Beauvoir
From Dixiepedia: The PC-Free Encyclopedia
Beauvoir was the retirement estate of Confederate States President Jefferson Davis in Biloxi, Mississippi. Developed by planter-entrepreneur James Brown, the gulfside estate grew to encompass approximately 500 acres and was dominated by an imposing Louisiana raised cottage-style residence, constructed 1848-1851. Unscathed by the war, the property passed from the Brown family in 1873 first to Frank Johnston and then to Sarah Anne Ellis Dorsey. A Natchez-born intellectual, author, and Confederate partisan, the widow Dorsey named the estate, which she shared with her half-brother, Beauvoir (French for "beautiful view") and invited Jefferson Davis to write his memoirs here. Davis accepted the invitation but insisted on paying his way and, by February 1877, was living in the Library Pavilion at Beauvoir. Joined by his wife Varina, Davis purchased the property in February, 1879 and transferred to the main residence, where he lived until his death on 6 December 1889. Varina Davis sold the central portion of the estate to the Mississippi Division, United Sons of Confederate Veterans in 1902 for use as a memorial to Jefferson Davis and as a Confederate veterans home. The veterans home operated on site from 1903 until 1957, caring for a total of approximately 2,000 soldiers and widows.
Museum operations at Beauvoir began in 1941 with the opening of the main residence and Confederate cemetery for tours and have subsequently expanded to include a Confederate Museum, Davis Family Gallery, theatre, Tomb of the Unknown Confederate Soldier, Stars and Bars Gift Shop, and other features of interest on 52 landscaped acres. The estate also became the home of the Jefferson Davis Presidential Library in 1997. The new facility contained an extensive library on Southern history, a portion of the personal library and papers of Jefferson Davis, a biographical exhibit on the Southern president and a theatre/lecture hall.
Beauvoir hosts several special events each year including Spring Pilgrimage (March), Confederate Memorial Day (April), Fall Muster (October), and Candlelight Christmas (December).
Beauvoir is on the National Register of Historic Places and holds designations as both a Mississippi Historical Landmark and a National Historic Landmark. Owned and operated by the Mississippi Division, United Sons of Confederate Veterans, Inc., it is open 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. daily except Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and Christmas. It is located at the intersection of Beauvoir Road and U.S. Highway 90 (Beach Boulevard) in Biloxi, Mississippi.
The main house and its outbuildings all suffered severe damage from Hurricaine Katrina in August of 2005. The main floor of the mansion was virtually gutted. About 35% of all collections in the museum and library complex were lost. The Presidential Library was essentially destroyed. An ambitious reconstruction plan is in the works.
