By Maggie Snyder
Vicksburg is full of old houses. Each one has its own unique story, built up layer by layer through the years – just like the layers and layers of old wallpaper found in most of them. They can be expensive, inconvenient, and frustrating, but always interesting.
The house at 503 East Prairie Street has always intrigued people because of its architecture and bits of gossip about its early inhabitants. Over the years Vicksburg Historical Society has heard stories about kids in the neighborhood playing in “the castle”, as they called it. We don’t know when it was built, but a home at this location was owned in 1880 by William and Parmelia Robinson Axtell. The Axtells had 5 children, but their youngest two, Hila and Lola, were the ones who made the family – and the house – locally famous.
Though both girls were products of Vicksburg Schools, they would not stay around long. Hila taught school in Vicksburg in 1900, but she had dreams of a different life and soon joined the Morgan Vaudeville Company, eventually marrying the owner, Fred Morgan. She apparently was a fine actress as the troupe was soon billed under the star’s name, Hila Axtell Morgan and Company.
Lola worked for her brother Dudley starting the Vicksburg Herald newspaper in 1900 in the hope of competing with the Vicksburg Semi-Weekly Commercial. The effort was unsuccessful after only 13 months, and Lola soon followed her sister into acting. Touring with her first vaudeville group she met Monroe “Hop” Hopkins, a talented tap dancer. They married and set up their own traveling show.
During the days before air conditioning, people avoided tent shows and theaters during hot weather, so vaudeville took a break during the summer. Fred and Hila Axtell Morgan often returned to the Vicksburg home of Hila’s mother – Mr. Axtell had died in 1901. Hila’s sister and brother-in-law built a home at Indian lake in 1911, which they visited frequently.
The sister’s brother Manly, often let his daughters Winnie and Mildred visit the Axtell home during the summer. Children in the neighborhood looked forward to these visits, as the two girls were VERY fun to play with, loving to sing, dance and put on plays. The Axtell house was huge with a maze of rooms to explore, and the girls’ bedroom was in the tower!
There were two rooms upstairs always kept locked, which added to the fun. Speculation about what was inside was a favorite past time – a dead body, piles of gold, and a crazy old person were among their favorites. However, in later years those who experienced it admitted this room was probably where costumes and props were kept.
Hila Axtell Morgan and Company usually played only larger cities, but occasionally gave a performance in Vicksburg as a special treat for the hometown folks. “Hop” and Lola, like Fred and Hila, would also put on a performance when they were in town. The visiting nieces, Winnie and Mildred Axtell, often participated in these shows.
While the Axtell girls spent the greater part of their lives traveling all over the United States, eventually most of the family ended up in Texas, where both Hila and Lola died and are buried. Their brother Manly also died in Texas but is buried in Vicksburg Cemetery along with Parmelia and William.
