Howry-Hill/ Fiddlers Folly
- Jay Brothers
- May 2
- 2 min read
520 N. Lamar Ave. Oxford, MS
Circa 1875.
The first owners were Edmonica Carter Howry (/-1879) and Judge Charles Bowen Howry (1844-1928). They wed in 1869. She was the daughter of Dr. Robert Otway and Edmonica Carter Otway of the King Carter family of Virginia. Charles, an Oxford native, was the son of Judge James M. and Narcissa Howry. The judge was an attorney, a Mississippi House representative (1880-1884), a U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Mississippi (1885-1889), and a judge of the Court of Claims (1896-1915). was a trustee of the Univ. of Miss. In 1875, Edmonica became ill in St. Louis where they lived and wanted to return to Oxford to be near family. After Edmonica's death, the widower married Harriet Holt Howry in 1880. Judge Howry arranged to have a pre-cut house manufactured in St. Louis and sent to Oxford.
At some point, Judge Robert Andrews Hill (1811-1900) owned it. He served as United States district judge for the Northern District of Mississippi as well as the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi. Judge Hill got federal funds to rebuild the Lafayette Co. courthouse after the Civil War burning, and it was completed in early 1872.
About 1900, Daniel Isaiah Sultan (1893-1918) and Emma L.Wohllebon Sultan (1857-1934) owned the property. He came from South Carolina to Oxford about 1883.
The next owner was James Howard Elkins (1914-1980) and Martha Anna Gregory Elkins (1915-2019). They wed in 1942, and he was a representative for Ludwig Drum Co. from Chicago. That family named the place Fiddlers Folly in 1962. He had a great display of old violines.
About 1981, Tom and Nan Davis purchased the home and it continues in their family. He is an insurance agent. The mansion was featured in the movie Home for the Hills. See Carter-Tate Mansion/ Fairview
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