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The Beauvoir estate is notable as the historic post-war home (1876-1889) of the former President of the Confederate States of America, Jefferson Davis, (1807/08-1889), (who was also former U.S. Representative, (1845-1846), and more influentially as United States Senator from Mississippi, (1847-1851, 1857-1861) and in between U.S. Secretary of War, (1853-1857), under 14th President Franklin Pierce). Its construction was begun in 1848 facing the Gulf Coastline (Gulf of Mexico) at Biloxi, Mississippi. It was purchased earlier in 1873 by the planter Samuel Dorsey and his wife Sarah Dorsey. After her husband's death in 1875, the widow, Sarah Ellis Dorsey learned of former Confederate President Jefferson Davis' difficulties. She invited him to visit at the plantation and offered him a cottage near the main house, where he could live and work at his memoirs (''"Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government"''). He ended up living there the rest of his life. The house and plantation have since been designated as a National Historic Landmark, recognized and listed by the U.S. Department of the Interior and its National Park Service (established 1916). Ill with cancer, in 1878 Sarah Ellis Dorsey remade her will, bequeathing "Beauvoir" to Jefferson Davis and his surviving daughter, Varina Anne Davis, known as "Winnie". His wife Varina Howell Davis was also living there, and the three Davises lived there until former President Davis' death in 1889. His young second wife and widow, (Varina Howell Davis) and her daughter moved to New York City in 1891. After the death of Varina Anne Davis ("Winnie") in 1898, Varina Howell Davis inherited the plantation. She sold it in 1902 to the Mississippi Division, of the Sons of Confederate Veterans with the stipulation that it be used as a Confederate state veterans home and later as a memorial to her husband. Barracks were built nearby and the property was used as such a home until 1953, with the death of the last veteran of the Confederate States Army in Mississippi. At that time, the main house was adapted as a house museum. In 1998, a Presidential Library (similar in style to the other United States Presidential Libraries, an archival and museum system operated by the National Archives and Records Administration, established in 1934/1935, with the first presidential library for 32nd President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1940) was completed and opened on site. The main house and library were badly damaged, and other outbuildings were destroyed, during Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005. Beauvoir survived a similar onslaught from Hurricane Camille in 1969. The house was restored and has been re-opened, while work continues on the library. == Description == Beauvoir was the location of the retirement home of Confederate President Jefferson Davis from 1876 to 1889. The compound consisted of approximately when Davis lived there (today, the site is approximately in size). Beauvoir is located in Biloxi, Mississippi across US Highway 90 from Biloxi Beach. The name "Beauvoir" means "beautiful to view". The compound consists of a Louisiana raised cottage-style plantation residence, a botanical garden, a former Confederate veterans home, a modern gift shop, a Confederate Soldier Museum, the Jefferson Davis Presidential Library and Museum, various outbuildings, and a historic Confederate cemetery, which includes the Tomb of the Unknown Confederate Soldier. Five of seven of these buildings were destroyed in Hurricane Katrina, and replicas are being planned (see below). The house was surrounded with cedars, oaks and magnolia trees, and at one time had an orange grove behind it. The home faces the Gulf of Mexico, and Spanish moss hangs from many of the large old trees on the property. Oyster Bayou, a freshwater impoundment and bayhead swamp, once connected directly to the Mississippi Sound and runs across the property behind the main house from West to East. This body of water is fed by natural artesian springs on the grounds. The northeast portion of the estate is the site of a primitive, pre-urban hardwood forest with an environment similar to what existed in the area during the 1800s. Current proposals envision restoring Oyster Bayou to its original environmental state, although this area also suffered extensive damage from Hurricane Katrina. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Beauvoir (Biloxi, Mississippi)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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