Woodruff-Fontaine House Museum

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Rising from ancient magnolia trees, the Woodruff-Fontaine House stands as a reminder of an era long gone. This beautiful French Victorian mansion was built in 1870 along “Millionaires Row.” The mansion, home to two prominent Memphis families, was deeded to the city in 1936 and stood vacant for several years. The Association for the Preservation of Tennessee Antiquities rescued the house in 1962 and restored it to its former splendor.

09/02/2026

We’ve heard you. They have too. 👻

Dinner with the Departed tickets go on sale 9.6.26

Trust us—you’ll want to be ready when they do. 🕯️

🦟 Thank You for Walking Through History With Us!This past Sunday, we stepped back into one of the most devastating chapt...
09/02/2026

🦟 Thank You for Walking Through History With Us!

This past Sunday, we stepped back into one of the most devastating chapters in Memphis history during our Yellow Fever Walk.

Thank you to everyone who joined us as we explored the stories of the people, places, and extraordinary acts of courage that shaped our city during the yellow fever epidemics of the 19th century. We loved spending the afternoon sharing this history with you — and we’re so grateful for your continued support of the Woodruff-Fontaine House Museum. 💛

And we’re not done yet! 👀

We have more special events planned for the rest of 2026, and we can’t wait to share them with you.

📅 Keep an eye on our page — event dates and details are coming soon!

There’s always another story waiting to be told at Woodruff-Fontaine. 🏛️✨

Happy 901 Day, Memphis! 💙🏡For more than 150 years, the Woodruff-Fontaine House has had a front-row seat to the story of ...
09/01/2026

Happy 901 Day, Memphis! 💙🏡

For more than 150 years, the Woodruff-Fontaine House has had a front-row seat to the story of our city.

Built in 1871, our home has watched Memphis grow, change, celebrate, struggle, rebuild, and become the wonderfully complicated place we love today.

We’re proud to preserve a little piece of the 901 — not just the beautiful architecture and artifacts inside our walls, but the stories of the people who called Memphis home.

Today we’re celebrating our city, our history, and our 901.

Happy 901 Day from the Woodruff-Fontaine House Museum! 🏡✨

Women’s Equality Day | August 26On August 26, 1920, the 19th Amendment was formally certified, declaring that the right ...
08/26/2026

Women’s Equality Day | August 26

On August 26, 1920, the 19th Amendment was formally certified, declaring that the right to vote could not be denied on the basis of s*x.

More than fifty years later, Congress designated August 26 as Women’s Equality Day—a day to recognize the generations of women who fought for a greater voice in American life and to reflect on the long, complicated road toward equality.

The women of the Victorian era lived in a world where their legal, political, and economic independence was sharply limited. Yet they worked, organized, advocated, created, cared for their communities, and helped shape the world around them—often in ways that history failed to fully record.

Today, we remember those women: the famous names, the local leaders, and the countless women whose stories may never have been written down.

History belongs to them, too.

Annie Cook: An Unlikely Hero of the Yellow Fever EpidemicWhen yellow fever swept through Memphis in 1878, some of the ci...
08/19/2026

Annie Cook: An Unlikely Hero of the Yellow Fever Epidemic

When yellow fever swept through Memphis in 1878, some of the city’s most remarkable acts of courage came from unexpected places.

Annie Cook arrived in Memphis after the Civil War and became the proprietor of the Mansion House, one of the city’s brothels. Little is known about her early life—not even whether Annie Cook was her real name. She is believed to have been raised in Ohio and to have been of German descent.

But when yellow fever came to Memphis, Cook’s story became part of the city’s history.

During the yellow fever epidemics of 1873 and again in 1878, Cook transformed the Mansion House into a makeshift hospital. Rather than flee the stricken city, she remained behind and personally helped nurse the sick.

Her compassion did not go unnoticed. Her efforts were recognized in local publications, and she even received a commendation from a group of Christian women in Louisville—an extraordinary acknowledgment for a woman whose profession placed her well outside the boundaries of “respectable” Victorian society.

Ultimately, her service cost her her life.

Annie Cook contracted yellow fever and died on September 11, 1878, during the devastating epidemic that claimed thousands of lives in Memphis and the surrounding region.

After her death, the Howard Association paid to have her remains moved to Elmwood Cemetery.

In a city filled with stories of sacrifice from the summer of 1878, Annie Cook’s reminds us that courage and compassion do not always come from the people society expects.

Sometimes a hero’s story is found in the most unlikely of places.

Annie Cook — madam, caregiver, Memphian, and one of the many who stayed.

🦟 A WALK THROUGH FEVER — 1878📅 Sunday, August 30 | 12:00 PMIn the summer of 1878, Yellow Fever swept through Memphis, le...
08/18/2026

🦟 A WALK THROUGH FEVER — 1878
📅 Sunday, August 30 | 12:00 PM

In the summer of 1878, Yellow Fever swept through Memphis, leaving devastation in its wake and forever changing the city.

Join us for A Walk Through Fever, an escorted walking tour through historic Victorian Village led by Memphis historian Bill Webb, as we uncover the stories of those who lived, suffered, served, and sacrificed during one of the darkest chapters in Memphis history.

The afternoon begins at the Woodruff-Fontaine House Museum with a brief presentation before guests walk to St. Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral, where we’ll hear the remarkable stories of Sister Constance and the Memphis Martyrs—the priests and nuns who risked, and ultimately lost, their lives while caring for victims of the epidemic.

We’ll continue through Victorian Village to explore how the fever affected even one of the most affluent neighborhoods in 19th-century Memphis before returning to Woodruff-Fontaine for some much-needed fever-cooling treats, including Mempops! 🍧

Your ticket also includes a self-guided tour of the museum and our Yellow Jack exhibit, where you can learn even more about the epidemic and its impact on Memphis.

🎟️ Tickets are available ONLINE ONLY and are non-refundable.
☀️🌧️ This event will be held rain or shine.
⏰ The tour begins promptly at 12:00 PM.
📍 Attendees will check in at the tour entrance of the Woodruff-Fontaine House Museum.

Walk the streets. Hear their stories. Remember the Memphians who faced the fever of 1878.

On This Day in Memphis History | August 13, 1878 🟡On August 13, 1878, Kate Bionda, a Memphis restaurant owner, died of y...
08/13/2026

On This Day in Memphis History | August 13, 1878 🟡

On August 13, 1878, Kate Bionda, a Memphis restaurant owner, died of yellow fever. She is remembered as the first Memphis resident to die in what would become one of the most devastating epidemics in the city’s history.

Days earlier, a steamboat worker who had escaped quarantine entered Bionda’s restaurant near the Mississippi River. He soon became ill and died in quarantine. Bionda developed symptoms shortly afterward.

Then, yellow fever began sweeping through Memphis.

In 1878, doctors did not yet know that yellow fever was transmitted by mosquitoes. With fear spreading alongside the disease, those who could leave Memphis did. An estimated 25,000 people fled the city within a single week, leaving only about 20,000 behind.

Many of those who remained were Black Memphians, along with physicians, nurses, clergy, undertakers, volunteers, and others who cared for the sick and kept the city functioning.

At the height of the epidemic, approximately 200 people were dying each day. Funeral bells rang almost constantly. By the time the first frost finally brought relief that October, more than 5,000 Memphians had died.

The catastrophe forever changed Memphis.

Yellow fever had struck the city before, but the epidemic of 1878 was on an unimaginable scale. At the time, quarantine was one of the few defenses people believed they had. Those identified with the disease could be marked by yellow jackets—giving rise to one of the most haunting symbols associated with the epidemic.

Today, the Woodruff-Fontaine House Museum preserves and interprets this difficult chapter of Memphis history through our Yellow Jack exhibit.

As we remember Kate Bionda and the thousands of others whose lives were changed or lost, these objects help tell the story of a city confronted by disease, fear, loss—and the people who remained to care for their neighbors.

Swipe through for a look at pieces from our Yellow Jack exhibit. 🟡

Address

680 Adams Avenue
Memphis, TN
38105

Opening Hours

Wednesday 12pm - 4pm
Thursday 12pm - 4pm
Friday 12pm - 4pm
Saturday 12pm - 4pm
Sunday 12pm - 4pm

Telephone

(901) 526-1469

Website

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