The Pillars home of the John Houston Bills' Family for 140 years, is now a house museum owned

and maintained by the Hardeman County Chapter of the Association of Preservation of Tennessee

Antiquities (APTA).

 The Pillars & The Little Courthouse

Hardeman County APTA

P.O. Box 148

Bolivar, TN 38008

731-518-7148

The Association for the Preservation of Tennessee Antiquities wants to invite you to come and Celebate "Quest for Black Citizenship in America."  Featuring Mr. Archie Williams and other leaders from Hardeman County!

"Quest for Black Citizenship in America,"

Come Celebrate with us as we Celebrate Black History!

Featuring: Mr. Archie Williams

and

other leaders from Hardeman County!

 February - 14- March 7, 2009

Prices: $5.00 for Adults and $2.00 for Children, or a donation.. 

Children in school groups are free.

 See this special exhibit at: 

The Little Courthouse Museum

 215 Market Street East

Bolivar, TN

(2 blocks East of Court Square)

February 14 – March 7, 2009

 Hours: Saturdays 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. 

Prices: $5.00 for Adults and $2.00 for Children or a donation.

.  Children in school groups are free.

School groups during the week by appointment- call 731-764-6243.

Group tours for 10 or more by appointment.

To Schedule Special Tours

or for more information

Contact:

 Cissye Pierce: 731-764-6243

or e-mail:

Dianne Mumford's E-mail

Paula Stanley's  E-mail

JOHN HOUSTON BILLS
1800-1871 

Born in Iredell County, North Carolina, John H. Bills was one of the founders of Bolivar, in Hardeman County, and a leader of the Tennessee Democratic Party in the nineteenth century. He came to the West Tennessee area in 1818 with members of the family of James K. Polk. In 1823 Bills married Prudence Polk McNeal, a cousin of the future president. Bills also began a cotton factoring company with her brother, Ezekial McNeal, which they called Bills and McNeal, and acquired two plantations, one near Bolivar and the other in Mississippi.

Bills was one of the first commissioners for the new town of Bolivar in 1824, and with his brother-in-law, one of the leading industrialists and planters in West Tennessee. He purchased his home, known as "The Pillars," in 1837, from a Philadelphia newspaperman, John Lea, and traveled throughout the eastern United States to furnish it in appropriate style. The mansion is now a historic house museum administered by the local chapter of the Association for the Preservation of Tennessee Antiquities. Bills entertained several notable Tennesseans and southerners at his home, including Andrew Jackson, James K. Polk, Sam Houston, Leonidas Polk, and Jefferson Davis. After his wife died in 1840, Bills continued making trips throughout the eastern U.S. and Europe. In 1849 Bills married a widow from Virginia, Lucy Anne Duke.

Union troops burned the town of Bolivar in 1864, destroying the business district, including Bills' cotton plant. Bills, however, proclaimed himself neither Unionist nor secessionist, and thus protected his home and much of his wealth from military reprisals. He continued traveling, entertaining, and aiding in the rebuilding of his business and of Bolivar until his death at home in November 1871. 


Source: Tara Mitchell Mielnik, Tennessee Historical Commission 

Directions: From Jackson: take 18 S. to Bolivar. At intersection of 18 S. and Hwy. 64 turn right onto Hwy. 64. Go 1 block to Washington St. Take L. onto Washington. Go to Washington and Bills Sts. - House (Pillars) at curve.

More Links from other home tours

         

Southern Splendor

Living History Home Tour of the 1860's
Bolivar, Tennessee

Finding My Way Home
A Collection of Genealogies 1810 – 2003
by Martinette E. Mitchell

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