Here are some pictures of Hurst House in the daytime. I DID NOT trespass to take these photographs. The owner showed us the house. DO NOT trespass on this property.
I will also be adding pictures I took of the house after dark.
This photo is of the back wall in Fielding Hurst’s bedroom. The small door gives access to one of the attics.
This is the bathroom. It, of course, was added in later years by the Dodds.
This is the original kitchen in the backyard, where the slaves prepared the meals.
This is the grounds behind the house.
This is the front of the house. The tarp covers the leaking roof. The window peeking out from under it is the one you may have seen around the internet with a face in it. That’s Hurst’s bedroom.
This is the front of the house.
This is a close up of Hurst’s bedroom window. Make of it what you will.
This is where a bullet grazed the staircase. Some say this was where Hurst was killed, but this is not true. It is not known how this truly got there and one can only speculate about it as there are no records of what really happened here.
This is the new kitchen which was added on to the back of the house by the Dodds.
This is the chimney and pot from the old kitchen where the slaves cooked. A tree fell on the kitchen a few years back. The new owner intends to restore the building.
This is the back of the house. You can see all the vines and shrubbery that have actually grown to the house over the years.
This is the old barn across the street.
This is the piano inside the house. We assume it belonged to the Dodds.
This is the attic through the small door in Hurst’s bedroom.
This is the side of the house. The top window is Hurst’s bedroom.
This is the slave quarters located across the street from the house. BEWARE! This property is also owned by the owner of Hurst Mansion. DO NOT trespass! If the snakes don’t get you, the guy with the shotgun will.
This was where they collected rainwater.
This wall is in Hurst’s bedroom. When the owner peeled away the old wallpaper, they found a multitude of signatures and dates on the wood underneath. The large one is R. T. M. Bell in June 1888. If you have any information on who this person could be, email tnhauntings@writersbeacon.com.
This is the well inside the old well house in the backyard.
This is another picture of the side of the house.
[...] Hauntings has some great, new, current pictures (at night) … (day time pics) … of the “Hurst Mansion” and apparently got the tour from the new [...]
Anychance to get a personal tour of the place? I would be willing to give you a virtual tour of the place then come back through stages of the work and show the restoration through VR tours free of charge. I am just intersted in the history of the place. thanks Chris Kelly
You would have to speak to the owner himself and he does not wish for me to give out any information. Sorry. He did allow tours during Halloween, though. Perhaps he will do it again this year.
i hope so my youth group would love to have a tour.
My maiden name is Wisdom and I have been working on my family tree for years. I know through my research that W. S. Wisdom was a early settler of Purdy. My GGGrandfather was Alex Wisdom (born 1840). Then when I read this blog I see that Dodds were owners of the Hurst House at one time. My GGrandmother on my mother’s side, was a Dodd. I am going to be making a trip to Purdy and Selmer this weekend to do a little research. I am trying to link Alex Wisdom to W.S. Wisdom. If anyone has any information they would like to share it would be great. Thank you,
Hi! I emailed you some information on the Wisdom and Dodds families. Hope it helps!
Hello,
I came across this blog accidentally and thought I’d share with you. My name is Cassandra Dodds Fuller and my great grandfather owned this house. His son, my grandfather, Clarence Raymond Dodds and daughters Bessie and Mary Dodds lived there. Growing up we held family functions there and I can remember loving to visit this place because there was so much history. Mary died and Bessie continued to live in the house until she went to live in the convalescent center. My dad and his three brothers, the sons of Clarence Dodds, owned the property after he passed. After Bessie died, they kept the property for some years. They decided to sell the property to the city for it to become a museum. Apparently that didn’t pan out. I wish the new owners luck in remodeling, for it can be a beautiful house.
Would you have the information on the names of Fielding and Melocky Hurst’s children?
Fielding and Melocky did not have children. Fielding had an illegitimate child named Flora that he and Melocky adopted. She died when she was a young child. After Fielding died, Flora continued to live with Melocky and she died by scalding. Not much else is known about her. Anyway, Fielding and Melocky had no children, but Fielding’s brothers had many children.
Wow these pictures are incredible!! Thanks so much for sharing these wonderful pictures! It looks like it once was a beautiful place at one time in our history n maybe once it gets to be restored. If that ever happens. I really like old historical places. I dont get to travel much but this place looks very Awesome. I cant say I would ever visit here but I might n the future! Of course with the owners permission, just out of Respect for the people who own it. Its a shame that some people have to ruin something that once was a part of our historical time. It really is a shame that the younger generation has no respect for something like this. I love the way they built these houses back n that time frame. I hate to see places like this go to waste but maybe the owners can restore it oneday back to its original beauty! I was wondering how it got the name “Hurst?” I do have family with that last name, but Ive never heard of “The Dodds”. Anyways Thanks again for letting us post comments on here. Maybe the beauty will once more be restored n people will apreciate what it once was and what it will be someday.
It was once quite beautiful. Hurst Mansion was built by Fielding Hurst. He was a prominent man before the Civil War, but became known as the “boogie man” during the War. He was against seceding the Union and became a colonel for the north. Hurst owned a great deal of property and that area was once known as Hurst Nation. This house is the only remaining structure in the town of Purdy of this age. There are no other buildings from the Civil War era, which makes it an important part of the town’s history. He was forced to sell the house and it was owned by quite a few people, but the last family to actually live in the house was the Dodds.
I really wish the house could be restored. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like it will be. The current owner has replaced window after window and kids break the new windows. The roof is leaking pretty bad and he had a tarp on it for a while and intended to fix the roof in order to start work on the inside but what is the point when they won’t leave the house alone? Anything he does, they mess up. It’s sad that someone has an interest in restoring this house and vandals prevent him from doing so.
i am so sorrry that there is people out there that does things like that.. I just would like for my youth group to be able to tour it..if is where they are able to there will be about 4 parents with them.
As of three weeks ago, the owner stated that he did not intend to have the tours this year. He was recently injured and is still recovering (broke his leg in two places)–not sure if he feels up to it or not at this point. Last year, he was there giving tours past 3 AM. I will ask today and find out if he is feeling up to it and has changed his mind. Someone said they heard something on the radio about the tour, but I’m not sure if this was a mistake or he has changed his mind. I will find out today.
The thing is, he understands the fascination with the house and really doesn’t mind people touring the house while he is there. He is annoyed by the people breaking in and trashing the place. (Some of them broke windows to get in and then broke windows elsewhere in the house to amuse themselves.) As a result, he has begun to prosecute those found on the property without permission. I’m sure you understand that. BUT…if you catch him there, he is more than happy to let you go in. He hasn’t been there much lately since he broke his leg, but the caretaker is watching over it.
I will find out this afternoon if he will be allowing tours this year and let you know. If he does, he will only allow groups of five to go in at a time because the floors are weak in spots and he is concerned about too many people being inside at once (weight on the floors) for fear that someone may get hurt.
The city held on to it for a short time and then decided it would cost too much money to turn it into a museum and they sold it for almost nothing to the current owner. He has tried to restore it but vandals are making it impossible. I have a newspaper clipping of Bessie and Mary chopping cotton beside the house years ago.