Oseola McCarty House

In December of 2016, Hattiesburg Convention Commissioner and former Director of Public Relations for The University of Southern Mississippi, William E. “Bud” Kirkpatrick asked Rick Taylor, Executive Director for the Hattiesburg Convention Commission, to go for a ride. They left the Convention Center and headed towards downtown Hattiesburg. About halfway there, Bud detoured into a neighborhood near Hattiesburg High School. At 540 Miller Street, he pointed out a small white house with maroon trim. It was the former house of Oseola McCarty.

There was a yellow sign tacked to the screen door.  It was a notice of a tax sale.  Bud said, “We need to save it.”

Since Ms. McCarty passed away in 1999, her house had gone through several hands.  Bud and his wife, Virginia, had spent many hours at this house, helping Ms. McCarty deal with the media interest that came from her remarkable gift that inspired a nation, and they were with her when she passed away.  Now with her gone, the house was a vestige of her life story that was slowly disappearing.

It was the center of her business.  It was the center of her life.  It was her home.  It was an important artifact of her story that reflected her work ethic, frugality and faith.  Her home needed to be preserved so that future generations would know of this humble woman who reminded a nation of the importance of investing in future generations.

From this introduction, the staff of the Hattiesburg Convention Commission set about the task of preserving and restoring Ms. McCarty’s house. In 2019, the HCC moved the house to the Sixth Street Museum District.  The house has now been restored as it was when Ms. McCarty lived in it.  The outside laundry area has been recreated so that future generations can fully appreciate the effort she put into her work.  Museum displays have been installed to tell the powerful story of her life, her gift, and the public reaction to her choice to give much of her life savings so that others may have the education she had to forego.