Abandoned Queen Anne in Mississippi
The Taylor-Lindsey house in Jackson, Mississippi is a two-story frame Victorian Queen Anne built in 1892 by J.A. Taylor, the owner of Morton Lumber Company. This was 27 years after the civil war ended.
We know the house was purchased in 1918 by James Terrel Lindsey who was a farmer in Harrison County Mississippi and had 11 children. He was 58 years old when he moved his family to Jackson Mississippi and into this lovely home while he worked as a grocery shipping clerk.
There are maps from 1918 that show this was a prosperous neighborhood with other nice houses. The property includes just under 3 acres after a kitchen and bath were added on in 1948.
Imagine sitting on the beautiful screened in porch on a warm summer night while the children were out catching lightning bugs. The Great Grandson of James Lindsey said the backyard was filled with enormous fig trees producing thousands of figs each year.
I’ve read they taste jam-like with a hint of strawberries, honey, flowers and nuts. By 1994 the Great Aunts were living in the home that had been arranged into three apartments with three door bells out front.
A descendent of James Lindsey said there was a break-in by a man with a knife, I don’t think anyone was hurt but after the last sister died (the sisters never married) the family just left the house there because the area had become too dangerous.
The house was sold to the next door neighbor and now sits empty, reminding us of a different place and time.
Please go to GrannaDora on Youtube to see a wonderful video presentation of this old home. She was kind enough to pass on her research and images so this blog post would be possible. Thank you, Janet Hoffman.
❤️ love this Taylor-Lindsey house. Thank you for sharing so much history of this once beautiful house. I loved scrolling through all the details of the people who lived there. I would love to have a home built just like that. Old houses , in my opinion are built with so much more style than many I see now. ..love it.
Love the different styles. This Gothic inspired house is very interesting. I love the eight gables…so pretty.
It seems in the South with our older homes that have any acreage to them (which generally means they are either in the outskirts of a major city or just in the middle of nowhere) and the older generations have passed on and no one really has any attachment to the house or property anymore they become forgotten. Once this happens they are just left to fade into obscurity and become taken over by the land. Very poetic and beautiful.
Yes Mary, you are absolutely right! Thank you for commenting.:)