Realtor: Cedarhurst Is a Southern Gothic Dream in Mississippi for Just $272K

Wednesday, April 11, 2018

Cedarhurst Is a Southern Gothic Dream in Mississippi for Just $272K

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Cedarhurst, located in Holly Springs, MS, is a Gothic Revival masterpiece with quite a historic pedigree. Built in 1857 by a wealthy doctor named Charles Bonner, the home was a makeshift hospital during the Civil War and the headquarters of the commander of the 4th Military District during Reconstruction. The home is now on the market for $272,000.

Bonner’s daughter, Katherine Sherwood Bonner, was a feminist and author who studied with Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. In 1878, Bonner and his son died in a yellow fever epidemic, and later the home passed to Sherwood Bonner’s daughter Lillian.

In 1901, the home was sold to William A. Belk, who named it Cedarhurst. The house is still occupied by the Belk family today. Cedarhurst’s new buyer would be only the third family to live in the house in 161 years.

The house is classic neo-Gothic, with its two-story gables, Tudor windows, and cast-iron balustrade made at the nearby James-McIlwain foundry. If Southern Gothic is your thing, Cedarhurst is an amazing deal.

Front walk as described by Mrs. N.D. Deupree

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First-floor entryway

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With five bedrooms and three baths, the 5,000-square-foot home features wide-plank wood floors, high ceilings, and fireplaces galore. An in-law wing behind the home has a bedroom and second kitchen. The property also includes 10 acres of surrounding land.

For a 161-year-old house, Cedarhurst is in great shape, and retains a lot of period details such as the light fixtures, the stunning Tudor windows, and the lacy iron balustrade.

“This home could easily be used as a bed-and-breakfast or wedding venue,” says listing agent Stephanie Lawson.

This description of the house, written in 1903 by Mrs. N.D. Deupree in “Some Historic Homes of Mississippi,” could have been written today:

“The home is a commodious brick mansion built in Gothic style, with windows opening to the floor, a wide portico in front, the roof supported by ten slender iron pillars, with handsome fretwork also of iron joining the pillars. The balcony has the same design of fret-work in the balustrade that surrounds it.

“The house stands quite a distance from the street, and is surrounded by a spacious lawn shaded by fine old oaks, holly and cedars.”

Anyone in the market for an extremely reasonably priced piece of Mississippi history should grab Cedarhurst before it’s gone.