| Bolivar
County soon to lose last standing antebellum home |
Three
miles east of the small town of Benoit stands the only surviving
antebellum home in Bolivar County. Known to locals as the
“Baby Doll” house, the mansion stands a testament
to a different life once lived by many southerners. Now
with the passing of time, this old Bolivar County landmark
will soon disappear only to live on in the history books
due to lack of upkeep. With it’s passing, so to will
a part of Bolivar County’s history.
Towering over Bolivar County for 142 years, the house was
dubbed the “Baby Doll House” after a motion
picture called Baby Doll was filmed there in the early fifties
by famed Hollywood director, Elia Kazan. The story was written
by Tennessee Williams. Well known actors, Eli Wallach, Karl
Malden, and Carroll Baker starred in the film which at the
time was considered to be a risqué production due
to plot which in effect was an attraction between Baker
and the much older Wallach. To this day, many Benoit residents
still talk about their roles in the film as “extras”.
“The town of Benoit reminded me of a community in
a Chekov play,” wrote Kazan in his book Elia Kazan:
A Life published in 1988. “It’s citizens were
warmhearted and curious... I brought my family down (from
New York) and they were adopted, entertained, and fed. For
a dozen years, I received Christmas presents from the residents,
mostly pecans from their own trees.”
The home was built in early 1861 by Judge John C. Burris.
Burris, who was born on August 25, 1814 in Madison County,
Alabama, lost his parents when he was seven years old and
was raised by relatives in Virginia and Alabama. Educated
at the University of Virginia, Burris first visited Bolivar
County in 1836 on a hunting trip to his family’s plantation.
In the Fall of 1842, Burris and his young wife from Huntsville
moved to Bolivar County working his family’s land
and purchasing several more tracks of land.
As the first shots of the Civil War rang out, a physical
disability prevented Burrus from enlisting. Burrus was deeply
opposed to secession. However, once the war began Burris
and his family fed, housed hundreds, and nursed the sick
in his great home. Many soldiers died in the home during
the war as well as their daughter, Elizabeth on February
18, 1865. Burris and his wife raised 11 children in the
home. After the Civil War, Burris helped build Bolivar County
economically which before then was considered wilderness.
The Baby Doll House is of great importance not only to Bolivar
County, but to the state as much history has passed through
the doors of this once grand old home. We Mississippians
must do our best to preserve our history. The Baby Doll
House near Benoit is worth preserving.
We at the DBJ have written about the Delta's tourism industry
in the past two issues. This home has great potential as
a tourism attraction and as an educational component to
our local schools and to Delta State. The leaders of Bolivar
County should consider such things as when this asset disappears,
it will be gone forever.
So will a part of Bolivar County’s history.
In closing, with this issue of the Delta Business Journal,
the publication turns five years old. What started out as
a “long shot” has proven to be, for me and everyone
else here, a dream come true.
It has been an extremely rewarding five years and we are
looking forward to another 50! Every year we have tried
to better the publication and your comments and suggestions
have been very helpful. Recently, we have updated our web
site adding articles and columns on our site that do not
appear in the publication. Also now on the DBJ site (www.deltabusinessjournal.com)
we present a weekly poll in order for Deltans to see what
other Deltans think about the issues that affect our region
and the state. We will continue to bring these added values
to our readers.
I want to express that we at the DBJ are thankful to you
- our readers, our advertisers, and our other supporters
- for allowing our success. This is your business journal,
and we are grateful to be it’s managers. DBJ
Scott
Coopwood
Publisher
