This is another place I have been to numerous times. The history of these places is truly fascinating so I will share the true stories before I discuss the local legends.
Purdy was once the county seat of McNairy County and home to Purdy University. The area surrounding Purdy Cemetery and Hurst Mansion was once referred to as “Hurst Nation”. A prominent man by the name of Fielding Hurst owned Hurst Mansion and much of the land surrounding it.
During the Civil War, Hurst became a Union sympathizer and joined the Union Army as colonel of the 6th Tennessee Cavalry. He murdered many of his neighbors and burnt town the entire town of Purdy, excluding only his own home. Of course, this makes Hurst Mansion the oldest existing structure in the town. He also burnt down parts of Jackson, TN after extorting over $5,000 from them.
In the last years of his life, Hurst was forced to sell his home and he and his wife, Melocky, moved to the Mount Gilead area. It was there that he died (in his 70’s) and is buried in Mount Gilead Cemetery. His grave has been vandalized several times.
The Hurst Mansion was purchased by the Dodds, who owned the home until 1993. This home is posted and trespassing is strongly discouraged. Please be respectful.
Local legend says that you can hear soldiers and slaves in Purdy Cemetery. Some people say they have seen a horse drawn carriage. Others say that if you park on the left side of the circle your car will not start until dawn.
After many visits, I can only say this: I have never heard soldiers or slaves. We did hear a scream from the woods which could very possibly have been a local prankster. We did have a vehicle stall for five minutes on the left side of the circle but I believe it was a starter going bad. Aside from that, it is still interesting to visit as it is one of the oldest cemeteries in Tennessee dating back to the early 1800’s. I will be visiting Purdy Cemetery very soon as it has been years since my last visit and many of my friends are interested in going. I will provide an update after my visit.
Hurst Mansion was always a place we overlooked, really. It was not until recently that I read the history of this house. Local legend says one of Hurst’s many enemies shot at him from the bottom of the stair case and he died in his bedroom. (Hurst DID NOT die in this house. He died in Mount Gilead.) They say sometimes the blood spot will reappear and you can hear him scream. This is highly unlikely since he did not die there. However, I have seen several photographs of Hurst House with a ghostly face in one of the upstairs windows. When I compared the image to photos of Hurst, you can see a resemblance. (You can see these images for yourself on http://www.hurstnation.com.)
I will be taking a closer look at Hurst Mansion and taking my own photographs to see if this phenomena repeats itself. Please note: I will NOT be trespassing on the property. I will take my photos from the roadway. If you decide to visit, please respect the owner’s wishes and do the same.
I will post pictures and updates after my visit.
Thanks for mentioning my blog. Fielding was my GGGreat Uncle.
I think I might have soiled myself if my car had not started when out there at Purdy Cemetery.
Enjoyed your little stories on Purdy Graveyard. I too have been there many times. Once back around 1974 I took a cousin from California out there late one night and as he backed up to leave his tires fell off in a grave and we were stuck. After about an hour of trying we finally gave up and were bedded down to spend the night . About an hour later a good friend of mine Mark Volner and couple other guys came pulling in and he pulled us out. That was as close as I will ever get to spending the night at Purdy Graveyard. One note, have you ever noticed the pine tree limb that is grafted to one of the big cedars hanging over the cemetery? Looks really cool especially on full moon.
Rickey Smith
Belton SC
Formally from McNairy County
Author? mispellings abound..raught iron..I think not.
Certainly you must have seen what Ive seen on the occasions of visiting the home and cemetery. Fielding himself saying in a breathless rasp..”Out..get out….unwise fools….out!”
As the veil thins…the truth will be told and the unwise will never again be so bold as to slander the name Hurst Nation…the curse has now been told…all that is left is to
let it roll…..beware seekers….the truth will be told. striking fear in the hearts of you and yours.
Thanks for the, ummmm…..odd comment.
I’m still looking for the word “raught” and where I ever said I was an author. I think you posted on the wrong blog.
I won’t be afraid to return to Hurst Mansion or Purdy Cemetery until Hurst himself steps out and tells me to leave. I could not tell you how many times I have been to the cemetery and I have never seen anything odd.
My great great Aunt, was the first person to be laid to rest there, her namr was Amanda Harwell
Very interesting. I will certainly look for her grave when I next visit the cemetery. Do you happen to know which part of the cemetery she was interred in?
Fielding Hurst was My GGGreat Uncle My Grandmother tells a story of his distrubing actions different on why he had killed the men on Sulfer Springs road. It wasn’t for pure meaness. According to my grandmother is was because the men has came in to his house and was stealing things in the process they pulled his wife from the bed an beat her up because she wouldn’t tell where Fielding Hurst was. So the next morning he gathered up his men an according to my grandmother he had the men shot every mile along Sulfer Springs road. As far as how mean he was there after well I would be pretty upset if my name got slandered the way his did. I am a southern born and bred. I disagree with the side that he fought on but that was his decision not ours there for I don’t judge him for that. My grandmother was born a Hurst. Her moto is if you can’t beat them join them maybe he knew something we didn’t….LOL…
The Sulphur Springs Road incident occurred after these men pulled his AUNT from her bed and murdered his nephew in front of her because she wouldn’t tell them where to find Hurst. The boy was pulled from behind a plow in the field and shot before his body was hung from a tree. Hurst was furious and thus retaliated.
Hurst was not against the Confederates and their ideas–he was against seceding the Union. He made a powerful speech to the townspeople of Purdy and was jailed for treason. He chose to fight for the Union because he felt betrayed and he did not believe the South should leave the United States.
Hurst’s home was never harmed because Nathan Bedford Forest placed his own (Confederate) men around Hurst Mansion to stand guard because he feared the people of the town of Purdy would retaliate.
My mother was a Hurst, My grandfather’s grandfather was David, brother of Fielding Hurst. I hear that Fielding and most of his siblings chose to fight for the north because they were originally from the Virginia area after moving from England. Virginia was a northern territory before the Civil War and that was the reason he was sympathetic to the north. And I have heard also that he was driven to many of his so-called evil-doings by the Haters that lived around him during the day. Must have been crazy to to live during that time in history.
The author of Hurst Nation (http://hurstnation.com) is also a descendant of David.
Fielding chose to fight for the north because he did not believe the south should secede from the Union. See my previous comment that states:
“Hurst was not against the Confederates and their ideas–he was against seceding the Union. He made a powerful speech to the townspeople of Purdy and was jailed for treason. He chose to fight for the Union because he felt betrayed and he did not believe the South should leave the United States.”
He was provoked and this caused his murderous rampage:
“The Sulphur Springs Road incident occurred after these men pulled his AUNT from her bed and murdered his nephew in front of her because she wouldn’t tell them where to find Hurst. The boy was pulled from behind a plow in the field and shot before his body was hung from a tree. Hurst was furious and thus retaliated.”
The history surrounding Hurst is very rich, but unfortunately most people in that area know him as “the boogie man”. Before the war began, Hurst was a wealthy and well-respected man in Purdy. Because his beliefs regarding the war were not popular, he was persecuted, imprisoned, and eventually lost his beloved mansion.
It was a very tumultuous time. Hurst did bad things, but I don’t believe he was a bad man. He was simply protective of those he loved and had strong beliefs which he defended vigorously. It’s quite sad that the truth of many of these incidents has been distorted so badly that the current generation believes him to be a raving lunatic who killed anyone who got in his way.
I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN INTERESTED IN THE HISTORY OF PURDY. I WAS ALSO LUCKY TO GET TO RELIC HUNT THERE! I HAVE ENJOYED DIGGING UP HISTORY, I FOUND CANNONBALLS, BAYONETS, SPURS, BELT BUCKLES, BREAST-PLATES,BULLETS,KNIVES,COINS AND NUMEROUS OTHER RELICS.ALL WAS USED IN THE OLD TOWN OF PURDY.ONE OF MY FAVORITE FINDS IS A LIBERTY BUST DIME DATED IN 1823, I THINK THAT IS THE YEAR PURDY WAS ESTABLISHED. I HAVE BEEN COLLECTING PURDY ARTIFACTS FOR NEARLY 30 YEARS. I THANK ALL OF THE PROPERTY AND LAND OWNERS FOR GIVING ME PERMISSION TO RELIC HUNT, BECAUSE WITHOUT THEM I WOULD NOT HAVE A COLLECTION! PURDY IS HOME TO SOME OF THE BEST PEOPLE I KNOW! I AM ALSO LOOKING FORWARD TO DOING MORE RELIC HUNTING REAL SOON!!!! FRANKIE SMITH
I have been fascinated by the history of Purdy for some time now. Any chance you would be willing to share photographs of some of the items you have found there? I know plenty of readers who would be interested in seeing them–myself included. The war is a big part of the history of Purdy. I would love to see some of the belt buckles. Have you found any confederate buckles?
YES, I HAVE CONFEDERATE BELT BUCKLES, CONFEDERATE OFFICERS BUTTONS, OFFICERS SPURS AND A WAR OF 1812 BUTTON. ALL FOUND AT PURDY. I WILL BE GLAD TO SHARE SOME PICTURES WITH YOU. JUST SEND ME YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS AND I WILL SEND YOU SOME PICTURES. FRANKIE
I am into collecting things and photos about feilding hurst and the mansion.
I have some photos of the mansion and
information .
I went there as a child with my father
and when we did park on the left side
the car didn’t start back up till morning.
not sure what went on about that but
that is true.
I have been there in the grave also late at night and seen ghostly like images among trees and behind the woods .
I think the spirits of Colonel Hurst haunt the grave to this day! I would like to share photos and information if you have some photos and information I would like to share.
Thanks.
Thanks so much! I emailed you and can’t wait to get the pictures!
I have literally thousands of photos of Purdy, but I have shared the ones of interest on this site. Purdy has a very interesting history and most of it ties in to Fielding Hurst and the Civil War era. http://www.hurstnation.com has a great deal of information on Hurst and Kevin McCann has written a book or two about him, though his website address escapes me at this moment. If you have anything specifically you would like to know about, ask and I will be happy to answer. It would take me days to tell you everything I have learned through research.