_,. ' ·Ill t>S! - \II~ 1 i 1' •\R I :\11.:\ I 01 'I IlL li't ll.RIOR U FOR NPS USE ONLY - 1 NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
RECEIVED A TIONAL. . . ' REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY-- NOMINATION FORM DATEENfERE~D______
SEE I. STRUCTIONS IN HOW TO COMPLETE NATIONAL REGISTER FORMS TYPE ALL ENTRIES-- COMPLETE APPLICABLE SECTIONS mlNA1v1E
HISTORIC David L. Brown House AND/ OR COMMON
fil!LOCATI:JN
STREET & NUM BER
200 Eas t {-lashing ton Street _ NOTFORPUBUCAT!ON CITY. TOW CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT Kosciusko· _ VICINITY OF Second STATE CODE COUNTY CODE ,fississinni 28 At tala 007 DcLASSIFICATION
CATEGORY OW ~ERSHIP STATUS PRESENT USE _ DISTRICT _PUBLIC X..OCCUPIED -AGRICULTURE __ MUSEUM X BU ILDING($) ~PRIVATE . _UNOCCUPIED _COMMERCIAL _ PARK _STRUCTURE _ 60-:'H . _WORK IN PROGRESS _EDUCATIONAL _2I>R IVA TE RESIOE:-.oC £ _SITE PUBLIC ACQUISITION ACCESSIBLE _ENTERTAINMENT _REuGIOUS
_OBJECT _ IN PROCESS - X.. YES~ RESTRICTED _GOVERNM£ T -SCI::NTIFIC _BeiNG CO SIDERED _YES: U RESTRICTED _INDUSTRIAL _TRA , SPORTAT!ON _NO _MILITARY _OTHER fJOWl\T ~ ~ OF PROPERTY
t~AME ______P_o_l_l~y __ Brown Oste~~ou t T__ r_u_s_t ______
$7REET & r. U~1BER Herchant and Farmer 's Bank CIT Y. TOWi STATE Kosciusko VICI ITY OF Mississippi frilLOCAT · o~\J OF LEGA L.DES ~RIPTIQN
COURTHO US ~ . REG !STRY Or DEEDS. ETC Attala County Courthouse STREET & UMBER
Cl:'f TO " II STATE Kosciusko ·- lississippi [)REPRESE r IN EXISTING SURVEYS T:HE
DATE _FEDERAL _STATE _COUNTY _LOC.\L DEPOSI TORY FOR SURVEY R!:.:O'lDS
CITY . TOWN STATE PERIOD AREAS OF SIGNIFICANCE -- CHECK AND JUSTIFY BELOW
_ PRe HISTORIC -ARCHEOLUtiY-PREHISTORIC _COMMUNITY PLANNING _LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE _RELIGION _1ll00-1499 -ARCHEOLOGY-HISTORIC _CONSERVATION _LAW _SCIENCE _1500-1599 -AGRICULTURE _ECONOMICS _LITERATURE _SCULPTURE _1600- 1699 ~RCHITECTURE _EDUCATION _MILITARY _SOCIAUHUMANITARIAN - _1700-1799 -ART _ENGINEERING _MI:JSIC _THEATER ~1800 - 1899 _COMMERCE JLEXPLORATION/ SETTLEMENT _PHILOSOPHY _TRANSPORTATION ..J!:1900- _COMMUNICATIONS _INDUSTRY ~POLITICS / GOVERNMENT _OTHER (SPECIFY) _INVENTION
SPECIFIC DATES 1900 BUILDER/ ARCHITECT E. Parmelee STATEMENT OF Si GNIFICANCE
--The David L~ Brmm House in Kosciusko, Mississippi, is a well-preserved and thoroughly documented example of the Queen Anne style of architecture that wa~ popular ~vith the prominent citizens of growing Mississippi coa~unities at the turn of the century . The property on which the house stands is significant in the history of Kos ciusko as the -site chosen for a homestead by Jason diles (1814- 1894), a prominent settler and political figure of nineteenth century Kosciusko. Built by Niles 's daughter and son-in-law, ·and still in the possession of Niles descendants, the David L. orown House represents almost literally the conscious transition of a family and a community· from the pioneer era of the nineteenth c entury to the aura of established prosperity which ushered in the twentieth. Constructed in 1900 for David Lockett Brown and Virginia Niles Brown , the Brown House was designed by-architect 1. E. Parmelee of Knoxville, Tennessee. The original blueprints and specifications for the structure are still in the house, and copies of these documents are in the collections of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History . They provide a rare opportunity for insight into domestic architectural tas~e in turn-of-the-century Mississippi. \Vh en com pared with the house as it stands today, the plans and specifications also verify that the structure has been altered very little and can itself serve as a cultural document. David Lockett Brmm was a successful hardt.,rare merchant in Kosciusko , which was described in 1890 as "the commercial metropolis of central Mississippi" (Goodspeed 1:233). In 1889 he married Virginia .iles , the youngest child of Jason and Harriet 'iles . Judge and 1rs . Jiles gave their Kosciusko homesite to the couple as a tvedding present, and in 1899 David and Virginia Brown engaged the services of Ma =tin E. Parmelee to design a new house for the site. The residence was completed in time for a Than·sgiving dinner there in 1900 (Mrs. Lester L. Brow-TI , 1976). \fuen David L. Brown died in 1936, ownership of the property passed to Mr . and 1rs. Lester Lockett Brown, his son and d~ughter-in-l aw . Mrs. Lester L. Brm,~ still occupies the house. Although he died before the David L. Bra~~ House was constructed, the name of Jason Adz:1ms .'iles is still very much associated with the Brmm property and with th'-' tO\m of Kosciusko . A native of Canada educated in Vermont , iles taught school in Massachusett s, Ohio , and Tennessee between 1838 and 1848. In August, 1847, he married Harriet .1cRee of Shelbyville, Tennessee, and in July, 1848, the couple moved to Kosciusko , lississippi, a growing town established on the Natchez Trace in 1834 . Niles was admitted to the bar in 1851 and practiced CON DITtON CHECK ONE CHECK ONE
X_EXCELLENT _DETERIORATED ~UNALTERED ~ORIGINAL SITE _GOOD _RUINS -ALTERED _MOVED DATe___ _ _FAIR _ UNEXPOSED
DESCRIBE THE PRESENT AND OHIGINAL (IF KNOWN) PHYSICAL APPEARANCE The David L~ Brown House is a _tvm-story frame residence which faces south on East \~ashington Street in the heart of Kosciusko, the county seat of Attala County, Mississippi. The white house stands on a brick pier foundation at the front of a spacious c_orner site t<~hich extends the full depth (297 feet) of a city block and encom~asses several original outbuildings and landscape features. Constructed in 1900, the house features the irregular massing and variety of surface treatment typical of the Queen Anne style of architecture. The two tiered facade gallery is capped at the sou·theast corner by a round shingled turret with bracketed eaves. A gable with a keyhole window projects over a two-story bay \ '· •m Nu t; ,'.Julla iev 10- 141. UNI,ti,DSI.:\IISI>l.l':\Rll\llt\i'l OI· IIIL:. I ·u -. RIOR FOR NPS USE ONLY NATIONAL PARK SERVICE RE CEIVED NATIONAL REGISTER OF IDSTORIC PLACES INVEN TORY -- N OMINATION FORM DATE ENTERED CONTINU ATION SHEET ITEM NUMBER 7 & 8 PAGE 1 7 - DESCRIPTIO century barn, all survive from the iles homestead . The barn was constructed about 1930, and a garage behind the .house ~-.1as built by the current owners in 1940 . The Bro~vn House property survives in relatively unspoiled condition and is well cared for by the current mvner . However , its setting appears t o be thr eatened by commercial encroachment and a municipal urban renewal effort which does not display a sympathetic attitude toward the his t oric res idential propert ies that lie within the co~ercial center of Kosciusko . 8 - SIG~IFICA CE law intermittently thereafter . P.e was editor of the Kosciusko Chronicle, 1851- 1853; served as a delegate to the state constitutional conventions of 1851, 1865, and 1872; was a member of. the state house of representatives in 1870; served as a c ircuit court judge in 1871 and 1872; and served one term as a Republican r epr esentative to the U.S . Congress, 1873- 1875. iles died in Kosciusko in 1894, a nd in 1911 his children gave the land for Jason .iles Park to the city of Kosciusko as a lasting memorial to their father . When they moved to Kosciusko in 1848 , Jason and Harriet 'iles settled on t he property now occupied by the David L. Brown House, reportedly because of a spring that still feeds the well 'iles dug on the site. From the one extant photograph that pictures the 'iles House, it appears to have been a typically modest Greek Revival cottage which originally faced west . On November 16, 1855, Jason Ti les recorded in his diary that "Rosamond (John) and King [are] at work on the house, our new house just commenced" (Tiles Diary, v . 15, pp . 174- 175) . This "new house just commenced" in 1855 was the dwelling t hat was standing on t he Niles/Brmvn property 1.o1hen plans ~-.1ere begun for a ne~-.1 house in 1899. At t hat time, the iles House was preserved and moved to a new foundation facing south behind the Brown House . In 1905, Henry iles, a brother of Virginia Ti les Br own, relocated their fatherTs house to its present situation on ~o rth nuntin~ton Str eet, where it served as his law office and still survives as a private residence (see physical description). The same family sensitivity which twice preserved the Niles House for con- ~ tinued use has fostered a thorough respect for the historical significance of the Niles/Brmm property and the architectural integrity of the David L. Brm·m House . The several original outbuildings and landscape features which re~ain from the iles homestead (see physical description) contribute historical per s pective to the Bro~-.10 House, which is itself a valuable architectural and his- torical resource. . - f't;.[j i:·lr:...j 0-" .ul~- · ...., .... ~ ·• ...... i..-v1 • .:... A...... uo Br o~~ : ~rs . Lester L. Kosciusko, Mississippi. Per sonal interviews with Elizabeth P. Reynolds, 1975 and 1976 . Goodspeed Publishing Company. Goodspeed ' s Biographical and Historical Nemoirs of Mississippi . 2 vols. Chicago : Goodspeed Publishing Company, 1890 . ; l])GEOG "APHICAL- DATA ACREAGE OF NOMINATED PROPERTYSU gbtJy more than one UTM REFERENCES A Lh.§_J 121 51 8! 3, 2, Ol I 31 61 6, OJ 6, o, Ol .Bl.t.J I I 1 I I I . I I I I ZONE EASTING NORTH I~G ZONE EASTING NORTHING cLLJ I I 1 I 1 1 I I I I I l ; I I D~ 1111 I l l I I I I I VERBAL BOuNDARY DESCRIPTION Lots 21 , 24, and a parcel of land 15 feet wide east and west by 149 feet north and south off the entire \-Test side of Lot ro . 23, of the city of Kosciusko, according to Hercer's Map of said city, dated 1900. The property is bounded on the south side by East Wash i ngton Street, on the west side by Natchez Street, on the north by Adams Street, and on t he east side by the property of the U. S. Post Office . LIST ALL STATES AND COUNTIES FOR PROPERTIES OVERLAPPING STATE OR COUNTY BOUNDARIES STATE CODE COUNTY CODE STATE CO DE COUNTY CODE IJJFOIUvl PREPARED BY NAME/ TITLE Eli zabeth P . Reynolds, Architectural Historian ORGANIZATION DATE Mississippi Department of Archives and History April, 1977 STREET & NUMBER TELEPHONE P. 0 . Box 571 (601) 354- 6218 CITY OR TOWN STATE Jrl.ckson Mississippi [fJSTATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICER CERTIFICATION THE EVALUATED SIGN IFI CANCE OF THIS PROPERTY WITH I THE STATE IS: · NATIO AL_ STATE LOCAL.!__ As the des1gnat ed State H1stonc Preservat.on Cff1cer for the Na:1onal H 1stonc PreservatiOn Act of 1566 (Puullc Law 89-665). I hereby nom1nate th1s property for anclus1on an the ational Reg1ster and cert ify that 1t has been evaluated according to the 1 crateroa and procedures set forth by the Nat1onal Par Serv1ce. STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICER SIGNATU RE TITLE S tate H1.stor1.c. . p reservat1on. Officer DATE May 11, 1977 FOR NPS USE ONLY I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS PROPERTY IS I CLUDED I THE NATIONAL REGISTER DAT E 1 DIRECTOR. OFFICE OF ARCHEOLOGY AN D HISTORiC PRESERVATIO~ ATIEST · DI\TE 1 KEEPER OF THE NATIONAL REGISTER t Rev 10· 74). U lli·. DSI .\ILSI>FPAIUMI· ' I 01 TIII·. INILRIUR FOR NPS USE ONLY N~TIONAL PARK SE RVICE RECEIVED NATI N1. 1 :LJ.::Sf:1STER OF RISTO~ IC PLACES INVENTORY -- NOl\1INA TIOU FO f\11 DATE ENTERED CONTINU ATION SHEET ITEM NUMBER 9 PAGE 2 9 - MAJOR BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES Mississippi Deparonent of Archives and History, Jackson. Architectural Records . David L. Brown House, Kosciusko. Photostatic copies of original blueprints and specifications by M. E. Parmelee, architect, 1900. ,-r. . Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Jackson. · Historic Sites Survey File, Attala County . "David L. Brown House . " Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Jackson. Niles (Jason) Diary, vols. 15, 19 . Microfilm. -· . GP O 89 2 4 55 :ly\1 \ : .. u l i •I Il'. '' I • : :: .. ·:= DAVID L. BROWN HOUSE :: ·-··:: Kosciusko, Attala County, Mississippi •• •_ .., . ,_)r: /- UTM REF ERE CE: 16/ 258320/36606 00 _./ /' iluGrove Ch < 0 I) ;t- · -,. i ,/ Cem • 1 -J" - ~ ,..- ~./ --r~~ LC, 6-.rt>~ t+utt-~ t 1. ~ c\ 3 Va~\d VV . -t3VC>W't1 i+~ ~OS:Cl U:~ko, A--Hulct (o..,~ 3o-P 3