1830 Greek Revival mansion that survived the Siege of Vicksburg and served as a hospital — best known for the apparition of 'Archie' Archer, reported in the parlor since 1966.
1010 First East Street, Vicksburg, MS 39180
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$$
Overnight stays in the main mansion or grounds cottages; restaurant on-site.
Access
Limited Access
Historic mansion with stairs; some ground-floor cottage accommodations
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1830 · National Register Of Historic Places · Siege Of Vicksburg Hospital · Jefferson Davis 1869 Balcony Address · Archer Family Residence
Anchuca — also documented as the Victor Wilson House — was built in 1830 by J. W. Mauldin, a Vicksburg politician, in the Federal style. In 1837, Richard Archer and his family moved into the home; Archer was a wealthy planter whose household wealth, like that of similar antebellum Mississippi families, depended on enslaved labor and on the cotton economy of the Lower Mississippi Valley. The slave quarters at the rear of the property survive as part of the inn's grounds, a tangible reminder of who built and maintained the household.
In 1840, local merchant Victor Wilson purchased the house, and in 1847 he and his wife Jane added the two-story Greek Revival portico that defines its current appearance. The name 'Anchuca' is reported to mean 'happy home' in Choctaw.
During the 1863 Union siege of Vicksburg, the house — despite its proximity to the Confederate lines and the Yazoo and Mississippi rivers — survived intact. It was used as a hospital after the city fell. In 1869, former Confederate President Jefferson Davis delivered one of his last major public addresses from the home's front balcony.
Anchuca was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in the 20th century and has operated since the late 20th century as a bed-and-breakfast inn and restaurant, with overnight rooms in both the main mansion and outbuildings on the grounds.
Sources
The most-cited Anchuca account is the apparition known as 'Archie' Archer — most commonly identified as a daughter of Richard Archer — described as a woman in a long brown dress standing near the parlor or dining-room fireplace. Per regional ghost-tourism listings (HauntedHouses.com and Ghosts & Getaways), the first reports of this figure date to 1966 and have continued under successive ownership.
Guests have reported phantom scents — floral perfume and pipe or cigar tobacco — along with footsteps, voices, and shadow figures, particularly in the upstairs hallways. The OnlyInYourState haunted-stay coverage and HauntedHouses.com entry both describe reported activity in or near the former slave quarters at the rear of the property; we present these reports because the lore exists in the public record, while noting that the surviving slave quarters are first and foremost a structure built to house enslaved people held by the Archer-era household, not a stage prop.
Anchuca is a regular stop on Visit Vicksburg's haunted bed-and-breakfast itineraries and appears alongside Duff Green and Cedar Grove in regional ghost-tour coverage of the city.
Notable Entities
Overnight stays in the 1830 main mansion or in the surrounding 19th-century outbuildings. Guests can request the rooms most associated with reported phenomena, including those facing the parlor where 'Archie' Archer is described.
A guided walk through the public rooms covering the Mauldin, Wilson, and Archer family histories; the home's use as a hospital after the 1863 siege; and the Jefferson Davis 1869 balcony address.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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