Eudora Welty House
Encyclopedia
The Eudora Welty House in Jackson, Mississippi
was the home of author Eudora Welty
for nearly 80 years. It was built by her parents in 1925. In it she did all her writing, in an upstairs bedroom. Welty created the garden over decades. The house was first declared a Mississippi Landmark in 2001, added to the National Register of Historic Places
in 2002, and declared a National Historic Landmark
in 2004. This was part of a raised awareness of the significance of authors and literary life in the United States.
The house was restored by the Eudora Welty Foundation and State of Mississippi. In 2006 the house and garden were opened to the public as a museum. The renovation of the house and garden is part of a larger effort to celebrate and promote Mississippi
's literary heritage
as a means of developing tourism
to the state.
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...
was the home of author Eudora Welty
Eudora Welty
Eudora Alice Welty was an American author of short stories and novels about the American South. Her novel The Optimist's Daughter won the Pulitzer Prize in 1973. Welty was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, among numerous awards. She was the first living author to have her works published...
for nearly 80 years. It was built by her parents in 1925. In it she did all her writing, in an upstairs bedroom. Welty created the garden over decades. The house was first declared a Mississippi Landmark in 2001, added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 2002, and declared a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
in 2004. This was part of a raised awareness of the significance of authors and literary life in the United States.
The house was restored by the Eudora Welty Foundation and State of Mississippi. In 2006 the house and garden were opened to the public as a museum. The renovation of the house and garden is part of a larger effort to celebrate and promote Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
's literary heritage
Cultural heritage
Cultural heritage is the legacy of physical artifacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations...
as a means of developing tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
to the state.