J.J. McAlester Mansion

J.J. McAlester Mansion. . Col. James Jackson McAlester married Rebecca Burney, the sister of Chickasaw Chief Benjamin C. Burney, and the daughter of Judge David Calhoun Burney. Marrying into an allied tribe gave J.J. the rights of tribal membership in the Choctaw Nation which included the right to receive a land allotment., The smaller portion of the current home on the east side dates to 1870 and was initially both home and trading post. As business flourished, this modest structure was repeatedly enlarged and refined., According to city records and based on the codes of the day, the home was finished in 1875, though building continued until 1885. By 1893, McAlester built a separate building for his business just west of his home. Times were treacherous, and legend has it that when J. J. McAlester would start home from his store each evening, his wife would stand guard, shotgun in hand, from the 3rd floor turret to discourage any would be bandits., When the Colonel died in 1920, the house was left to his daughter, Sudie, who was born at the house in 1873. Later the home was left vacant for 25 years until 1960 when Mr. and Mrs. James T. McAlester, grandson of the founder, moved into the home and completely restored it. Retained in the remodel were the old woodwork and staircase, a fireplace in what is now used as a den, cut-glass light fixtures brought from Belgium and stained glass windows. Workmen discovered during the restoration that huge cypress logs with the bark still on them were used as the foundation, underneath the mansion., The home currently consists of 3,828 square feet of living space and the grounds measure two acres. The mansion was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.