Welcome to Mississippi Victorian, the blog of the Manship House Museum. We are a house museum in Jackson, Mississippi, that explores the lives of the Manship family and other Mississippians during the late nineteenth century. Charles Henry and Adaline Manship built their house in 1857 and raised ten children here, and four generations of the family lived here.
The property was acquired by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History in 1975 and opened as a museum to interpret the daily life of a middle-class family of the Victorian era. The carefully restored house showcases the graining and marbling of Charles Henry Manship, as well as many of the family’s original furnishings. The house itself is a rare example of Gothic Revival architecture from an age and area that favored classical design.
As of June 2012, the Manship House Museum is closed for extensive repairs to the foundation, which will correct the thirteen-inch difference between the east and west ends of the house. In this blog we’ll document that project, show you the behind-the-scenes working of a museum, and share the history, new research, and artifacts of the Manship House. Subscribe to the Manship House blog below, or check back with us weekly to follow our progress. This project will be a major step in the preservation of the building. It is also an excellent opportunity for our staff to evaluate our collection and improve interpretation for when we reopen.
Marilynn Jones
Director, Manship House Museum
