Eudora Welty was one of the most acclaimed authors of the 20th century. Her gift of her home, and her family’s gift of many of its contents to the Mississippi Department of Archives and History make the site one of the most intact literary homes in the country. The museum includes the historic Welty House, the surrounding garden, and the house next door, which serves as the Visitor Center.
For 76 years, Pulitzer Prize–winning author Eudora Welty lived, entertained, and wrote her stories in her 1925 Tudor Revival home, which has been a National Historic Landmark since 2004.
The Visitor Center offers an introductory film and exhibits that highlight Welty’s photography, early artistic ventures, family, and artifacts. A selection of Welty’s literary awards—including the Pulitzer Prize—are on display, and rotating temporary exhibits explore Welty’s life and work.
Welty was an avid gardener. Her mother, Chestina, designed the garden in 1925. She asked that the garden not be turned into something it wasn’t, explaining it was never a show garden—merely a work of love, typical of its time. Nonetheless, the Eudora Welty Garden is an official stop on the American Camellia Society Gulf Coast Camellia Trail and a display garden for the American Daffodil Society. It is one of only two public botanical gardens in Mississippi.
Tour reservations are recommended