The Wynne House Inn was built in 1871 by German-born architect, Gustavius Adolphus Palm, who received architectural and military training in his native Prussia. After emigrating, Palm served during the Civil War with the 9th Mississippi Infantry. He designed two additional Italianate style houses in Holly Springs: The Pines (1871), Turner Lane House (1870), and the Wynne House, which he built for his family. Palm married Martha Woodson of Mississippi, and the couple had a daughter named Anna Palm, the first child born in the house. 

The Palms sold the house in 1882 and it passed to several different owners. In 1919, Dr. T. Carey Wynne, a beloved Holly Springs Dentist, and his family bought the house and lived in it for 28 years. 

(Photo below: Dr. T. Carey Wynne with his family in front of the Wynne House. Photo right: Virginia Mae Wynne holding Thomas Carey Wynne, Jr.). 

Another remarkable previous owner of the house is Rosalind Wilcox, musician and visual artist, who also is known as the blues artist, "Mississippi Rose," one of the few black female artists to tour on the Blues music circuit. During her ownership (1999-2001), many famous local blues artists, such as R.L. Burnside and Junior Kimbrough, performed their music on the porch of the Wynne House Inn.

Holly Springs is a birthplace for the distinctive Hill Country Blues. Wilcox once explained: "Hill Country is different from other blues! It's a folky, country blues. The first time I heard it, I went nuts! If you listen, you'll hear all of the diaspora in that percussive sound, in that guitar." 

"People can't help but dance. It's make you come up out of your wheel chair...out your hospital bed...out the casket, out whatever you in, if you listen." 

(Photo right: "Mississippi Rose" with her artwork.)

In 2007, the property went into foreclosure and was purchased by Stephen and Suzette Woodgate, who undertook the massive restoration process that lasted nearly a decade. Motivated by their dedication to preserving a piece of Southern history, they soon realized they were caretakers of a long and significant past. The couple won a 2018 Mississippi Heritage Trust Award for the renovation. The Wynne House Inn opened its doors in December 2016, earning rave reviews from visitors and drawing travelers from across the region and around the world. 

In addition to the four guest rooms and suites in the main house, the adjoining Hummingbird Cottage can accommodate up to five additional guests, all treated to breakfast. The property has been featured in a number of publications hosts weddings, showers, and popular themed dinners with rotating featured chefs. 

(Photo Below: Steve and Suzette Woodgate)

In 2024, women's history author, Marianne Monson, and her husband, Professor Andrew Behnke, bought The Wynne House Inn. Planning to continue the tradition of hospitality that the Woodgates started, they have renamed some of the rooms to highlight several of the remarkable historical women with ties to Holly Springs, including jazz singer Ruby Elzy, plein aire painter Kate Freeman Clark, and suffragist civil rights activist Ida B. Wells. 

Photos: Kate Freeman Clark in her art studio; journalist and suffragist Ida B. Wells (born across the street from the Wynne House Inn). Bottom: soprano Ruby Elzy, who was discovered down the street at Rust College. Elzy was chosen by George Gershwin to sing the role of Serena in Porgy and Bess in 1937. 

Above: soprano Ruby Elzy, who was discovered down the street at Rust College. Elzy was chosen by George Gershwin to sing Serena in Porgy and Bess in 1937.

Below: Women's history author, Marianne Monson, and Professor Andrew Behnke, current owners of The Wynne House Inn and Hummingbird Cottage.