An 1860 Holly Springs mansion where General Grant headquartered during the Civil War—and where owner Harvey Walter and three sons died of yellow fever in 1878.
300 W Chulahoma Ave, Holly Springs, MS 38635
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Primarily an events and weddings venue; exterior and grounds viewable without fee. Contact historicwalterplace.com for any tour arrangements.
Access
Limited Access
Historic mansion grounds; exterior accessible from street
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1860 · Civil War · Grant Headquarters · Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1878 · NRHP Contributing Property · Antebellum Architecture
Walter Place was begun in 1857 and completed around 1860 by Colonel Harvey Washington Walter, a lawyer and president of the Mississippi Central Railroad who was openly opposed to secession. The mansion blends Greek Revival and Gothic Revival architectural elements and stands as one of Holly Springs' most historically documented antebellum properties.
During the Civil War, Colonel Walter's pro-Union stance made the mansion a natural choice for Union forces. General Ulysses Grant used the home as his headquarters during operations leading toward Vicksburg, and Julia Grant—the general's wife—and their son Jesse sheltered at the property while Grant conducted his campaign. In December 1862, Confederate cavalry under General Earl Van Dorn raided Holly Springs in one of the war's most damaging Confederate cavalry strikes, targeting Union supplies. Walter Place's caretaker, Mrs. Pugh Govan, played a documented role in protecting the estate during the raid.
The Walter family's defining tragedy came in 1878 during the yellow fever epidemic that swept through the Mississippi Valley. Colonel Walter converted the estate into a makeshift hospital to treat the sick from the surrounding community. He died of yellow fever that autumn, and three of his sons died alongside him. The property passed to his widow, Fredonia. Their daughter, Dr. Anne Walter Fearn, became a pioneering female physician who spent over 40 years practicing medicine in China.
Walter Place is a contributing property to the Southwest Holly Springs Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It currently operates primarily as a weddings and events venue.
Sources
Walter Place's association with dark tourism in Holly Springs derives from its documented history rather than reported paranormal phenomena. The death of Colonel Harvey Walter and three of his sons from yellow fever in 1878—in a house that Walter himself had converted into a hospital for the community's sick—is a matter of historical record.
The property appears in regional roundups of Holly Springs' mysterious and historically significant sites, generally alongside the Haunted Holly Springs tour stops. No primary source documents a specific ghost sighting, named apparition, or paranormal investigation at Walter Place. The dark-tourism designation rests on the density of documented tragedy at the address: wartime occupation, the Confederate raid of 1862, and the catastrophic autumn of 1878.
The family is buried at Hillcrest Cemetery, Holly Springs, a short distance from the mansion.
Notable Entities
Walter Place is visible from the street and its grounds are accessible. The Greek Revival and Gothic Revival mansion—where General Ulysses Grant's family sheltered during the 1862–63 Vicksburg campaign and where Colonel Harvey Walter and three sons died of yellow fever in 1878—is a contributing property to the Southwest Holly Springs Historic District on the National Register.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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