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Preserving tangible links to the past
for the
benefit of present and future generations.
(251) 432-6161
Oakleigh Historic House
300 Oakleigh Place
Mobile, AL 36604
The Official Period House of
the City of Mobile, AL
Oakleigh Mansion phone:
(251) 432-1281
Site Last
Updated:
12/31/2007 12:31:56 PM |
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Oakleigh House
Museum
At
Oakleigh Historic Complex, costumed guides lead you through an intimate
experience of 19th century Gulf Coast living in an authentic setting. Oakleigh's
three house museums interpret three aspects of daily living in mid-19th century:
society, servant and working class. The complex is open to
general admission year-round, daily, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Groups,
families and individuals are welcome; various discounts available. (Special Sunday,
Monday and evening tours/events scheduled for groups of 15 or more by contacting
the Executive Director, hmps@bellsouth.net.)
Located minutes from the USS ALABAMA battleship, Gulf Coast Exploreum and other visitor favorites, Oakleigh
offers a pleasant experience for all ages. The complex consists of
Mobile's Official Period House Museum, Oakleigh, circa 1833, listed on the
National Register of Historic Places; Cox-Deasy Cottage, circa. 1850,
and the Cook's House, circa 1850.
Oakleigh museum is a T-shaped Greek revival mansion
featuring unique architectural features including a distinct cantilevered front
staircase, grand double parlors and classic six-over-six windows and galleries
accessed through jib windows. The house was built by a cotton factor from
Virginia and later inhabited for three generations by one of the leading society
families of Mobile.
Complementing the Oakleigh mansion is the Cook's
House on the southwest portion of the property. The Cook's House was built
in 1850 as quarters for slaves who were the backbone of the Oakleigh property.
Master craftsmen including brickmasons and carpenters lived and worked on the
property from prior to the time of the main house's construction. This
three-room building tells the story of every day life for craftsmen, laborers
and domestic servants. The interaction between the owners and servants
explains how urban slavery affected the lives in this commercial city and how
interdependent these two cultural communities were in stark contrast to the
elaborate plantations to the north.
Cox-Deasy, also built in 1850, tells a story seldom
told about the period through museum interpretation. The house was built
by a brick mason with a wife and 11 children. Because he could not afford
to spare the brick from his inventory, Cox-Deasy was built as a simple four-room
wooden raised cottage with a broad central hallway. Its furnishings are
simple but the story of the house covers a distance from the early urbanization
of the city through World War II.
Visitors are also invited to visit the Minnie
Mitchell Archives at the Oakleigh complex and view a massive framed 1857 flag
and the Confederate sword that was surrendered in 1864 at the Battle of Mobile
Bay, then returned by its Union captor.
The story of Oakleigh is as rich and intricate as that of the old city in which
it is found. Come, hear the stories and take a little bit of Old Mobile
and Oakleigh with you when you leave.
355 Oakleigh Place
Oakleigh House
Museum
When Virginia cotton factor James W. Roper made his fortune in
Mobile, his goal was to build a small Greek temple in an oak grove. That dream
was realized with Oakleigh, Mobile’s Official Period House Museum since 1955.
Roper loved the majestic oak trees he found in the countryside
outside early 19th century Mobile. He also loved the rolling meadow
that stretched from the peak of a small hill where he planned to build his
house. The name “Oakleigh” is derived from the combination of “oak” and “lea.”
Lea is another name for meadow. While the reason for Roper’s spelling in
unknown, his intent is clear.
Oakleigh is a T-shaped Greek revival mansion featuring unique
architectural features including a distinct cantilevered front staircase, grand
double parlors and classic six-over-six windows and galleries accessed through
jib windows. Roper was his own architect and builder. Using slave and free
labor, the house is composed of bricks made from clay dug on the grounds and
timber harvested from the property. Tool marks can be seen on the siding, doors
and window frames.
Roper placed his front doorway off-center for a reason. He and
his wife planned to entertain lavishly at Oakleigh so he created a north hallway
to accommodate large double parlors to the south.
Due to an economic downturn in the cotton trade, Roper lost his
house in the Bank Panic of 1837 but, through the benevolence of a wealthy
brother-in-law, continued to reside in Oakleigh until it was transferred in 1848
to the family that would put an indelible imprint on the house.
Alfred Irwin came to Mobile as secretary of the Mobile and Ohio
Railroad in the late 1840s. He first rented, and then purchased Oakleigh in
1852. He and his wife, Margaret Kilshaw Irwin, a British citizen of the Irish
peerage, were prominent in Mobile’s social scene. Their three children, Thomas
Kilshaw Irwin – known as T.K., Lee Fearn and Corrine, lived with them in
Oakleigh. Corrine died as a young woman. Lee Fearn built a fine home, as an
adult on Selma Street and Thomas and his wife, Mary Anna Ketchum Irwin, were
the second-generation Irwin owners of Oakleigh, which, during the
three-generation Irwin tenure was known as “Irwin Place.”
During the Union occupation of Mobile, Margaret Irwin saved the
house from occupation or damage by draping a British flag on the front gallery.
The Irwins occupied the house through the Golden Era of Mobile. The Irwins were
leading lights of Mobile society, entertaining family, friends, neighbors,
writers, actors, artists and a future president. In 1877, future-U.S. President
James Garfield sipped his first genuine Southern mint julep on Oakleigh’s front
gallery as a guest of the T.K. Irwins.
The last Irwin to occupy Oakleigh was Daisy Irwin Clisby, who
sold the house in 1916. Poignant letters in the Historic Mobile archival
collection between Mrs. Clisby’s sons detail their efforts to cover her debts as
she lived in genteel poverty in the family manse.
After many private owners, Oakleigh is now open to the public,
Tuesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oakleigh is furnished with some of
the finest decorative arts on public display in the United States. The
collection includes period silver, porcelain, furniture, paintings and personal
items.
Other facilities that operate as part of Oakleigh Historic
Complex are the Cook’s House, an 1850’s slave cabin located behind the main
house, the Cox-Deasy Cottage, an 1850s raised plantation house that interprets
the middle-class lifestyle in 19th century Mobile and the Mitchell
Archives, a historical research facility. While these properties are not
included on the historic homes tour, they can be viewed for additional admission
during the tour.
Oakleigh
is managed by Historic Mobile Preservation Society.
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HMPS appreciates the
generous support of our
Corporate Partners:
AT&T/The Real
Yellow Pages
BLP/Mobile Paints
Farnell Heating & AC
Harrison
Brothers
Kimberly-Clark
Peebles &
Cameron
Regions
Bank
Simply Shutters
TAG/The Architects
Group
WKRG/TV5
The Oakleigh Historic Museums are
open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Daily, Year-Round
Groups are welcome and special rates
apply. Reservations should be made in advance for groups of more than 10. School
groups are invited to picnic on the grounds after their tours.
HMPS Activities
(Additional activities may be added or events may be
cancelled due to weather or lack of participation.)
For info call (251) 432-6161 or
(251) 432-1281
or Email
hmps@bellsouth.net
February 21, 2008
Voices that Are Gone,
5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
A moving Readers' Theatre using Oakleigh’s Cook’s House to explore and
celebrate the experiences of persons of color living in Mobile in the 19th
century. Admission: HMPS members, $20; non-members, $25. Admission
includes refreshments inspired by traditional African-American recipes.
Call
(251) 432-6161 or email
hmps@bellsouth.net
for reservations and information.
March 14-15, 2008
Mobile Historic Homes Tour,
10
a.m. to 4 p.m.
Visit architecturally significant private homes and sacred
spaces in selected historic districts.
One-day ticket, $12 to HMPS members, $15 for non-members. Two-day ticket, $20
for HMPS members, $25 for non-members. Groups of 10 or more receive same rate as
HMPS members. For information or to order tickets, call 251-432-6161.
All ticket purchasers will be entered into a drawing for a cruise and other
prizes.
May 2008
National Historic Preservation Month
Many activities throughout the month, TBA.
Special speakers and presentations, children’s activities, a field trip. Mark
your calendar for the National Historic Preservation Month Picnic on the
lawn of Oakleigh for HMPS member, guests and the public, featuring
authentic arts and crafts, preservation salvage materials for sale, antique
furniture, decorative arts, cars and more, 1-4 p.m. Picnic admission: HMPS
members, FREE, non-member adults, $10, children, $5. Admission includes
picnic lunch and non-alcoholic beverages and free museum and tours.
June 5, 2008
Bravery & Beauty
Mint Julep Party,
5-8 p.m.
A celebration in honor of the June 1877 visit to Oakleigh by
James A. Garfield (later a president of the U.S.) when CSA Gen. T.K.
Irwin served him his first mint julep. Garfield's diary entry of that
occasion states: “The bravery and beauty of Mobile were there.” HMPS
members, $15; general admission, $25 per person and $45 per couple. No one
under age 21 admitted. All guests receive complimentary mint juleps and
non-alcoholic juleps. (Cash bar for non-julep specialty beverages.) Silent
auction and live music.
YOU can participate in the Barton restoration project...
Blue Roof pins are still on sale at the Oakleigh House Museum Gift Shop.
New Orleans stained glass artist Paulette Lizano has created a unique array of
colorful small glass houses with distinctive post-Katrina-blue roofs. Sales of
the pins will benefit Historic Mobile Preservation Society’s “Save Barton
Academy” efforts. Barton Academy, Alabama’s first public school and a landmark
on Mobile’s Government Street since the early 19th century, has been named among
the top Places in Peril by the Alabama Trust for Historic Preservation and the
Alabama Historical Commission.
HMPS is working in cooperation with the Mobile County Public
School Commission and local, state and national entities to pursue restoration
of this architectural treasure.
Each pin, which can also be worn as a pendant, is available for
purchase in the Oakleigh Gift Shop for $20 plus tax. A portion of the purchase
is tax-deductible and purchasers will receive confirmation of contribution for
tax purposes.
For information, please call Marilyn Culpepper, Executive
Director, 251-432-6161 or email
hmps@bellsouth.net.
Thank you for visiting.
Historic Mobile Preservation Society is a non-profit 501(c)3 corporation.
It receives principal funding through memberships and fundraising. HMPS
received funding for operations and/or special programs for the 2007 fiscal year
from the following entities:
The City of Mobile
The J.L. Bedsole Foundation
The Hearin-Chandler Foundation
The Crampton Trust
The Community Foundation of South Alabama: "Friends of Oakleigh" fund |