Leona Blume had a plan when she moved to Vicksburg, Mississippi to marry her sweetheart, Lazrus Baer. She wanted to impress people with her wealth and prestige. To do that, she purchased a Greek Revival Style Mansion, damaged during the Civil War, and began to convert it into a Federal Style Mansion. Construction was begun, with Leona keeping a watchful eye from the street. If the Craftsmen hired to do the job made a mistake, they were quickly replaced. The long and proud history of the Baer House Inn had begun.
Miss Leona, determined to show the city her wealth, had the symbols of wealth added inside and outside the house. The original concrete steps and walkway, built when only the extremely wealthy had concrete, still stand today. Leona was a strong willed woman, who believed in grandeur. She often entertained in her well appointed downstairs. Her children were never allowed to enter downstairs, living completely upstairs, even entering the house by their own staircase.
She was determined to have an indoor kitchen, although she never set foot in the kitchen in her life. When her husband, Lazrus, balked and insisted they would have an outdoor kitchen, the outdoor kitchen “caught fire.” Leona refused to allow the firefighters to enter her property and watched as the kitchen burned to the ground. Soon after, Leona had her indoor kitchen.
Leona was as strong willed with her children as her home. Her oldest daughter, Sarah, refused to marry the gentleman Leona had arranged for her to wed, preferring to marry for love. Discovering Sarah had defied her wishes, Leona declared her dead. As a devout Jewish citizen, she persuaded the local Rabbi to add her name to the Book of the Dead and erected a tombstone for Sarah in a local cemetery.
Leona probably would have “turned in her grave” to discover Sarah was eventually left in charge of her prized home. The next occupants, the Williams family, had a completely different approach to the home than Leona. The children were welcome occupants of every room and the house became a home. The Grand Ball room still shows scratch marks where the children used the room as their personal roller skating rink.
Today, the Baer House Inn, owned by Corey and Patricia Rickrhode, has been christened the “Baer-Williams House” and is a gracious bed and breakfast. We dined on tasty snacks- cheese toast with pepper jelly, deviled eggs for my Celiac daughter, tea and lemonade- while seated at a 500 year old table. Imagine being able to eat at a table that was around before Columbus began his voyages to the New World! There are seven lovely guestrooms, many featuring period antiques, and a full breakfast served each morning.
The Rickrhodes are gracious hosts and are happy to answer questions about the history of their home. (Tip: For those wanting a spooky thrill, ask about the ghosts of Baer House.) Tours are available, along with specialty packages. The Baer House is located on Grove Street in historic downtown and is easily within walking distance of shops, museums and historic properties.
Have you visited Vicksburg? Do you have a favorite site to recommend?
Crazy that the table has been around before Columbus. What a great adventure to visit!
I love historical homes. This looks like it was a great place to visit and to stay.
Ong what a cute inn!!! I just love staying at places like this. Would love to stay here!
The first owner sounds a bit wacky lol. I love staying in bed and breakfast’s when I travel. If I’m ever in the area, I’d definitely stay here. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the history behind it.
I would love visiting the historic home any time of year, but the ghost tour does sound exciting. I love learning about the history of every day people.
This would be such a wonderful and interesting place to visit! I love visiting old homes like this and it’s great to see that this is been turned into a bed-and-breakfast so that others can enjoy it!
What a cool place to visit! I love those bookshelves!
Wow! I like the pictures, reminds me so much of my grandma’s ancestral home. This post makes me missed her!
I love historical places, the feeling is awesome whenever I get into one. I would like to go there too!
This is so beautiful! What a great historical experience!
What a gorgeous place to visit! I love learning about and seeing historical sites.
Never been to Mississippi but I love checking our historical places! Maybe when I venture over there I’ll check it out!
What a beautiful house!! I love the history of the south!! This would be a great place to visit and to explore as well
I’ve never had the pleasure of visiting the Baer House Inn in Vicksburg, Mississippi but I have a feeling I would thoroughly enjoy it. It looks like a great experience and lovely photos!
This is amazing! It’s so incredible that they were able to preserve all these historical pieces! Awesome!
Well, I’m certainly impressed with her wealth and prestige! The house is beautiful. I would have used the ballroom for a skating rink too when I was a kid 😉
I would love to visit one day, I love all of the history in Mississippi.
That library! I don’t think I would have left that room. What a great piece of history!!!!!!!!
This history of this house is pretty interesting. It’s awesome that you were able to spend some time there!
Looks like a cute little place to visit. I love the book shelving!
What a great place to visit, looks like it would make for a fun interesting time!
Wow what an interesting story! I love going to start places in learning stuff like this. It’s amazing how different society is now to back then. It’s hard to believe a mom would declare their daughter dead from marrying somebody she loved.
That house looks so beautiful! I love going to visit historic places like this.
I love all sorts of historical buildings and homes. This place looks amazing. I would love to visit it.
This sounds like a fabulous place to visit. The rooms seem fairly spacious. I love learning about the history behind places like this!
It’s so interesting to learn about the history of people and to be able to visit and sit at their original table is a plus! She wasn’t a loving mom, thankful I was able to marry who I wanted
This is beautiful! Agree with Colleen above. They certainly don’t make homes like they used to! Great post!
They sure don’t make them like they used to! Barring the outhouse thing, I really love old architecture like this.
I would love to visit Baer House Inn! I love places like this that just transport you back in time. Thanks!
Wow! What a handful! I woman can only be too controlling, that’s just over the top insane. Leona definitely had a different view on life and she would rather have things go her way without a doubt. It’s good to see the house being maintained though. It’s lovely and Leona definitely had taste.
Baer House Inn looks absolutely amazing. Stepping through the front door looks like it’s stepping back in time!
I have never been there. What a beautiful historic home. I love hearing the stories behind them.
Leona sounds like a interesting lady! I do not think you would have wanted to cross her. The house looks lovely and really does look like a nice stay though.
jennifer
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http://fabfatale.com.
I don’t think I like the conniving Leona! 🙂 Wow! I would love to visit that beautiful, historic house. I’m glad it’s now a B&B and is owned by gracious hosts.