Shirley House Cultural Landscape Report, Vicksburg National Military Park

Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates

The Shirley House is one of only two surviving antebellum dwellings associated with Vicksburg National Military Park. Nicholas Gray built the house circa 1837 along the road that connected the city of Vicksburg, Mississippi, with the capital at Jackson. It was first known as “Wexford Lodge.” Judge James Shirley acquired the house and property in 1851. Shirley and his family were residents of the property when the Union Army, under the command of Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, reached the line of Confederate defenses that stretched in a horseshoe-shaped arc around the city of Vicksburg. The Shirley House sat within view of one of the massive Confederate fortifications that protected one of Grant’s potential avenues of approach to the city –the Jackson Road. After Grant failed to overtake the Confederate line in two attempts in May 1863, he initiated a siege that would last forty-seven days. During the siege, the 45th Illinois troops occupied the Shirley House property; members of the regiment camped on the property in tents, and in excavated spaces within a ravine near the house. The house served as an important landmark throughout the siege and was referred to as the White House by Union troops. Today, the Shirley House remains an important element of the battlefield and is one of the highlights of the Vicksburg National Military Park visitor tour route. The Shirley House property is interpreted at tour stop 2 along Union Avenue, and contains several examples of troop position monuments and markers and a relief portrait; the impressive state memorial erected by Illinois is located nearby the house to the west. The Shirley House is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing feature of the Vicksburg National Military Park Historic District. The house is significant for its antebellum architecture, its association with the siege of Vicksburg, and for its association with the development of Vicksburg National Military Park. The house has served as the residence for the park superintendent, offices, and a museum. It is currently open to the public on a limited basis. The National Park Service (NPS) interprets the antebellum history of the property inside the house, as well as within the surrounding landscape. The NPS currently faces several challenges associated with management of the Shirley House property, including accessibility, interpretation, vegetation management, and maintenance. In order to address these needs and consider appropriate treatment of the historic landscape, the NPS engaged a team of preservation professionals led by Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc., of Northbrook, Illinois (WJE), to prepare a Cultural Landscape Report (CLR) for the Shirley House. The team included Commonwealth Heritage Group, Inc. (formerly JMA), and Liz Sargent HLA (LSHLA), of Charlottesville, Virginia, previously involved with WJE in preparing a CLR for Vicksburg National Military Park in 2009. The CLR documents historic and existing conditions associated with the property, supports NPS with an understanding of its character-defining features, assesses integrity, and provides specific treatment recommendations that meet park goals and addresses issues of concern. With an understanding of the property and park management goals, the CLR team identified a treatment approach of Rehabilitation based on the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties with Guidelines for the Treatment of Cultural Landscapes. Using the approach as a guide, the team prepared a treatment concept statement, supported by specific treatment recommendations and guidelines developed to respond to the issues articulated by NPS personnel, and to address condition deficiencies, enhance integrity, and support interpretation.

Shirley House Cultural Landscape Report, Vicksburg National Military Park

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