Rowan Oak in 1930

William Boozer Collection

In 1930, Faulkner purchased an antebellum colonial-style house on the south side of Oxford. Built around 1844 by a Robert Shegogg and known more recently as "the Old Bailey place," the house lacked electricity and plumbing and was in a general state of disrepair when Faulkner bought it. Nevertheless, over the years, he would work on the house, improving it tremendously by adding pipes and wiring, a front gallery and a porte cochere, and even closing in a back porch to create his "office." He renamed the house "Rowan Oak," after a Scottish legend that wood of the rowan tree nailed to the front door of a house will bring good fortune upon that house and its inhabitants. The house would serve as Faulkner's refuge from the anxieties of financial burden, fame, and public life for the rest of his life.

Yocona River Bridge

Publicity Photo for Sanctuary

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