OLCHF HISTORY
The Oxford-Lafayette County Heritage
Foundation was begun in 1996 by
three Oxford citizens whose ancestors came to this area in the early
1880’s. They saw old buildings being demolished when they should be
saved and decided to do something about it. This organization is now
made up of more than two-hundred members and a board of twenty-four.
The first building to be saved by the OLCHF was the old College Hill
store, an authentic country store that was featured in one of William
Faulkner’s films.
Next came the Oxford Depot that was used until the late 1930’ s
and was deteriorating rapidly when OLCHF began a drive for its
preservation. The University of Mississippi adopted this project and
its renovation is almost complete.
Several markers have been placed to identify sites of historical
significance including the home of artist Theora Hamblett, the Hilgard
Cut for the railroad, the burial site of Cherokee Indian Chief Tobby
Tuby, the Burns/Belfry Church that became the office of writer John
Grisham and for Betty Love Allen, an Indian princess who is the “mother”
of women’s liberation in this country. A marker for Jacob Thompson was
dedicated on October 26. The OLCHF has been instrumental in the
designation o f the first historical district in Oxford. Our
organization is working with the Preservation Commission to establish
other historic districts including the Oxford Square.
A member of our board learned that John Grisham was planning to
dispose of the old Burns Church Building and it was feared that it would
be sold to a developer and demolished. Gerald Walton, a member of our
board and personal friend of Mr. Grisham, wrote to him and asked if he
would consider donating it to OLCHF. Mr. Grisham responded that he
would prefer that it not be demolished and did deed the building to us with
the stipulation that once it is restored it be turned over to the Oxford
Development Association, an African American organization and used as
a multi-cultural meeting place, tutoring center and museum. The building
was erected in 1910 replacing an earlier building. The congregation was
made up of slaves and their descendants. The restoration of this building
is a work in progress. We have received a grant from Archives and History
and have raised the matching funds. But we need much more money and
are seeking additional funding.
Working with the members of ODA has been a big forward step in racial
reconciliation. Following a recent community “social” on the grounds of
the old church, African American guests remarked that it was the most
fully integrated affair that they had attended in Oxford.
Meanwhile the former home of Mississippi’s famous statesman, L. Q. C.
Lamar became available. OLCHF has an option to purchase it and we
have been promised help with funding by the Legislature and Archives
and History. This restoration will be a real challenge but architect Tom
Howorth assures us that it is possible but will require more than a million
dollars.
Historian David Sansing feels that the restoration of the Lamar
Home will finally give this statesman a memorial that he deserves. Lamar
is the only Mississippian to serve as a Supreme Court Justice. He also
served as a United States Senator and as Secretary of the Interior.
A project that we hope to be involved with in the future is the
restoration of the old Oxford Lafayette County Court House. A new
Chancery Court house has been erected and it may be possible for
our organization to have space in the old building for a local
museum, a dream of OLCHF members for a long time. If this is not
possible, we will begin a drive to build a museum on the grounds of
the Lamar House. Each year we have an annual meeting of our entire
membership and a speaker from some area of historical preservation
is our guest. This past year David Preziosi gave a presentation on what
is happening in various parts of our state in historical preservation.
The Oxford Lafayette County Heritage Foundation has had a growing
influence on historical preservation in our area and certainly has made
our citizens aware of steps that need to be taken to preserve our heritage
by restoring old buildings rather than demolishing them.
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