Sixth O'Christmas Tree series - The Vicksburg Post

Sixth O’Christmas Tree series

Published 2:49 pm Monday, November 27, 2023

This is the sixth in a series featuring Vicksburg’s Holiday Tour of historic homes. The history of the homes is provided by executive director of the Vicksburg Foundation for Historic Preservation Nancy Bell.

Twelve homes will be on display for the public during O’ Christmas Tree, an inaugural event, sponsored by Vicksburg Main Street and the Vicksburg Heritage Guild, as a fundraiser for the Vicksburg Main Street Façade Program. Homes will be open from 1 to 3 p.m. Dec. 2, 3, 9 and 10. Tickets are $20 or $25 with a Vicksburg Trolley pass and are available at the Vicksburg Main Street office, Walnut Hills Restaurant, 1214 Adams St., or online at tickettailor.com/events/ochristmastree.

2308 Drummond St. (Sunday, Dec. 10)

This beautiful home is a Free Classic Queen Anne residence, built in 1901 by Mary Searles on land she purchased for $2,250. The house’s Victorian ornamentation includes tall hip roofs with cross gables, towers and turrets. Its more classical details include a Palladian window in the gable. Mrs. Searles sold the house in 1910 to Robert and Mattie Dent, who had moved to the city from Gulfport. In 1938, the home was sold to Bertha Rotstein.

2506 Cherry St. (Sunday, Dec. 10)

This house was built c.1886, most likely by Horace and Elizabeth Marshall, in the Queen Anne style. Marshall was a civil engineer who was at one time in charge of the Yazoo Diversion Canal project. He was also a mayor of Speed’s Addition. He sold the house to H. F. and Elizabeth Garbish in December 1904. Garbish was a levee contractor, a brick manufacturer, and he moved a lot of dirt and built roads and retaining walls. Sometime between 1908 and 1913 the porch was changed to a wrap-around porch and then sometime between 1914 and 1925, the Neoclassical porch was added. The Garbish family lived in the house until Horace died in 1933 and then Marshall and Emma Bush lived in the house. Bush was a draftsman with the Mississippi River Commission and Emma was a secretary at All Saints School. In the 1950s and1960s is was the home of Thomas Forrest and then Felice Dye called the house, home.

About Terri Cowart Frazier

Terri Frazier was born in Cleveland. Shortly afterward, the family moved to Vicksburg. She is a part-time reporter at The Vicksburg Post and is the editor of the Vicksburg Living Magazine, which has been awarded First Place by the Mississippi Press Association. She has also been the recipient of a First Place award in the MPA’s Better Newspaper Contest’s editorial division for the “Best Feature Story.”

Terri graduated from Warren Central High School and Mississippi State University where she received a bachelor’s degree in communications with an emphasis in public relations.

Prior to coming to work at The Post a little more than 10 years ago, she did some freelancing at the Jackson Free Press. But for most of her life, she enjoyed being a full-time stay at home mom.

Terri is a member of the Crawford Street United Methodist Church. She is a lifetime member of the Vicksburg Junior Auxiliary and is a past member of the Sampler Antique Club and Town and Country Garden Club. She is married to Dr. Walter Frazier.

“From staying informed with local governmental issues to hearing the stories of its people, a hometown newspaper is vital to a community. I have felt privileged to be part of a dedicated team at The Post throughout my tenure and hope that with theirs and with local support, I will be able to continue to grow and hone in on my skills as I help share the stories in Vicksburg. When asked what I like most about my job, my answer is always ‘the people.’

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