Then & Now: The Old Courthouse Museum

A monument to Vicksburg’s storied past

By Chris Bolm

VICKSBURG, Miss. (VDN) — On one of the highest bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River, the Old Court House in Vicksburg stands as a solemn guardian of history. Its towering presence has cast a long shadow over the city for more than a century and a half, watching as the world around it changed, suffered, rebuilt, and remembered. This is not merely a building of brick and wood. It is a storyteller carved in stone.

The story begins in the early 1800s, when the city’s founder, Reverend Newitt Vick, set aside the hilltop for the construction of a courthouse. The first structure built on the site eventually fell victim to fire in 1857. What rose in its place would become one of the most iconic structures in the South. Construction began in 1858 under the direction of the Weldon Brothers from Rodney, Mississippi. Much of the work was done by enslaved craftsmen, whose skills shaped the fine details of the courthouse. The final cost, close to $100,000, reflected both the ambition and the importance of the project at the time. By 1860, the new courthouse was complete.

Its position on the bluff gave it a commanding view and significant strategic value. During the Civil War, the building became a silent participant in the siege of Vicksburg. Confederate generals Stephen D. Lee, John C. Breckinridge, and Earl Van Dorn stood in its cupola and looked down as the ironclad Arkansas fought its way through Union forces. Shells from Federal guns rained down on the city, and one struck the courthouse on its southwestern corner. Still, the structure held firm. When the city surrendered on July 4, 1863, Union troops raised the American flag above the courthouse, symbolizing a turning point in the war.

Before and after the war, the courthouse played host to many figures who would shape the nation. Jefferson Davis, Ulysses S. Grant, William McKinley, Zachary Taylor, Theodore Roosevelt, and Booker T. Washington all had connections to the grounds. In the years following the conflict, the courthouse witnessed the trial of Captain Frederick Speed, who had ties to the explosion of the Sultana, a steamboat tragedy that claimed more lives than the Titanic.

By 1939, progress had moved on. A new courthouse was built, and the old structure was left in the shadow of modern convenience. Its fate was uncertain until one determined woman, Eva Whitaker Davis, rose to its defense. Rallying the citizens of Vicksburg, she founded the Vicksburg and Warren County Historical Society. Through her efforts, the courthouse was saved from demolition and reopened in 1948 as a museum.

What she preserved was not just a building but a treasure trove of memory. Today, the Old Court House Museum holds thousands of relics that whisper stories of long ago: artifacts from the Civil War and Native American culture, antique furniture, early clothing, Americana items, and historic photographs and paintings fill the building. The original courtroom has been preserved and still carries the character of the Victorian era. Soldiers from the war left behind messages scratched into the slate of the porticos, turning even the building’s surface into a record of the past.

Time has not spared the courthouse its trials. It has withstood tornadoes, cannon fire, near abandonment, and demolition. Yet it endures. Recognized as a National Historic Landmark in 1968 and later as a Mississippi Landmark in 1986, it was also honored by the American Institute of Architects as one of the nation’s most outstanding courthouses.

In 2025, the courtroom saw official use once again. The Warren County Grand Jury assembled there for the first time in 88 years, reconnecting the structure to its original purpose in a moment when past and present stood together under the same roof.

More than a museum, the Old Court House is a quiet yet steadfast witness to Vicksburg’s story. Its walls have absorbed the voices of soldiers, judges, generals, and citizens. Its artifacts preserve lives long passed. And from its hilltop perch, it continues to remind visitors that history is not something left behind. It is something that still lives, if we know where to look.

The first image is part of the Old Court House Museum’s J Mack Moore collection and was taken in the early 1900s. The second image was recently taken by Chris Bolm.

The Old Courthouse Museum has an amazing collection of photographs taken in the Vicksburg and Warren county area. If you are ever interested in getting an old photo printed for your home or business, contact the staff at the Old Courthouse Museum and they can make it happen.