Rowan Oak named among Top 25 Historic Homes

Published 5:42 pm Sunday, September 23, 2018

Rowan Oak, historic home of Nobel Prize-winning author William Faulkner, was recently named to House Method’s list of Top 25 Historic U.S. Homes That Fly Under the Radar.

The list features homes from across the country, with Lyndhurst, home of railroad tycoon Jacob Gould, topping the list and Rowan Oak ranking No. 14.

According to Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza, brand editor for home and garden website House Method, the home was selected due to its resemblance of the fictitious Yoknapatawpha County.

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“Its setting is so quintessentially Faulknerian — readers of his work will find the experience of visiting Rowan Oak evocative of Yoknapatawpha County,” McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza said. “We also loved that much of the work done to the house was by Faulkner himself —what a great way to understand this American treasure of an author.”

Rowan Oak is the only property in Mississippi to make the list, and was Faulkner’s home for more than 40 years. Built in 1844 by Colonel Robert Sheegog, the home was purchased by Faulkner in 1930. The home’s former name was “The Old Bailey Place,” a moniker that lives on in the nearby Bailey’s Woods, where Faulkner was known to explore.

In 1972, Jill Faulkner Summers sold the home to the University of Mississippi as a way to preserve her father’s legacy for others, according to Rowan Oak’s website. The home and grounds are essentially as Faulkner left them at the time of his death in 1962.

Phone numbers are still written on the walls and his books still sit on the shelves. The walls of his study also feature outline notes for Faulkner’s novel “A Fable,” which earned him a Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award.

McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza said House Method, which has more than 5 million readers, took national submissions and polled its in-house team to determine which properties deserved a spot on the list. Rowan Oak was chosen out of more than 200 submissions.

Rowan Oak is open from 10 a.m. to  4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and 1 to 4 p.m. on Sunday. The home is closed every Monday. Admission is $5, cash only.

To view the complete list from House Method, visit https://housemethod.com/lifestyle/top-25-historic-homes-to-visit-in-united-states.