The Pillars - 1826
Note that the columns of the front veranda were accidentally installed upside down while the owner was out of town. When he returned and saw them he decided to leave them as is.
Built by the Lea family, New England-based publishers, the Pillars was the first brick home in Bolivar. The original furnishings came to Bolivar via steamboat along the Hatchie River and may still be seen during the tour. The modest original home was purchased in 1837 by regional cotton magnate Major John Houston Bills (of Hazelgrove House) and enlarged to its present configuration.
There are two additional structures on the property. On the north side of the house is a one-room wood frame cottage with fireplace built during the Civil War for daughter Evalina McNeal Bills (Mrs. Marshall T. Polk) to reside in while her husband was in the Confederate Army. On the Bills St (south side) is a two-story kitchen building with kitchen and dairy on the ground floor and cook's room and sewing workroom on the 2nd floor. The old ice house is south of the kitchen and underground.
The Pillars features a priceless collection of artifacts and copies of Bills' diaries. This home is the property of the Association for the Preservation of Tennessee Antiquities (A.P.T.A.).
Tour Hours
The museum is open for the Annual Bolivar Pilgrimage and by appointment. School groups and group tours are available by appointment.
Call 731-518-7148 for more information or for an appointment.
The Pillars is also available for social functions such as weddings, receptions teas, reunions, and anniversary and graduation parties.
Famous Visitors
Click Here to learn more about these famous people!
Enjoy a five minute history of The Pillars in Bolivar, Tennessee. Constructed in 1828 ... owned and operated by A.P.T.A. - Association for the Preservation of Tennessee Antiquities. The APTA is the oldest statewide nonprofit historic preservation organization in the State of Tennessee and the fourth oldest in the nation. Video made by West Tennessee Journal...Host Dave Hinman in 2008. The local historian spokesperson was Jimmy Stevens. The occasion was part of the annual Bolivar Historic Home Tour.
See What It Was Like Living During The Civil War in Bolivar
Read the memoirs of Evelina McNeal Bills Polk and experience life in the South during the Civil War. Click Here