In commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the incorporation of Vicksburg, we will be highlighting the histories of buildings the Vicksburg Foundation for Historic Preservation has saved over the years.The foundation has worked to preserve Vicksburg’s architectural history for more than a quarter, 66 years, of the life of our city. Founded in 1958 by Eva Davis, who also founded the Old courthouse Museum, the foundation’s mission is to identify, preserve, protect, and interpret Vicksburg’s buildings. 

In June 1965, the foundation purchased the Governor Alexander Gallatin McNutt House in the northwest corner of First East and  Monroe streets to prevent its demolition. The Federal Revival house is one of the oldest extant buildings in Vicksburg and is the only surviving residence in the state associated with the twelfth governor of Mississippi. William Pescod bought the lot in 1826 from Washington Cook and built a two-story frame four-room house on the lot. McNutt bought the house in 1829. He built the rear wing and enlarged the windows to their current size. In 1839, after his inauguration as governor, he moved to Jackson and sold the house to Hugh Dunlap. Dunlap sold the house in 1844 to Hamilton Wright of New Orleans, who then sold the house to C. G. Wright.  He sold the house to Elmira Hommel and she then sold it to Sarah Jabour Farris and her son Ellis. The VFHP bought the house from Ellis Farris in 1965. 

Gov. McNutt was born in Rockbridge County, Virginia  in 1802 and studied at Washington College. After graduation he moved to Jackson and practiced law until 1825, when he moved his law practice to Vicksburg. He entered into a planting partnership with Joel Cameron and acquired extensive holdings in Warren and Washington counties. In 1832, Cameron was murdered on the Warren County plantation, his body found floating in Long Lake.Within a year, McNutt had married his widow, Elizabeth Lewis Cameron, and had purchased Cameron‘s assets. McNutt began his political career in 1829 when he was elected a Vicksburg selectman. In 1835 he was elected to a term of the state senate, over which he briefly presided as president in 1837.

McNutt was elected governor in the election of 1837 and then was reelected two years later. The McNutt administration was noted for the battles it waged against the planters and union banks, which were accused of mismanagement and corrupt practices. As a consequence of the governor’s extreme position, the state refused to pay the bonds which it had issued only a few years earlier to establish capital for the new banks. This policy earned McNutt the nickname “the great repudiator “and left Mississippi, which had itself become a large holder of bank bonds, totally bankrupt and without credit. To his credit, however, during his tenure, McNutt supported local improvements and public schools, and formulated plans for a state library and state university.  Additionally, he was the first governor to occupy the state capital, now the Old Capital Museum. After leaving the governorship, McNutt briefly retired from public life but soon reappeared as an unsuccessful candidate for the United States Senate. He died in 1848 while touring the northern counties of the state as a candidate for presidential elector and was buried in Jackson.

When the foundation bought the house in 1965 it had been divided into apartments and the organization stated that it would continue to rent these apartments to help pay off the note, while rehabbing the exterior. In order to raise the additional funds necessary, the foundation held numerous fundraisers, which included selling placemats and notecards featuring historic buildings in Vicksburg, renting to the Community Christian Service Center and establishing an annual tour of homes. In February 1977, the foundation sold the McNutt House to Dr. Hall and Juanita Whitaker, who completed the rehabilitation of the house and operated McNutt House Antiques on the first floor and a residence on the second. Since this time, the house has had a number of owners who have all worked diligently to keep this important piece of our state’s architectural history alive. 

– Nancy Bell, Vicksburg Foundation for Historic Preservation.