Page 191 - South Mississippi Living - June, 2018

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1905 home in Bay St. Louis is still standing strong
story by Lynn Lofton photos by Janice Hall
The Bay St. Louis home of Teri and Bubba (Jim) Wyly is a feast for the eyes. It’s warm, inviting, and full of antiques and family mementoes. The structure itself adds to the charm and, like the furnishings and accessories, has a story
as it sits majestically overlooking the Bay. Built in 1905 on property that was the previous site of the Tulane Hotel, the house is made of thick stucco and survived hurricanes Camille and Katrina as well as numerous less devastating storms. The front arched windows and arched porch add to the appeal along with the mission tile roof and original wooden floors.
Katrina’s wrath blew out the arched win- dows, pushed part of the front of the house backwards and left two feet of water inside. But the Wylys were thankful they had a structure to repair. “We have a 25- or 26-foot elevation from the water to the floor level, and the stucco construction is tough,” Bubba said. “Structurally, it was okay.”
Teri adds that some furniture and art were saved. “There are special pieces that my mother collected in her travels as she researched the types of furniture families’ chose to take with them in covered wagons as they migrated West; this documentation was for her university thesis. Amazingly, her pottery from the Hohokam Indians >>
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June 2018 • SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living 191