County of building: Lafayette County
Location of building: Lamar St & Courthouse Square, Oxford
The Person:
"Caswell Macon Thompson, son of Congressman and Confederate secret agent Jacob Thompson, began construction on the Thompson House in 1869.
"Born 11 Oct 1839 in Oxford, Mississippi
Died 6 Jun 1873 at age 33 in Memphis Shelby County Tennessee
Husband of Sarah (Fox) Thompson — married 1861
Son of Jacob Thompson and Catherine Ann (Jones) Thompson
Children: Katherine Thompson Kirkman (1864 - 1926)
"When Caswell Macon Thompson was born on 11 October 1839, in Oxford, Lafayette, Mississippi, United States, his father, Jacob Thompson, was 29 and his mother, Catherine Ann Jones, was 16. He married Sarah Frances Fox about 1863, in Oxford, Lafayette, Mississippi, United States. They were the parents of at least 3 daughters. He registered for military service in 1861. He died on 6 June 1873, at the age of 33, and was buried in Elmwood, Smith, Tennessee, United States." ~ Family Search
The Place:
"The Thompson House was the first hotel built in Oxford, Mississippi, after the Civil War. It was built on the site of the Oxford Inn, originally constructed by Charles George Butler, great-grandfather of William Faulkner. The Oxford Inn was burned down, along with most of the businesses on the Square, by Union General Andrew Jackson “Whiskey” Smith on August 22, 1864.
"For five years, Oxford did not have a hotel at all. To remedy this, Macon Thompson, son of Congressman and Confederate secret agent Jacob Thompson, began construction on the Thompson House in 1869. It was to be a three-story brick building with wide halls on each floor, a reception room, office, bar, gentlemen’s parlor, large dining room, ladies’ parlor on the second floor, ballroom, and chambers for guests – forty rooms in all.
"In the 1970s the hotel was condemned by a Lafayette County Grand Jury. However, in 1973 William Holcomb and attorney Grady Tollison bought the building in order to open an office for the law firm of Holcomb, Dunbar, Connell, Merkel and Tollison of Clarksdale, Mississippi. Four years later, Grady Tollison purchased the building himself and began the refurbishing process. He converted the third floor into his residence, and hotel numbers may still be seen on the bedroom doors.
"Tollison placed the name Thompson House back on the building in 1984. He rebuilt the balcony that had been on the front and side of the hotel in the nineteenth century. The building is now the home of Tollison & Webb, P.A.
"In July 2006, the time-ravaged back half of the Thompson House suffered a short collapse that also affected the Monroe Building behind it. Grady Tollison, his son Gray, and his daughter Rachel Calhoun oversaw the renovation of the Thompson House and the Monroe Building. Both buildings are now combined into a single structure that stands as a testament to the history and longevity of Oxford, Mississippi." ~ Tollison & Webb
"The Thompson House at the corner of North Lamar and Courthouse Square, home to @yayas.oxford, A Look Ahead eyewear, and the Tollison Law firm was built in 1869-1870 and was the first hotel built after the Civil War on the site of Oxford’s very first hotel, the Oxford Inn. The first floor has housed the hotel (and its barber shop), the law firm and 2 banks (a vintage safe from one of them is featured in these photos). The Majestic Hotel, later the Colonial Hotel, was once known for its refrigerated air as well as its “advanced fire protection system”, which consisted of each room coming equipped with a rope with which to throw out the window and climb out if fire ensued. Hotel room numbers can still be found on some of the 3rd floor doors. In 2006 the back part of the building collapsed and a cistern was unearthed. The Tollison family found many vintage bottles which are on display in the law offices today. JR Cofield’s photo of the building shows “the big snow” of 1935 and the building without its wrap-around balcony." ~ Facebook