When the siege of Vicksburg began, the battle was literally brought to the front doors of residents’ homes. Mortars fell, desolating houses throughout the River City and forcing townsfolk to seek shelter elsewhere. Many of them found safety in caves. These caves were built into Vicksburg’s hills in a soil that made it easy to dig into and hold its form. More than 500 hundred caves were built around the city during the 47-day siege, none of which exist today, making void a piece of history.

But now, after conceiving of the idea seven years ago to recreate a cave for the purpose of educating “the people of the history of Warren County, not the war,” Tully Hall said he, along with Carol and Bertram Hayes Davis and Thad Pratt, will be holding an open house at a project the group is excited to unveil: Tully’s Cave.

The reception will be held inside a replica of a middle-class home built of the era from 4 to 7 p.m. Sunday, May 18, at 716 Main St.

The cave is located at the back of the replicated house and it took three years to construct, Bertram said. Its exterior is crafted to reflect how the cave would have looked built inside a hill. An outhouse is also located by the cave, a reminder of how everyday life and personal hygiene were attended to at that time.

As for the interior of the cave, it too was designed to show visitors how townspeople of the era would take their creature comforts from home, including their silver, oriental rugs and in some cases chandeliers, into the cave to also protect them from being destroyed.

“We wanted to show that these people brought everything in there and we tried to replicate a place they slept and a place they would have been good,” Carol said.

In an effort to find items, Pratt said family members went “shopping for artifacts.”

While the cave will open to locals for the first time on May 18, excursions to the site have been available through Vicksburg Old Town Tours, which is owned by the Davises, for nearly a year.

Throughout that time, Bertram said they have had more than 4,000 tourists come through and they have received a variety of questions and feedback

“We had a woman that came here not long ago. She had been in one of the original caves 47 years ago (before it had been collapsed) and she said this cave looks just like the one she was in. That made us feel like we did a good job,” Carol said of Tully’s Cave.

Carol said she sees the cave as not only an additional tourist attraction for Vicksburg, but also an educational opportunity.

“We have had history professors; we had people who studied the Civil War, and a lot of them knew nothing about the caves, so they’re really all interested because it’s something they don’t know about,” she said.

The Davises, Hall and Pratt said they are invested in seeing their hometown thrive and, in building the cave, they hope this will be another reason tourists come to Vicksburg.

Along with the opening reception May 18, the cave will be open to the public every Saturday from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. through July 4, coinciding with the dates the 47-day Siege of Vicksburg began up until its surrender.  Admission is free, but donations are welcome. Additional information, photos, memorabilia and books will also be available to view inside the house.