Brandt Memory House

History

The following is a brief history of Memory House, home of the University of Mississippi Foundation,
via Jack Case Wilson’s book Faulkner’s, Fortunes and Flames. If you have additional information or questions regarding Memory House, please contact UM Foundation.

The first buildings on the site may have dated to 1837. The date March 10, 1837, was scratched on a brick in the old kitchen, a structure razed long ago. It was on that date that James Stockard purchased the property from the traders Chisholm, Martin and Craig, and the engraved date probably commemorated the purchase. The original dwellings were quite modest and included a small house, detached kitchen, office, and various service buildings. Stockard prospered, and, to benefit the growing community, he and John D. Martin each gave a half section of land on Dec. 8, 1841, to the state of Mississippi with the stipulation that it be used as the site of a state university. This gift of land became the University of Mississippi, which formally opened its doors in 1848.

The Stockard house was sold to planter Paul B. Barringer on Sept. 24, 1851. Barringer was a prosperous land-holder, and it was probably he who built the two-story center section of Memory House. It is said that the house was typically Greek Revival with a columned portico. Barringer sold the property to another planter, Samuel Evans, on Sept. 11, 1858, for $6,000 — the equivalent of about $250,000 today.

Evans died on Dec. 31, 1859, leaving behind his second wife, Mary, their eight-year-old son, Robert, and an older son from his first marriage, John C. Evans. The Evans family began preparations for the spring planting of 1860, but with the spring came war and John enlisted. A cousin, Mrs. Rebecca Pegues, the sister of the builder of Ammadelle — a historic house at 637 North Lamar Boulevard in Oxford — kept a diary during the war. On Aug. 20, 1861, she wrote “Another company – the Lafayette Farmers – go off in the morning. John Evans belongs to that company.” The entry for April 30, 1862, was a sad one: “On April 9th we had tidings of a great battle fought at Shiloh near Corinth. John Evans was killed on the battlefield.”

In 1865, the long-prayed-for peace arrived, and the people of Oxford began rebuilding their town and their lives. That December, the community erected a Christmas tree at Memory House — one so beautiful that it was remembered for more than a century.

Mary Evans remained at Memory House until September 1876 when she sold it to William Archibald for $5,000 — a thousand dollars less than her husband had paid for it in 1858. Archibald was not interested in the old Evans house but rather in the undeveloped lots lying toward town. As soon as the purchase was finalized, he began construction of a new house on the vacant land, completing it in 1877. This house would later be known as the Skipwith House, which was demolished in 1974.

With a new house, Archibald had no use for the Evans place, so he sold it in January 1878 to John C. Richmond. After passing through several hands, it was purchased by Judge Duke Kimbrough in September 1886. It was probably Kimbrough who altered the Greek-revival house by removing the portico and replacing it with a Victorian veranda. The house was further altered by the addition of two small wings and a tower-like room above the veranda. After 25 years at the old Evans place, the Kimbroughs decided the house was too large for them, so Judge Kimbrough suggested that he and his neighbor, J. O. “Pete” Ramey trade houses. The Rameys lived next to the Kimbroughs in a house leased from the university. The Rameys bought the Kimbrough’s house, and the Kimbroughs bought the remaining years of the Ramey lease.

Pete and Myrtle Harkins Ramey raised their three children Marvel, Lucille “Dolly,” and John Kimbrough Ramey in Memory House along with another child, Thelma Keys, who most thought to be one of their own. During the Depression, Memory House became a boarding house for many Ole Miss students who had their noon meal there.

After Myrtle Ramey’s death in 1940, Pete asked Dolly and her husband John Falkner* (younger brother of William Faulkner) to move into Memory House to take care of him. John and Dolly Falkner made their home at Memory House throughout their married lives, except for brief periods, and there they raised two sons: Jimmy and Chooky. In addition to his writing ability, John Falkner was also a talented, self-taught painter who enjoyed painting scenes remembered from his youth in Lafayette County.

John Falkner and John Kimbrough “Snook” Ramey bought the house from Pete Ramey in 1944. When Snook married, he and his wife Marge lived in Memory House for almost two year until they purchased a home of their own. At that time, John Falkner bought Snook’s remaining interest in Memory House and became the sole owner.

After John Falkner’s death in 1963, Dolly kept Memory House alive, opening it to the community during the annual Oxford Pilgrimage. Late in the summer of 1983, Dolly fell ill and subsequently died in September 1984. Her body lay in state in the living room of Memory House where she had lived for over 70 years.

Memory House was then bequeathed to brothers Jimmy and Chooky Falkner who kept the house for about eight years, renting rooms out as apartments. On April 2, 1992, Chooky Falkner sold his half of the house to the UM Foundation and later that year Jimmy sold his remaining half interest.

Negotiations for Memory House were deliberated by university officials for over a decade, with the final purchase contract being made by Don L. Frugé, vice chancellor for university advancement. The purchase was made possible through the vision and support of past foundation president, Louis K. Brandt, whose generous donation enabled the foundation to purchase the home. Both individuals along with Oxford residents Steve Owens, Ron Guest and Jim Paterson and Henry Brevard of Tupelo, Mississippi, dedicated countless hours serving on the foundation’s subcommittee overseeing the complete renovation project. McCarty Architects, P.A., of Tupelo, led the extensive renovation project which began in April 1994 and was completed that December.

True to its legacy, Memory House continues to serve as a place where people come together to celebrate. Among its many uses is that of a reception site to honor visiting scholars, business leaders, alumni and other university guests. The historic building’s boardroom and refurbished parlor also serve as hospitable meeting areas for faculty seminars and other academically focused functions.

 

*John and William added the “u” to Faulkner later in life.