The History of The Corners Mansion                        BOOK RESERVATION NOW!

The Corners Mansion, built in 1873 by John Alexander Klein, was given as a wedding gift to his daughter, Susan and her new husband Isaac Bonham. Mr. Klein owned Cedar Grove, located across the street which was built in 1842. The 62-acre tract of land on this hillside overlooking the Mississippi, known as Kleinston Landing, was owned by Mr. Klein. Between 1876 and 1902, the Mississippi River’s east bank reached the bottom of the hill at the foot of Klein Street, where the railroad tracks are now located. Kleinston Landing served as the only port in Vicksburg at that time. Across the street there once stood a home owned by one of Susan's brothers, George Klein. This house, known as the “ Bellevue,” was built around 1869 in the “steamboat gothic” style of architecture. The house, which had been converted to apartments, burned down in the 1970’s. The structure that is now standing on the property was originally the kitchen and servants quarters for George Klein’s house.

Just beyond the site of George Klein’s house stood the home of Jefferson Davis’ sister, called “Shamrock” and was destroyed when the railroad confiscated the property for a right of way.

On the lot north of the Corners once stood an ante-bellum home that was torn down in the 1960’s for its brick. The brick, apparently, was more valuable than the house itself. Unfortunately, the destruction of historical property happened more often than not in Vicksburg after the Civil War. Unlike Natchez, Vicksburg’s economy was not centered on plantation agriculture. After the war, Vicksburg relied on its established business economy that catered to riverboat traffic. Consequently, many ante-bellum homes were destroyed to make room for more businesses.

The Corners-Architectural Features

The floor plan of The Corners is modeled from the floor plan of Cedar Grove, but on a smaller scale since it was built for just one family. The architectural style is a combination of Greek revival and Victorian with Italianate features. The pierced columns are unique to Vicksburg with only about 60 other houses in Vicksburg that have retained their columns. Hand made, each column is unique. Notice the motif of hearts, shamrocks, ring, and diamonds depicting signs of love and marriage.

The gardens, “French Creole Parterre” gardens, are intact as they were originally designed. Even the brick walkways are original with ring and diamond patterns in the layout, representing the signs of love and marriage once again. The historic significance of these gardens was one of the reasons the home was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The iron fence was made especially for this house in Pennsylvania and brought down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers.

The bricks on the house were made locally out of clay and fired at low temperatures, so they are soft. The signature brick of the brick mason is located underneath our Historic Register Plaque.

This house is not ante-bellum since it was built in 1872, after the Civil War. Architecturally, on the Oak Street face, it is like a Southern Louisiana Raised Cottage with lattice-work underneath the elevated gallery. Nonetheless, the house reflects the Victorian period and features a combination of Greek revival and Italianate architectural styles. The front entrance is classic Greek Revival, while the supports under the eaves and the cast iron cornices over the windows on the side of the house are particularly Victorian Italianate.  

The front gallery and the trims, moldings and doors in the main house are made of cypress and are original to the house. The wide planked heart-of-pine floors are also original.