Hunt-Phelan House: In Family for Years
- Jay Brothers
- Jul 25
- 2 min read
533 Beale St. Memphis, TN
Circa 1828 Federal / remodeled 1835-50. Greek Revival
George Hubbard Whyett built the Hunt-Phelan House in 1828. Wyatt was an early surveyor. The original estate had extensive lawns and gardens and a long driveway. It sat on the edge of the Gayoso Bayou.
Five years later, in 1835, a cousin, Jesse Tate, purchased the home. Fifteen years later, in 1850, another cousin Col. Elijah “Eli” Moore Driver (1796-1851) and Julia Driver (1796-1826) purchased the property. They were one of the wealthiest families in Memphis. In 1855, a major renovation was added to the back of the home.
They gave the house to one of their daughters, Sarah Elizabeth Driver Hunt (1832-1919) and Col. William Richard Hunt (1825-1872). He was a land surveyor. In the Civil War, he was superintendent of the Confederate ordnance warehouse at Columbus, MS. Afterward, he retired and became a land commissioner. The home has remained in the family since then.
The home was passed to their son Major William Tate Driver (1840-1864). He was a Confederate soldier and was killed. W.T. Driver was the captain of the University Grays at Ole Miss - it spoke to his character that a Memphis boy headed the Mississippi contingent. The home then went to his married sister (Sarah) Elizabeth Driver Hunt and lost the Driver name.
In the Civil War, the home served as a Federal hospital. From 1863-65, the Union’s Western Sanitary Commission used the home as a soldier’s home, and then it housed Freedman’s Bureau teachers. The family stayed in the home during the Civil War and the Yellow Fever outbreaks. They were visited by both Union and Confederate generals as well as a post war president. In 1865, President Johnson returned the home to the family: the Driver’s daughter, Julia Tate Hunt Phelan (1851-1906) and George Rice Phelan (1847-1882). They wed in 1872. Varina Davis laid out the rose gardens, and Stephen Phelan developed a new species of rose.
In the 20th century, Stephen Rice Phelan (1905-1993) got possession. He was a Standard Oil geologist and was a confirmed hermit. In 1993, a cousin, Willam B. “Bill” Day, Jr. inherited the Hunt-Phelan house from his Phelan uncle. He had been living in the house with the very reclusive Phelan for a while. He tried to form a partnership with Elvis Presley Enterprises in 1995 to make a home museum but that venture failed.
The home and contents were sold in 2000. Then an owner in 2011 tried to develop it as a Bed and Breakfast - The Inn @ Hunt-Phelan with 5 acres, and then a special events venue.
In 2019, it was on the market again. It is the last remaining house of the grand style in West Tennessee. NR 1971
Sources:
I toured the Hunt-Phelan home in about 2000 as the family was about to disperse the contents of the home. It was a step back in time as it was crammed with original museum quality antiques (some of which were acquired by museums) and much more. We viewed the copper bathtub where supposedly 5 US Presidents had bathed. I think that included Jefferson Davis as president of the Confederacy. I also saw the wood floors stained with the blood of soldiers as it was used as a military hospital during the Civil War. Grant picked the home as his headquarters because he feared being attacked by surprise. Standing from the house he had a clear shot of the Mississippis river…