Admiring Historic Homes in Laurel Mississippi

HGTV’s hit show “Hometown” is all about revitalizing the city of Laurel… Since most of the show’s focus is on refurbishing the many old classic homes in town, we decided to cruise up and down a couple of streets just to get a better idea of what Laurel has to offer. 

All of these homes are just a few blocks from the center of town.  Those who like photos and would in any case skip my usual verbiage, will really enjoy this post as there wasn’t much to write about for many of these homes…  

One thing that made these neighborhoods stand out were the beautiful tree lined streets…

I might as well start big!  Today this huge building at 520 North 5^th Street serves as the St. John’s Day School.  However, it was once the home of Mr. and Mrs. George S. Gardiner.  George and Catherine Gardiner, George’s brother Silas and Lauren Chase Eastman were lumber barons from Iowa who bought 15,000 acres of forest around Laurel…and in 1893, they opened their lumber mill.  That’s when Laurel became a boom town…

Dirt roads and small wooden houses were the norm at that time but the Gardiners, especially Catherine, had grander ideas…hence this huge and beautiful home.  It was originally called Laurel Manor.  Fifth Avenue in Laurel was where the rich lumber barons built their mansions.  The home stayed in the Gardiner family until 1949 when its evolution into St. John’s Day School began.

It follows that St. John’s Episcopal Church, at 541 North Fifth Avenue, is located right across the street from St. John’s Day School.  The parish was organized in 1892 but the congregation met in their homes until 1900 when the first church was built.  That first church was moved to the back of the property and it was used as a parish house.  This attractive church with its giant rosette window was built in 1913. 

Then of course, there were the other folks in Laurel.  In the original plan by the lumber barons and their wives, the wealthy lived on Fifth Avenue, Fourth Avenue was for the managers, Third Avenue was for the foremen, Sixth and Seventh Avenues were for the town’s merchants and First and Second Avenues were for the workers…

Given the original plans, this home at 1140 North Sixth Avenue must have been a merchant’s home.  This large…over 3,200 sq. feet…California Craftsman style home was built in 1910. 

This home at 1010 North Sixth Avenue was built in 1937.  This home was remodeled by Ben and Erin Napier and featured as a Hometown episode in the last couple of years.  It now features 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.  Real estate photos of this house when it last sold show that it originally lacked a front porch…

This home at 738 North Sixth Avenue was built ca. 1901.  It is a big home with over 4,800 sq. feet of floor space.  I really like that porch with its tri-partite columns and the entry with the transom and beveled glass. 

Most but not all of the houses I’ve pictured are listed as part of the Laurel Central Historic District in the National Register of Historic Places.

Then there is this little ca. 1920 bungalow tucked in between larger homes at 607 North Sixth Avenue.  Opportunity awaits!   

This ca. 1920 home at 711 North Sixth Street, right next to that little bungalow, is a mix of several different styles that were popular in the early 2oth Century. 

This attractive two-level bungalow with twin dormers has a few Craftsman stylistic touches.  Located at 732 North Sixth Avenue, it was built ca. 1910.

While I’m quite sure that this home is located on North Sixth Avenue in Laurel, I can’t identify it from my photos or on the internet.  I’ve included it just to show the variations among the classic homes on the street.  It even has a couple of Tudor touches...

This 2-story colonial revival style home built ca. 1905 is located at 536 North Sixth Avenue.

This one-story double gabled bungalow has some Craftsman style touches.  It was built ca. 1910.

While this home at 522 North Sixth Street appears to need a little paint, it can be excused due to its age.  Most sites referencing this house claim that it was built ca. 1870, which would make it one of the oldest houses in Laurel.  It looked fresh as a daisy when it was last on the market in 2018.  The home has over 3,300 sq. feet of floor space and there is a large swimming pool in the back yard.

The owner of this house isn’t shy!  This is Ms. Pearl’s house at 456 Short 7^th Street in Laurel. (That’s Pearl as in The Pearl Diner) Her house was featured on Hometown.  Ms. Pearl bought it for $36,000 and she had an ‘all in’ budget for this 2 bed, 1 bath home, including renovations, of $85,000.  Ben and Erin Napier came in on budget and Ms. Pearl was very happy with her new home!  She chose this house because she could walk to church from here.  The home is part of the Historic District…

There are several other big mansions in Laurel as well as a couple hundred other historic homes and buildings.  However, I thought that I’d end this post with the Hanford N. and Juliet Gardiner Rogers home at 706 North Sixth Avenue.  Juliet Gardiner was George and Catherine Gardiner’s daughter and in 1909 they built this house for her and her husband as a wedding present.  The Mediterranean style design created by an architectural firm from New Orleans.  It was built with poured concrete with a smooth stucco finish.

This is has been just a glimpse of the historic homes in Laurel Mississippi.  To view a few more of the larger homes in town, you can go to: Take a Tour of Laurel's Historic Homes! • Visit Downtown Laurel, Mississippi. And/or Laurel's Founding Families Historic Homes – Laurel Mercantile Co.

That’s about it for this edition about our visit to Laurel.  Next time we’ll visit Laurel’s amazing art museum…

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave