FRANK G. STRACHAN HOUSE
1134 First Street
By reason of its beauty alone this majestic house would deserve notice, but history has touched the house, making it a landmark. It is revered by Southerners because the Confederacy’s beloved President, Jefferson Davis, died within its portals. A granite marker placed beside the front walk by the United Daughters of the Confederacy memorializes this sad event.
Very little is known about the actual construction of the house, but it is conceded to have been one of the very first large mansions of the district. Records show that the site on the corner of First and Camp Streets was purchased in May, 1849, by Jacob U. Payne and his business partner, J. P. Harrison. It seems reasonable to suppose that the date of construction was between that time and 1850, the dawn of Lafayette’s great era of building. Since no record of architect or builder has been found, it is a popular local supposition that Mr. Payne himself designed the house, carrying on the tradition of the previous century when many gentlemen considered skill in architecture a necessary accomplishment.
The architect, whether Mr. Payne or some unsung genius, achieved a masterpiece which has both dignity and grace. The use of the Greek Revival style of architecture could not have been more correct. The handsome portico with its double gallery is adorned with great columns, Ionic below and Corinthian above, in the great classic tradition. Massive gables of the house with their twin chimneys are typical of the high quality of materials and workmanship employed. The cast iron capitals of the columns are marked New York, 1848.
The exterior of the house is stuccoed brick and the thick walls within are also of brick. Cypress was used for the beams; heart pine, for the floors. Window frames and doors are of mahogany. The decoration of this house is more restrained than in most of the houses built later when a greater exuberance came into vogue. The cornice design was duplicated in a miniature room depicting a New Orleans interior in the Chicago Institute of Art.
From J. U. Payne, ownership of the house passed to his son-in-law, Judge Charles E. Fenner, and his family. It was in the downstairs bedroom, on December 6, 1889, that President Davis died. Mrs. Edward Gay, granddaughter of the original owner, recalls that Davis, an intimate friend of the Paynes and Fenners and frequent guest in their home, was taken ill at his home “Beauvoir” on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and was brought to her grandfather’s house in an ambulance.
Joyous times as well as sad form the tapestry of this house’s associations with the Davis family. Winnie Davis, the daughter of Jefferson Davis, had her happiest moments here. This lovely girl, christened Varina Ann Jefferson Davis, had been born in the Confederate Executive Mansion in Richmond in June, 1864. Her birth was regarded as a single bright light in the darkest time for the South. Ever afterward she was affectionately called the “Daughter of the Confederacy”.
When she came of age, Winnie was presented to New Orleans society from the Fenner home. Her social success was a tribute to her beauty as well as an expression of the esteem with which her father was regarded. In 1883 Winnie was queen of the Momus ball, the theme of which was “The Moors in Spain”. The following year Winnie, along with the daughters of Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson and A. D. Hill, was signally honored by Comus. These girls were given the honor of dancing the first quadrille, Miss Mildred Lee being Comus’s partner. Although they were not officially proclaimed queens and maids of honor, the dynasty of Comus courts dates from that ball.
Later, the charming Miss Davis had her turn to reign with full Carnival panoply. Comus made her his queen in 1892. Mrs. Gay recalls how, as a small girl, she stood by the steps to catch a glimpse of Winnie in her white satin gown, styled along modified Oriental lines, as she entered the carriage to go to the ball. A portrait of Winnie in this dress, along with her jewels and the chalice Comus used to toast his queen, are on display at the Confederate Memorial Hall.