In 1994, Helen and I, along with our four young children moved to Brookhaven, MS and purchased a home on South Jackson Street that was built in 1899.  Directly across the street from us was an old brick house, known to everyone in the area at the Captain Jack Hardy house.  Most of us that have lived in Brookhaven have passed the Captain Jack Hardy home sorely wanted it to be saved.​

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Little did I know, that 22 years later, I would be the owner of this fine lady and would begin the restoration process to bring her back to life.  It has been a wonderful experience over the last two years working with many fine folks starting with Hugh Mathis Construction and Paul Jackson for his encouragement.  We started at the ground floor with a french drain that Signature Landcapes designed and then proceeded with 100% tuck point process of the interior and exterior mortar and brick repairs.   The exterior mortar was analyzed in Connecticut for its texture and color and then was shipped in five gallon buckets back to Mississippi to be installed as it was done back in 1877. 

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Moving inside we added new electrical (Brookhaven Electric), new plumbing (Robbie Jackson), repaired plaster walls and ceilings (Upton Plaster), and began the process of removing plaster that was falling off the walls.   Adding new reclaimed heart pine flooring downstairs (Derek Fulps) was needed due to the moisture issues of a non climatized house and damp course weeping up the bricks.  Plenty of critters were enjoying living in the home but that was eradicated soon by the amount of demolition that was needed to reclaim the home.   Four new HVAC systems (Southern Air) were added throughout the home along with smart technology.  Final touches of high end kitchen appliances, mirrors (Hall & Co), and wall colors, hardware and plumbing choices (Ann Carter) pulled everything together.

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Our local newspaper, the Daily Leader, penned this article about some of the things we found along the restoration, like antique poker chips and vials of blood!

 

The National Park Service visited in 2006 to determine the home's eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places, which was earned in 2007. 
Check out the application! 

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There are also many others who documented the Hardy House history through the years. Perhaps most enlightening, and just so much fun, is this interview with local historian, Henry Hobbs, who "dabbled with historical aspects of Brookhaven" and would interview different townspeople about local history as they remembered it.