James Wade & Casey Mallory Townhouse

I met James years ago when he was studying historic preservation at Tulane — one of several graduate degrees he pursued with the same thoroughness he brought to everything in his life. He quickly made his mark within the historic preservation community in New Orleans and we bonded quickly, as he also had an historic interest in a relative of mine ... oh, and we both enjoyed Port. 

James wrote this book while he was in New Orleans. 


​
​When James decided to leave New Orleans for Natchez in
2014, I sold his condo.

I remember thinking Natchez
had no idea what was coming. James arrived with three
graduate degrees, a library's
​worth of knowledge about Southern architecture, and an incredible energy
​for preservation.

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Beyond his architectural historian and preservation bona fides, James was an expert in antiques, literature, politics, and more...He loved engaging conversation and interesting people. 

​Soon after moving to Natchez, James took on
the curatorship of Longwood — the great unfinished octagonal mansion that stands as
one of the most
haunting & magnificent historic sites in the American South. 

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A dear friend, Regina Charboneau, has told me "James Wade was extraordinary at Longwood. Hiring him was the best thing that happened when I was president of the Pilgrimage Garden Club." 

He made his home at the Casey Mallory Townhouse at 403 Franklin Street, with his partner Michael Simmons and their special cat, Julia. 

When James found
Casey Mallory Townhouse,
the sensitive restoration of the property was
​nearly complete. That a
man of his caliber — an architectural historian, a Tulane-trained preservationist, the
future Curator of
Longwood — looked at
this house and chose
it says everything about what it is.

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He made further improvements of his own, finishing what the restoration had begun and making the house fully his. In 2019, the Historic Natchez Foundation recognized his work with the George and Ethel Kelly Preservation Award. 
​
James passed away on June 5, 2024, at 59. He was writing a book about Longwood when he died...The preservation world lost one of its finest minds. His friends lost someone irreplaceable.

James' family asked me to find the next caring owner of Casey Mallory Townhouse. I don't take that trust lightly. The person who comes after James should understand what they are inheriting: much more than a 6,699 square-foot townhouse on the finest block in Natchez.

Casey Mallory is a home that a remarkable man loved, improved,
and lived in beautifully.

​His brother Carlton closed
James' obituary with a perfect line.
I'll let it close mine as well.

"James is arriving at
Longwood for dinner.
He's brought a bottle of Port."

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