| Notes |
- Barrett-Clower House, Gulfport
Before Katrina, the Barrett-Clower House at 424 E. Beach Blvd. in Gulfport was known as the oldest home in the city, being built in 1834.
Originally built by a family from Clinton, the antebellum home was one of a few vacation mansions built before the settlement of Gulfport.
In 1901, Thomas Hickman Barrett was appointed to Gulfport by the governor of Mississippi to serve as judge and bought the 3-acre homesite from the original owners. Catherine Clower Thornhill, granddaughter of Judge and Minnie Barrett, said her grandparents were first settlers here.
The home was later sold to daughter Olive Barrett and her husband, Thomas Simeon Clower, parents of Catherine, in 1930.
Covered with large oaks and magnolia trees, the property was dotted with many camellia bushes cultivated by Tom and Olive.
Though Katrina destroyed the large house, family and friends will remember the beautiful spiraling staircase and tall ceilings. The large, middle foyer was surrounded by massive bedrooms. The first and second floors presented large outdoor galleries extending the length of the home where the Gulf breeze was easily accessible and the view of the Gulf beautiful, according to Catherine.
Plans are pending for the future of the property, which is shared among five Clower heirs. Catherine, who lost her Southern style cottage next door to "4-2-4," where many family gatherings were shared between the two homes, said, "I knew after Katrina that my home was gone, but I plan to return to my birthsite."
Catherine remembered the plaque that hung at her cottage that simply said, "bon temps," the French expression for "good times." She will be sure the family who lost its heritage home will have a place to gather for many more of those good times.
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The Daily Herald
September 13, 1917
Gulfport
At its meeting last Saturday the Harrison County Bar Association adopted resolutions in honor of Judge T. H. Barrett, which well express the esteem in whivh this citizen was held in Gulfport. The resolutions were ordered spread on the minutes of the circuit court, and the Daily Herald takes pleasure in reproducing them in full.
Death has again invaded the ranks of the Bar, and remove therefrom one of its brightest members. Thomas H. Barrett, Judge of the Circuit Court of this District died at San Antonio, Texas, on the 12th day of June 1917 after an illness of some months.
Judge Barrett was born in Hinds county, Mississippi, in 1875 - after attending the common schools of that county and also at Laurens S. C., he garduated from the Law Department of the University of Mississippi in 1896 and began the practice of his profession at Edwards in Hinds county where he remained until 1902, when he moved to Gulfport; at once taking high rank at the bar of this thriving place.
In 1910 he was appointed judge of the circuit court by Governor Noel, which position he held for one term, retiring in 1914 on account of his health.
In 1900 he was married to Miss Minnie Chichester, who with six children survive him.
Judge Barrett was an accomplished lawyer and an excellant judge, essentially fair and courteous in all his dealings with the bar and litigants and after his retirement from the circuit bench, he continued the practice of his profession in Gulfport until his death. He was a kind and indulgent father and an excellant citizen. Added to all these, he was a fine Christian gentleman and consistent member of the Baptist Church in which faith he had been reared.
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1874 - 1917 (42 years)
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