County of house: Hardeman County
Location of house: 418 N. Main St., east side, Bolivar
Original Occupant: Judge Austin Miller
Built: 1849
"28. Avent House "Magnolia Manor" (418 North Main Street): 1849, Greek Revival,
2 stories, brick, parapeted chimneys, front door with rectangular head and side
lights, front porch with square pillars, 1 story brick dependency, ca. 1849,
internal gable chimneys, modern front porch.
"This period [ante-bellum] was one of general affluence in West
Tennessee and this prosperity is illustrated by the larger, two story "Mansion House"
(No.l) and"Magnolia Manor" (No. 28)." ~ NRHP Nomination Form
"Judge Austin Miller built Magnolia Manor in 1849. He was a prominent attorney and is credited with helping place the southern boundary of Tennessee so that Memphis was in Tennessee, not Mississippi. In fact, Austin Miller is mentioned by name in the Constitution of the State of Mississippi in article two as having established the northern boundary of that state. He also donated 20 acres of land in Tunica County, Mississippi in 1848 for the county seat. The town was named Austin in honor of Judge Miller.
"Magnolia Manor is a classic two story Georgian Colonial design. Each brick was hand made and sun dried on the home site by slaves. It features fourteen foot ceilings and thirteen inch thick walls from the ground to the roof. There are four bedrooms in the main house and nine fireplaces. Two of the bedrooms are master suites, two full baths and two half baths. The house also features double parlors.
"It was used as a Headquarters for the Union Army by Generals Logan, McPherson, Sherman and Grant during the Civil war and it is believed to be the home in which these four Generals planned the battle of Shiloh.
"Three generations of the Miller family lived in the house until the 1970's. Charles Austin Miller, son of Judge Austin Miller, followed his father's footsteps to become a prominent attorney and later the Secretary of State of Tennessee. One of C.A. Miller's daughters, Lizzie Lea Miller, was one of the first female Representatives of the Tennessee State Legislature - the second woman elected to the Tennessee General Assembly." ~ Visit Historic Bolivar