It has charm, it has beauty, it has comfort, and it’s right in the heart of town! The Court Square Inn is Holly Springs’ answer to a most elegant and hospitable B&B at a price that’s easy to accept. It’s an award winning charming home away from home in northern Mississippi, a few miles away from the Tennessee state line.
While Holly Springs has charm, history, and plenty of other reasons to visit as well, the Court Square Inn is also only a short drive from University of Mississippi and all those grand Ole Miss sports games; it’s also not far from Tupelo for the folks who want to know where Elvis grew up. It’s only about 35 miles outside of another great town, Memphis, Tennessee, though with more economical prices.
For historians, a walk through their very historic Hill Crest cemetery is enough to give you in depth backgrounds on the Yellow Fever epidemic and the heroines of that time, as well as the 7 Confederate War Generals who are buried there, more than any other burial ground in the United States. In town, you can see where General Grant stored his ammunition during that most terrible of all wars, visit where Ida B. Wells grew up and why she is honored on a US postage stamp and stop in at Rust College. Rust is one of the historically Black Colleges that was built a few years after the Civil War, and Ms Wells father was one of those who made it happen.
But forget all that when you’re settled into the beauty and charm of the Court Square Inn and meet its friendly and southern genteel owners, Tim and Lisa Libby. The Inn is small enough that you get to meet everyone else who’s there…there are really only three units, two which are two bedroom and plenty big enough to host those after-event parties right at home, and one lovely one bedroom suite.
Traveling with one of my favorite grandsons..I have seven favorites…we reserved the two bedroom suite in the middle of the second story B&B. Right smack in the middle of town, from the porch outside, we could see the County Court House across the way, the historic hardware store, in business since 1837, and other shops, as well as the rows of American flags that dot the streets. Buildings In the area also display the new state flag for Mississippi, the one that did away with the Confederate flag and put in “In God we Trust”.
But back to the Inn and its special charms.
Our individual bedrooms, each complete with four posters, bedside tables filled with interesting books and local information and private bathrooms, were separated by the huge living room with fireplace, lots of couches and chairs, and a sit-at counter separating that portion of the spacious interior from the fully equipped kitchen. When I say fully equipped, that includes service for eight in dishware, more glasses than you can think of serving drinks in, pots and pans to cook whatever you want to bring into the large refrigerator and freezer, a dishwasher, and hey, even a washer and dryer in case you need to do a bit of laundry during your stay!
Since it’s a B&B, breakfast is also provided, and here again, it’s with the Southern charm and practicality that makes life just a little bit better. No need to get up and dressed to head out to a dining room here. Rather, Lisa has amply stocked the kitchen counters with plenty of delicious fresh pastry, cereals and fruit, and in the refrigerator, plenty of milk and two kinds of fruit juices.
The Inn was built just around the end of the Civil War and is Italianate style in structure. The rooms are on the second floor above the Apothecary, which was at one time the local pharmacy, but thanks to Tim and Lisa, has now been renovated into a spacious and beautiful catering facility for everything from business meetings to wedding receptions and celebrations.
Because it’s so popular and an award winner as one of Mississippi’s top B&Bs, reservations are a good bet, especially on football weekends, or major local events, such as the Hummingbird Migration in September. But you’ll always be greeted by a soft Southern voice, an intense desire and effort to meet your every need, and the opportunity to see just how charming and personable the South really is.
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