A block south on Lamar sits the home of author and historian Larry Wells. The house was the home of Larry and his late wife, Dean Faulkner Wells. The house was built in 1931, and it has the look of a house inhabited by generations of Faulkners.
Outside, it is marked by an engraved sign that notes its place on the National Register of Historic Places, albeit a privately occupied one. That doesn’t stop people from knocking on the Wells’ door, asking whether the house is open. “It’s never open,” Dean would tell them. They look surprised. She would point them toward Faulkner’s other house. “Down the street and take a right.”
This city block was the site of “The Big Place,” the house built by William Faulkner’s grandfather J.W.T. Falkner, also known as the “Young Colonel.” After he sold a portion of the lot on University Ave. to the Standard Oil Company, another house was built in 1932 by Murry Falkner, William’s father.
This was the home for William’s mother, Maud Butler Falkner. Today, a concrete block at the bottom of the steps down to the street has the name “Falkner” carved on the blocks with the “N” turned backward. The blocks and the house lot are all that is left of the Colonel’s estate.
Photo by Susan Foust @ Susan Foust Photography https://www.facebook.com/SusanFoustPhotography
