Historic Paint Finishes Report: The Original Finishes of the Verandah House, Corinth, Mississippi
Introduction
The Verandah House, built in 1857, is a remarkable house, combining Greek Revival and Italianate architectural influences. Built by Martin Siegrest, a Swiss builder, contractor, and architect who was brought from St. Louis, Missouri, to build a number of buildings in Corinth, the Verandah House was commissioned by surveyor Hamilton Mask, one of the founders of the city. The house has had an overwhelmingly compelling time in history when, during the Civil War, it served as the headquarters of generals of both sides: Confederate Generals Braxton Bragg and Earl Van Dorn, and Union General Henry Halleck. Order Number 8 was finalized in the house, detailing the Confederates’ march to the Battle of Shiloh.
Following the conclusion of the Civil War, the Verandah House was purchased in 1875 by Mrs. Mary E. Curlee, the mother of Shelby Curlee who later founded the well-known Curlee Clothing Company. After her husband’s death in 1878, the house changed ownership twice over a brief period before being purchased by Leroy Montgomery Huggins. The Huggins family occupied the home until 1921, when Shelby Hammond Curlee purchased the home again for his sister. Remains of two later redecorations involving polychromy and graining have been found: these re-decorations may have occurred in 1875 for Mary Curlee or later, when Leroy Huggins purchased the home. The Huggins family made rear additions to the house in 1885.
Once repurchased by Shelby Curlee in 1921, he began a major renovation that transformed the house over an eight year period into a livable home with up-to-date amenities characteristic of the time: the 1920’s. This renovation removed a great deal of physical evidence of the finishes and also added embellishments to some of the rooms. Nearly all of the exposed woodwork was stripped on all of the accumulated paint.
The 1921-1929 renovations involved scraping and washing down the walls and ceilings and preparation of the surfaces for modern oil based paints. Oddly, most of the ornamental plaster in the Hall 100 and the South Parlor 103 retained the early water-soluble distemper paints. The woodwork was also very carefully stripped of all earlier paint layers: some of the woodwork, which may have been deteriorated, was replaced with new pieces, matching the existing. The Hall (100) and the Southwest Room (104, formerly the Dining Room) were altered by the addition of a dado treatment. In addition, Rooms 101, 102 and 104 were embellished with added entablatures, made of wood molding forms and castings, based on the original plaster entablature of the Hall (100). None of these enrichments would have been present before 1929. The careful hierarchy of the decoration of the spaces was eliminated by these additions.
Another architectural change made in 1921-1929 involved opening a direct connection between the two bedrooms, Room 101 and Room 102. The closet north of the fireplaces on the west wall was added to Room 102 by the removal of the wall. It appears that this closet would have served Room 101. There is also evidence to indicate that all of the casement windows were replaced in 1929, though it is possible that the extant windows are original but have been thoroughly stripped of all of the earlier finishes.
All of the mantels appear to date to the 1921-1929 renovations. The most evident is the mantel in the South Parlor, which overlaps the Pilasters. The north end of the mantel shelf has moved away from the face of the Pilaster and there is a sequence of paint finishes visible that was isolated by the installation of the mantel. All of the other mantels appear to be of the same date: all show the 1929 enamels as the first finish and the bulkiness of the moldings is a characteristic common to all of the mantels. As in the case of the added entablatures, the mantels should be eased off the walls in order to permit examination of the wall surface behind: it is likely that ghost marks of the original mantels might be found; the original size of the fireboxes (it is possible that the fireboxes have been altered in size) might also be perceived.
The addition of the entablatures in Rooms 101, 102, and 104 is very significant and removal of these twentieth century elements may be the next step in the ongoing restoration of the Verandah House. It is likely that better samples of the original finishes may survive under these added elements: it is entirely possible that pieces of wallpaper may be found.
Following the conclusion of the Civil War, the Verandah House was purchased in 1875 by Mrs. Mary E. Curlee, the mother of Shelby Curlee who later founded the well-known Curlee Clothing Company. After her husband’s death in 1878, the house changed ownership twice over a brief period before being purchased by Leroy Montgomery Huggins. The Huggins family occupied the home until 1921, when Shelby Hammond Curlee purchased the home again for his sister. Remains of two later redecorations involving polychromy and graining have been found: these re-decorations may have occurred in 1875 for Mary Curlee or later, when Leroy Huggins purchased the home. The Huggins family made rear additions to the house in 1885.
Once repurchased by Shelby Curlee in 1921, he began a major renovation that transformed the house over an eight year period into a livable home with up-to-date amenities characteristic of the time: the 1920’s. This renovation removed a great deal of physical evidence of the finishes and also added embellishments to some of the rooms. Nearly all of the exposed woodwork was stripped on all of the accumulated paint.
The 1921-1929 renovations involved scraping and washing down the walls and ceilings and preparation of the surfaces for modern oil based paints. Oddly, most of the ornamental plaster in the Hall 100 and the South Parlor 103 retained the early water-soluble distemper paints. The woodwork was also very carefully stripped of all earlier paint layers: some of the woodwork, which may have been deteriorated, was replaced with new pieces, matching the existing. The Hall (100) and the Southwest Room (104, formerly the Dining Room) were altered by the addition of a dado treatment. In addition, Rooms 101, 102 and 104 were embellished with added entablatures, made of wood molding forms and castings, based on the original plaster entablature of the Hall (100). None of these enrichments would have been present before 1929. The careful hierarchy of the decoration of the spaces was eliminated by these additions.
Another architectural change made in 1921-1929 involved opening a direct connection between the two bedrooms, Room 101 and Room 102. The closet north of the fireplaces on the west wall was added to Room 102 by the removal of the wall. It appears that this closet would have served Room 101. There is also evidence to indicate that all of the casement windows were replaced in 1929, though it is possible that the extant windows are original but have been thoroughly stripped of all of the earlier finishes.
All of the mantels appear to date to the 1921-1929 renovations. The most evident is the mantel in the South Parlor, which overlaps the Pilasters. The north end of the mantel shelf has moved away from the face of the Pilaster and there is a sequence of paint finishes visible that was isolated by the installation of the mantel. All of the other mantels appear to be of the same date: all show the 1929 enamels as the first finish and the bulkiness of the moldings is a characteristic common to all of the mantels. As in the case of the added entablatures, the mantels should be eased off the walls in order to permit examination of the wall surface behind: it is likely that ghost marks of the original mantels might be found; the original size of the fireboxes (it is possible that the fireboxes have been altered in size) might also be perceived.
The addition of the entablatures in Rooms 101, 102, and 104 is very significant and removal of these twentieth century elements may be the next step in the ongoing restoration of the Verandah House. It is likely that better samples of the original finishes may survive under these added elements: it is entirely possible that pieces of wallpaper may be found.