Originally known as the Verandah House, the home was built in 1857 by Martin Siegrist for surveyor Hamilton Mask. Mr. Mask, along with his brother-in-law, Houston Mitchell, established the town of Corinth in 1854.
During the Civil War, the home was headquarters for a number of generals including Confederate Generals Braxton Bragg and Earl Van Dorn and Federal General Henry W. Halleck. It was in this house that Order Number 8 was finalized resulting in the Confederate offensive known as the Battle of Shiloh.
Mary E. Curlee, mother of Shelby H. Curlee, founder of nationally famous Curlee Clothing Company, purchased the Verandah House in 1875. Upon her husband’s death in 1878, the house change ownership twice for very brief periods of time before being bought by Leroy Montgomery Huggins. The Huggins occupied the home until 1921 when Shelby Hammond Curlee purchased the house for his sister, Nell. She oversaw a ten-year restoration project and lived in the home until her death in 1944. The Curlee family of St. Louis, Missouri, gave the home to the City of Corinth in 1960 in memory of Shelby Curlee.
The home is a designated Mississippi Landmark, is listed on the National Register of Historic Place, and has been designated a National Historic Landmark.
Located at 301 Childs Street, the Verandah/ Curlee House is currently undergoing renovations and open to the public by appointment only.
For more information, contact CACVB or www.verandahhouse.org
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