Rowan Oak
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| William Faulkner House | |
|---|---|
| (U.S. National Historic Landmark) | |
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| Location: | Old Taylor Road, Oxford, Mississippi |
| Built/Founded: | 1840 |
| Architect: | Col. Robert Shegog |
| Architectural style(s): | Greek Revival |
| Designated as NHL: | May 23, 1968[1] |
| Added to NRHP: | May 23, 1968[2] |
| NRHP Reference#: | 68000028 |
| Governing body: | State |
Rowan Oak, also known as William Faulkner House, is William Faulkner's former home in Oxford, Mississippi. It is a primitive Greek Revival house built in the 1840s by Robert Shegog. Faulkner purchased the house when it was in disrepair in the 1930s and did much of the renovations himself. Other renovations were done in the 1950s. The house sits on almost 30 acres of largely wooded property known as Bailey's Woods. One of its more famous features is the outline of Faulkner's Pulitzer-prize winning novel A Fable, pencilled in graphite and red on the plaster wall of his study. Though the "rowan oak" is a mythical tree, the grounds and surrounding woods of Rowan Oak contain hundreds of species of native Mississippi plants, most of which date back to antebellum times. The allee of cedars that lines the driveway was common in the 1800s. The studs of the house are 4"x4" square cypress; they were hand-hewn. Faulkner drew much inspiration for his treatment of multi-layered Time from Rowan Oak, where past and future seemed to inhabit the present.
In 1972, his daughter, Jill Faulkner Summers, sold the house to the University of Mississippi. The University maintains the home in order to promote Faulkner's literary heritage. Tours are available. The home has been visited by such writers as John Updike, Czeslaw Milosz, Charles Simic, Richard Ford, James Lee Burke, Bei Dao, Charles Wright, Charles Frazier, Alice Walker, the Coen brothers, Bobbie Ann Mason, and others. Writer Mark Richard once repaired a faulty doorknob on the French door to Faulkner's study.
Rowan Oak was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1968.[1][3]
After its most recent renovations, some of which were funded by part-time Oxford resident and Ole Miss law school alumnus, John Grisham, Rowan Oak was rededicated on May 1, 2005.
The current curator of Rowan Oak is William Griffith. Past curators include the novelists Howard Bahr and Cynthia Shearer.
The address for the house was once 719 Garfield Road in Oxford, however, the road changed names in the 1980s. The road the house is located on is now called Old Taylor Road. It is best to get directions from the [official Rowan Oak website] listed as the first external link below.
[edit] References
- ^ a b William Faulkner House. National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved on 2007-10-25.
- ^ National Register Information System. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service (2007-01-23).
- ^ Polly M. Rettig and John D. McDermott (March 30, 1976), National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: William Faulkner Home, Rowan OakPDF (596 KiB), National Park Service and Accompanying 9 photos, exterior and interior, undated.PDF (1.22 MiB)
[edit] External links
- University of Mississippi Museums Page (includes visitor information on Rowan Oak)
- Inside Rowan Oak: Interactive Layout of Rowan Oak, With Close-Ups of a Novel Draft that Faulkner Wrote on His Office Wall
- A Photo Tour of Rowan Oak, With Commentary
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