Construction work and restoration of Long Beach’s historic Quarles House is well underway. The Board of Aldermen approved a contract for the restoration to begin back in January of this year, following a year of negotiations and receiving $2 million in funding from the Gulf Coast Restoration Fund for the restorative project. Since then, crews with the contractor, J.O. Collins Contractor, Inc., can be seen almost daily working on restoring the historic house to its former glory.
In 2021, the City of Long Beach was gifted the Quarles House, one of Mississippi’s most endangered landmarks at the time. Also known as Greenvale, the historic home was constructed in 1892 by William James Quarles, a rural school teacher from Tennessee who settled in the Long Beach community in 1884. It was the residence of W.J. Quarles until 1924.
Because the house was located on property that was highly prized for commercial development in Long Beach, the owner sought permission from the keeper of the National Register of Historic Places to move the structure approximately 400 feet northeast, near the Quarles Family Cemetery. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 and was designated a Mississippi Landmark in 2012, the same year the historic structure’s move was approved.
As work continues, crews are carrying out plans for the restoration and preservation of the house, all stemming from research and details gathered through the states Department of Archives and History to keep in line with the home’s historical accuracy.
“The Quarles House Restoration Project has been one of our favorite projects this year,” said Long Beach Community Affairs Director Courtney Cuevas. “We cannot wait to see the completed project very soon. The contractors are ahead of schedule. If there are no delays in the project, the City and the contractors believe, by the end of the year, the restoration project will be complete.”
Once work is complete, the historic home will house the Long Beach Historical Society and will serve as a welcome center for visitors, as well. Prints of what the restored house will look like are available for $35 through the Long Beach Historical Society. For more information, visit www.LBHistoricalSociety.org.
