Thistledome, a.k.a. Horn-McAuley House and Chalmers/Horn House is a historic house in

Byhalia, Mississippi Byhalia , is a town in Marshall County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 1,302 as of the 2010 census. History Byhalia was founded in the 1830s and named after Byhalia Creek, which flows past the site. Geography According to the U ...

, USA. Listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

as part of the Byhalia Historic District, it is the only remaining

Antebellum Antebellum, Latin for "before war", may refer to: United States history * Antebellum South, the pre-American Civil War period in the Southern United States ** Antebellum Georgia ** Antebellum South Carolina ** Antebellum Virginia * Antebellum ar ...

residence in Byhalia.

Location

It is located at 118 Highway 309 South in Byhalia, a small town in Northern Mississippi.

History

The house was built in 1840 by Joseph Chalmers, the District Attorney for Marshall County. He was the father of James Ronald Chalmers and H.H. Chalmers. He was also the Uncle to Jefferson Davis, who mentored with his uncle. It was designed as a two-storey,

hip-roof A hip roof, hip-roof or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope (although a tented roof by definition is a hipped roof with steeply pitched slopes rising to a peak). Thus, ...

ed house. It was purchased by E. B. Horn in 1900. He paid $10.00 down in December 1899 and remaining balance of $690 on January 1, 1900. Horn turned the house, which was facing East, to face North after his wife refused to live in the house because it faced a hog farm. He also redesigned it in the neoclassical architectural style. Shortly before World War II, in 1938, the house was purchased by the McAuley family. Mrs. McCauley was asked how she liked the house and her reply was "This will do me". What started as the "this will do me" house became Thistledome." It was acquired by Jill and Todd Maxwell in 2012. The couple turned it into a restaurant.

Architectural significance

The house is the only house built prior to the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

of 1861-1865 still standing in Byhalia. As a contributing property to the Byhalia Historic District, it has been listed on the

since March 7, 1996.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thistledome Antebellum architecture Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Mississippi Houses completed in 1840 Neoclassical architecture in Mississippi National Register of Historic Places in Marshall County, Mississippi Historic district contributing properties in South Carolina