log cabin. The logs were confirmed during the renovation work in 2006. Logs were used underneath the home for floor joists in the (Green Room) – the west bedroom. The interior and the exterior walls surrounding the (Green Room) are logs covered by boarding and plaster. There are six octagonal columns on the front facade that were added later with cypress siding and square nails. All of the flooring is heart pine and original to the house. Each room has a beautiful mantel, and twelve-foot ceilings throughout. Some updating occurred at the home in the late Victorian period – adding a cellar, closets, and removing the original hallway. The cellar was used for a distillery.
Other features:
1. Dinner Bell – located to the right at the rear of the home.
2. Carriage House – housed the team of horses and the carriage.
3. Window panes are original
4. Chimney has an exit hole from a 3 inch cannon ball at the roof line.
5. Oak pump organ, dated 1884, and used at St Mary’s Episcopal Church, Enterprise.
6. Marble topped sideboard with spindle doors was used at one time in a saloon in Enterprise during the late 1880s.
7. Several pieces of antique furniture owned by the family, dated from the late 1800s, plus much more.
Twin Gables was the last home of Colonel Robert Mc Lain of the 37th Mississippi Volunteers, CSA. Colonel Mc Lain was wounded in the battle of Corinth, October 4 1862. At one point, Twin Gables was the headquarters for the prisoner exchange program. Colonel Mc Lain and various family members are buried at the Enterprise Cemetery. C. H. Vorhees purchased Twin Gables in 1896. His son, F. C. Vorhees, lived at Twin Gables until death in 1934. Laurence B. and Christine J. Buckley purchased the home, April 1943, from J. C. and Lois Oliver for $931.95. They raised a family of three children in the historic dwelling. Their son, Laurence B. Buckley II, and wife Martha Rodenbough Buckley completed the restoration, March 2007. The home is open for tours as are several historic sites at Enterprise. Call Enterprise Town Hall, (601) 659-7971, for more information.
You will want to know that The Constantine Rea Historical Society is a Mississippi non-profit historical society, founded for educational, historical, and heritage purposes. The main focus of the society is the study of the events and personages of the period of the War Between the States. It is not engaged in political activity and is a family oriented membership, open to both male and female. For more information, call Ward Calhoun, (601) 482-9752, or David Sessums, (601) 626-8934.
Major Constantine Rea (1825 – 1864) lived in Lauderdale County between 1846 and 1848. He practiced law and was editor of The Lauderdale Republican, a newspaper located at Marion. He was well known for his fiery editorials. He was active in local and national affairs representing Mississippi and Lauderdale County in the Democratic Party. Major Rea was a fallen hero. In September 1864, when reporting his death to the family, Colonel William Clark, Adjutant General said, “It becomes my painful duty to report the death of Major Con Rea 46th Mississippi Regiment. The deceased was a brave and gallant officer … Major Rea was an officer worthy of distinction.”
Now, since this is October and “that” time of year, I'm not certain if there are any ghosts on the premises? I suppose you should drive to Enterprise on Saturday, October 17, and check it all out. I do know one thing for certain; many volunteers are coming together to honor our heritage on this day.
I am always thankful for those who care about Mississippi and tell our story.
Anne McKee is a writer and storyteller. She lives in Meridian. Anne is listed on the Mississippi Artist Roster, sponsored by Mississippi Arts Commission, as a dramatic and literary artist, storyteller, and as a Teaching Artist. She is active with the arts and educational communities throughout Mississippi.
