Boler's Inn, Union, Mississippi and eBook GIVEAWAY

Pam Hillman

This is Boler’s Inn located in Union, Mississippi. This picture is the earliest known picture of the inn which was a stagecoach relay station in Newton County in the 1840s through the turn of the century. The stagecoach route ran from Montgomery, Alabama to Jackson, Mississippi.

Boler's Inn, circa 1907

In 1834 Wesley Boler received the Land Patent for the land on which the inn is built.

The Choctaw Indians called the area Chanki. White settlers say Chunky. Many streams flow through the area into the Chunky Creek that flows into Chunky River about 40 miles from my home town.

Surveyed in 1832-1833, the old wagon road eventually became known and the Montgomery to Jackson Road, or simply the “Old Jackson Road”. It would become a Post Road and major road west during those early days of westward expansion.

Notable guests during Boler Inn’s heyday were Jefferson Davis and Stonewall Jackson. As could be expected with a building (and an inn at that) over 150 years old, numerous stories, fact mixed with fiction, abound. One of the most interesting is that General William T. Sherman’s wounded payroll clerk buried the Union Army’s payroll there on February 21, 1864 when Sherman quartered his troops in Union overnight. In addition, local legend has it that Sherman didn’t burn Union on his march through the South because of its name.

General Sherman burned the Newton County courthouse on his march to Meridian, so few records of the
time period survive. There is no solid proof what year the existing building was constructed. Some historians point to 1845, while others lean toward 1856.

And as is also the case with such a grand old lady, Boler’s Inn has fulfilled many roles throughout her lifetime: inn, stagecoach and mail stop, newspaper office, private home to inventor F. C. Bradley, and the place where many young ladies took piano lessons from Mrs. Myrtle Stribling in the first half of last century.

This picture is what I remember of Boler’s Inn during most of my life growing up in and around Union. I have traveled past this building thousands (literally!) of times, and yes, I knew part of the history, but until one starts looking at what’s right before their eyes, it’s just another building, isn’t it?

Finally, I’m very happy to report that Boler’s Inn is looking much better these days! In 1995, several citizens in Union banded together and formed the Foundation for the Restoration and Preservation of Boler’s Inn. The State of Mississippi has come alongside the foundation, and the restoration is still underway.

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Claiming Mariah

Pam Hillman was born and raised on a dairy farm in Mississippi and spent her teenage years perched on the seat of a tractor raking hay. In those days, her daddy couldn’t afford two cab tractors with air conditioning and a radio, so Pam drove the Allis Chalmers 110. Even when her daddy asked her if she wanted to bale hay, she told him she didn’t mind raking. Raking hay doesn’t take much thought so Pam spent her time working on her tan and making up stories in her head. Now, that’s the kind of life every girl should dream of! Claiming Mariah is her second novel. www.pamhillman.com