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About the House

Miss Leona Blume left her Louisiana family at age 20 and moved to Vicksburg during Reconstruction, against the wishes of her parents. She purchased a Greek Revival home badly damaged by the Siege of Vicksburg and redesigned it into an innovative Eastlake home prior to her marriage to Jewish merchant Lazrus Baer. Baer House captures the story and spirit of this remarkable woman and her impact on Vicksburg and its history.

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Sarah Baer Baszinsky (1868-1938)

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Baer Brothers Store

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Pat Williams (Hartley) 1945 - Baer House front porch.

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HISTORY OF BAER HOUSE

The Baer House has an interesting history, filled with love and happenings of two very different families.

The home was built on a site with a brick structure dating prior to 1850. In 1870, Leona and Lazrus Baer constructed the huge Victorian with a goal of impressing guests with the elaborate woodwork and grand ballroom. This home was filled with beautiful daughters and a beloved son. They lived, loved, laughed, and cried within the walls of this happy home.

Leona Baer had decided on the home's special construction and monitored it's building. She insisted it be of similar design to the large Eastlake style Victorians just becoming popular for the wealthy in America. She also was adamant that the kitchen would be inside the house and there would be privies on the first floor for guests and on the second floor for family; a his-and-hers two-story outhouse was the result!

The home had 11 fireplaces, 4 cisterns, a wellhouse and a carriage house. It is one of the best examples of Eastlake Victorian style in the state of Mississippi and is included in "Victorian Houses of Mississippi".

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The cornice is modillioned and the windows display segmental arches with raised brick drip molds. Fish scale shingles and carved vergeboards accent the gable ends.

The home clearly reflected the prosperity that Mr. Baer, a Jewish immigrant from Germany, had accumulated by the 1870's through his dry goods store, Baer and Brothers, established in 1865. Baer House Inn is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

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Please come and help us enjoy this wonderful home. Step back in time - enjoy the elegant rooms, woodwork, and style of the past. Try Southern hospitality at its best.

History abounds in Vicksburg. Enjoy antique shops, museums, historic homes, and even gaming on our river casinos. You can visit the National Military Park and watch the grand Mississippi River roll by.

1117 Grove Street
Vicksburg, MS 39180

601-883-1525
baerhouseinn@gmail.com