The Manship House Museum is closed while undergoing a million-dollar-plus repair of the building’s foundation. The floor of the circa-1857 house is thirteen inches out of level, which has resulted in huge cracks in the plaster walls and gaps at doors and windows throughout the house. The restoration of the Manship House by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History is based on archaeological, architectural, and historical research. Excavations on the site determined structural details, and photographs, diaries, letters, contemporary newspapers, and recollections of family members supplied information on interior details. For more information call 601-961-4724.
The dining room was said to be Charles Henry Manship’s favorite room. Manship covered the dining room walls with wallpaper, then grained them from floor to ceiling to create the appearance of a paneled oak room. The mantel was marbled, a painting technique imitating a much more costly material. All the mantels in the house have been removed and are stored off-site during the foundation repair work. The chimneys and interior fireplaces will be demolished and reconstructed once the house has been leveled and placed on its new foundation.
The Manship House dining room.The mantel has been removed, and the room is prepared for demolition of the fireplace.
Interior demolition of the dining room chimney and fireplace.
The Manship House foundation repair project is now underway! The first phase of the project will prepare the building for re-leveling. Prep work included removal of the front and side steps, step buttresses, and their concrete foundations. Next, the old HVAC units and all HVAC ductwork were removed, and a temporary HVAC system was installed. The sprinkler system piping and insulation have been removed, and the east end of the house will be placed on a temporary support, and the concrete footing will be removed.
Work begins with the removal of the front steps and all ductwork under the house.
Side porch, steps, and concrete footings are removed.
Temporary HVAC unit is installed.Interior ductwork for HVAC unit.
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.
