Twisted Chimney

Restoring The Historic Duncan House, (Circa 1858) Headquarters for Generals, 810 Polk, Corinth, MS.

You may recall that our 'commitment' on the Duncan House is to restore the outside as close as possible (and feasible) to how it looked in 1862. Our intent is to have the interior quite 'livable' but not historically correct....it's undergone way too many re-modelings in the last 160 years for that!

However, the house did had an interior fireplace (added well after 1862) that basically disintegrated as the move began. We are replacing that entire fireplace.
We have a craftsman, Michael Hoge, who now lives in Shiloh, doing the work. Michael has much experience throughout the country in period restoration and has quite a resume.

When I checked his weekend progress today, I immediately noticed the 'twist' in the chimney. You can see the fireplace at the bottom (made with the original bricks) and then you will notice a twist in the chimney as it passes 6 or 8 feet in height. I had imagined that this was done for some historically correct reason, so I called him to confirm. The answer was not that complex: the fireplace is in a corner of the room....but the chimney hole protruding out the roof is 'square' or 'true' and, of course, it's necessary to have the top of the chimney come out of the existing hole in the roof.

So, we live and learn!

Hope to have the fireplace completed and be roasting marshmallows soon.