George Austin McHenry House

In 1889, Dr. George McHenry and his wife, Una, led a group of 54 families from Michigan to homestead in northern Harrison County, Mississippi.[4] They settled in an area which would become part of Stone County, where the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad was under construction. George McHenry opened a general store and also handled the U.S. mail. A small town developed with timber-related industries that prospered because of the vast virgin pine forests of south Mississippi. A Post Office opened under the name of McHenry in honor of the settlement's founder. While Dr. McHenry was in military service during the Spanish–American War, his wife oversaw the construction and expansion of their family home.[5]

George Austin McHenry House, circa 1905

The house is a two-story wood-frame structure with a steep-pitched roof, three gable projections, and a single chimney.[1] The first story was completed in 1895, but the second story was not added until 1901.[4] The original design included a wrap-around porch which was later modified. The building was constructed with virgin yellow pine lumber and rests on brick foundation piers. A one-story rear addition was completed in 1957.

The house has been used continuously as a single family dwelling by descendants of Dr. McHenry.[5] As of 2013, it was the oldest surviving structure in the town of McHenry.