Concord Quarters was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in January, and I believe this is the first individually listed slave quarters building (apart from a main house) in Mississippi. That’s fitting, since Concord, the c.1790 home of Spanish governor Don Manuel Gayoso de Lemos, was a celebrated historic landmark even in the nineteenth century, and the ruinous fire that destroyed the main house in 1901 was covered in most newspapers in the state and region. The two-story brick quarters was built behind the main house c.1819 and contains six rooms. According to MDAH, it “is one of the oldest extant residences of enslaved persons in the region.”
Rehabilitated by owners Gregory and Deborah Cosey, the quarters is now a bed-and-breakfast and is part of the Natchez Pilgrimage. Read more about it here: http://www.concordquarters.com/aboutus.html.
Interestingly, it took HABS two visits to the Concord site to get pictures of the quarters building. In 1934, HABS photographer Ralph Clynne shot one picture of the “welcoming arms” stairs, with a glimpse of the quarters behind, but clearly the ruins of the main house were what drew him. Lucky for us, James Butters came back in 1936 and took two pictures of the quarters building. Thank you, James Butters (even if you didn’t take any interiors). Incidentally, I’m not sure when the staircase disappeared (obviously after 1934), but according to local lore, a few of the modest ranch homes nearby sport fancy marble stair pieces in their yards.
MDAH Historic Resources Database:
- Concord Quarters–http://www.apps.mdah.ms.gov/Public/prop.aspx?id=2098&view=facts&y=728
HABS documentation: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/hh/item/ms0126/
Concord Quarters website: http://www.concordquarters.com/index.html
Even more about Concord . . .