A building that stays standing for 150 years isn’t something that happens by accident. It takes dedicated work from a preservation champion, William “Brother” Rogers, historian with the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, said to a crowd of more than 50 people Sunday afternoon.
Nancy Carpenter, CEO of the Columbus Cultural Heritage Foundation, has been that champion for the Tennessee Williams House Museum and Welcome Center, he said.
“Columbus needs a champion for (it’s) history, somebody who values history, somebody who recognizes the need to preserve history, somebody who is willing to plan and to tackle project after project after project to promote history,” Rogers said at Sunday’s event. “And that champion is Nancy Carpenter.”
More than 50 community members, organizers and public officials gathered Sunday afternoon at Poindexter Hall at Mississippi University for Women to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Tennessee Williams House Museum and Welcome Center.
Mississippi Heritage Trust, MDAH and Mississippi Hills National Heritage Area partnered for the event, which also served as a way to recognize Carpenter with a Preservation Champion Award for her work with the welcome center and with other organizations across the state.
The Tennessee Williams Home, originally built in 1875, was the birthplace and childhood home of the famous playwright Tennessee Williams. The home originally existed on College Street before being relocated to Main Street, where it now serves as the welcome center for the city.
In November 2024, the home reopened for visitors after an eight-month hiatus to replace interior plaster, exterior wood and rotting in the sills under the building.
Carpenter said the work, which ended up costing more than $300,000, wasn’t planned to be as expensive or extensive as it was, but she knew she had to find a way to save it.
She advocated for grants from MDAH, Mississippi Hills Heritage Area and some additional funds from the city, which helped to fund the endeavor, Carpenter said.
“(The) Tennessee Williams Home in Mississippi is one of our, I think, largest and most important cultural assets,” said Mary Cate Williams, executive director for Mississippi Hills National Heritage Area. “So, we’re lucky to have it here, and anything we can do to help protect and preserve its future, we’re happy to do.”
Lolly Rash, executive director for the Mississippi Heritage Trust, said spaces like the Tennessee Williams Home are incredibly important to preserve and remember, even if they aren’t always the flashiest, adding that Carpenter deserves recognition for her work to preserve the home for Columbus.
“Most of this work goes unrecognized, right?” Rash told The Dispatch. “It’s hard work, and it’s day-to-day, incremental, move it forward, dig your heels and say, ‘This is important.’ … It’s not glamorous in any way. It’s just the hard work that goes into making sure buildings continue to serve their purpose. So I admire her tremendously for that.”
‘Our joy to share’
Carpenter said it was an honor to be recognized for her work.
“I was very surprised, even though I serve on a couple of the boards, and I’m very involved with most of the people on a regular basis, I had no idea that this was even a thought,” Carpenter said. “I did not know that they were contemplating honoring me this way, but it’s very humbling and really amazing.”
She was excited to realize that the anniversary for the house could fall in time with the 250th anniversary of the country, since the welcome center already hosted several events for Mississippi250.
“The national America250 thought that it was significant enough that they wanted to be sure to bring the airstream to Columbus,” Carpenter, who also serves as the executive director for America250 Mississippi campaign, said. “… So we were very grateful for that, and also we received the grant for the Thacker Mountain Radio Show that we hosted on Nov. 2, and again, that was significant, because it brought in literary influence (to Columbus).”
The Tennessee Williams Home, while an important landmark in the city, is just part of the rich history that can be found here in Columbus, Rogers said.
Rogers noted recent efforts in the city to recognize historical local figures, like world champion boxer Henry Armstrong, and Robert Gleed, the first Black state senator from Lowndes County.
“I want to congratulate you, people who are from Columbus, on how you have been recognizing your history,” Rogers said. “You really need to stretch yourselves and give yourselves a pat on the back, because you’ve done a lot of good things with historical markers lately. … I’m telling you this because every city in Mississippi doesn’t have this. Every city in Mississippi doesn’t have this smorgasbord of history that you have here.”
For Carpenter, the work required to restore the building has been worth it to see the thousands of people who get to come through the home and learn something about Tennessee Williams they may not have known before.
“We try to be good citizens and I think that (for) our board … it’s really our joy to share with the community, it really is … and we’re happy to do that,” she said.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 35 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
