Charles H. Manship (1812–1895), a grainer and ornamental painter born in Maryland, came down the Mississippi River in 1836, disembarked at Vicksburg, and walked to Jackson, probably attracted here by the State House project on which he later worked. In 1836, he advertised for “House, Sign & Fancy Painting,” and in 1838 wed Adeline Daley. For their home, Manship adapted the picturesque “Cottage-Villa in the Rural Gothic style” from A. J. Downing’s The Architecture of Country Houses (1850).
Manship and his builder customized Downing’s design. The symmetrical one-story raised cottage sided in clapboards has gable bargeboards that are more free-form than the model, a large Gothic arched window replaces Downing’s oriel and small window in the steep gable, and classical details such as dentils stray from Gothic. The porches flanking the central bay feature ornate cast-iron supports, railings, brackets, and friezes that add a sense of enclosure. Manship’s adaptations for southern preferences include a center-hall plan, locating the dining room in the rear of the ell rather than in the main block, and placing the kitchen in a separate structure (demolished). Much of his interior decoration survives and has been restored, including rediscovered wallpapers. The dining room, painted in oak grain, remains Manship’s most spectacular known work. Although only a few other works are documented as his, he is one of Mississippi’s most accomplished antebellum artisans. He painted and reglazed the windows of the Governor’s Mansion (JM18) in 1854, and his firm painted the interior of the Old Capitol (JM12) in 1870–1871, in both cases working with architect Joseph Willis. Manship also served as mayor of Jackson in 1862–1863, surrendering the city to General William T. Sherman in May 1863. The house stayed in the family until it was acquired in 1975 by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History and restored as a house museum. Constant shifting of the Yazoo clay underneath the house required structural repairs and renovation in 2012, including replacement of the tall chimneys with lighter materials that should shift evenly with the structure.