Beloved Waynesboro Historic Home Destroyed by Fire

Wayne County lost one of its most beloved historic homes last week when the Kindrick/Cypert/Morrson/Morrow house in Waynesboro caught fire and was destroyed with no hope of being saved.

The Waynesboro City Fire Department was called out to the historic home, located at 113 North High Street in Waynesboro, at approximately 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, December 21st. Billowing clouds of smoke were already erupting from the home, and huge flames ultimately consumed the entire structure of the beautiful landmark.

People from far and wide have memories from the Morrow House, especially those who grew up here. The home was constructed in 1854, just prior to the beginning of the Civil War. The home has been referred to by different names over the years. The Morrow House likely refers to the early occupants of the home, including the Kindrick, Cypert, Morrison, and Morrow families.

The home is located across the street from the Waynesboro Cumberland Presbyterian Church, an equally historic pre-Civil War church where services are still being held.

According to the report, the fire was unintentional and was due to failure of equipment. The home has been remodeled several times over the years, with a remodeling and restoration project underway at the time of the catastrophic fire.

The Kindrick/Cypert/Morrison/Morrow House was built by William P. Kindrick in 1854. It was bought by Robert Perry Cypert in 1867 or 1868 following the death of Kindrick in 1864. After Cypert’s death in 1887, the house was bought by Judge John L. Morrison. Around 1910, the house was bought by David Neal Morrow, whose family still owns the house and property.

The original house was a dog-trot style log cabin that looked nothing like the home we now know. The two-story house destroyed by fire last week was built around the log cabin. The outer walls still had logs from the original cabin, and the roof made of old wooden shingles were still in the attic.

The early years of the Morrow House were quite interesting. The original owner of the home, William P. Kindrick, resided there with his wife and three daughters up until he joined the Union Army at the beginning of the Civil War. Wayne County’s residents were divided in sentiment when the Civil War began. Although they had voted more than two to one to remain in the Union, many people who lived in the northern portion, including the county seat of Waynesboro, had strong Confederate sympathies. Union Col. William P. Kindrick, Jr., 2nd Tennessee Mounted Infantry, was captured near Corinth, Mississippi while organizing the 3rd West Tennessee Cavalry. Confined in Libby Prison in Richmond, Virginia, he planned and carried out an escape with 108 other Federal officers.

The prison escape was one of biggest stories at the time. An article published in the New York Times on February 21st, 1864, went into great detail about the escape. Following is a portion of the prison escape story:

“Over two months ago, the officers confined in Libby prison conceived the idea of effecting their own and after the matter bad been seriously discussed by some seven or eight of them, they undertook to dig for a distance toward a sewer running into the basin. This they proposed doing by commencing at a point in the cellar, near a chimney. This cellar was immediately under the hospital, and was the receptacle for refuse straw, thrown from the beds when they were changed, and for other refuse matter. Above the hospital was a room for officers, and above that, yet another room. The chimney ran through all these rooms, and the prisoners, who were in the secret, improvised a rope and night after night let working parties down, who successfully prosecuted their excavating operations.”

Over a period of months, the prison escape was carefully planned and ultimately executed. The New York Times article goes on to state:

“Col. W.P. Kindrick, of West Tennessee; Capt. D.J. Jones, of the First Kentucky Cavalry, and Lieut. R.Y. Bradford, of the Second West Tennessee, were detailed as a rear guard, or rather to go out last; and from a window Col. and his companions could see the fugitives walk out of a gate at the other end of the enclosure of the carriage-house, and fearlessly move off. The aperture was so narrow that but one man could get through at a time, and each squad carried with them provisions in a haversack. At midnight a false alarm was created, and the prisoners made considerable noise in getting to their respective quarters. Providentially, however, the guard suspected nothing wrong, and in a few moments the exodus was again commenced. Col. Kindrick and his companions looked with some trepidation upon the movements of the fugitives, as some of them, exercising but little discretion, moved boldly out of the enclosure into the glare of the gaslight. Many of them were, however, in citizen's dress, and, as all the rebel guards wear the United States uniform, but little suspicion could be excited, even if the fugitives had been accosted by a guard.”

The article continued with the story of the prison escape in great detail, including the poor conditions at Libby Prison that inmates were forced to endure. In a letter to President Abraham Lincoln, Kindrick wrote, “Having recently escaped from Libby with others, I can speak advisedly. So far as the officers are concerned their treatment can be tolerated, though it is indeed bad, but the enlisted men are treated brutally, cruelly.”

Col. William Kindrick was instrumental in the planning and execution of the escape. After weeks of avoiding capture in the woods and swamps of Virginia, Kindrick and 108 other inmates of the Confederate Libby Prison finally made it back into friendly Union territory.

After Col. Kindrick made his way back to Waynesboro following the prison escape, he died just one month later of causes unknown. His death in 1864 was only ten years after the construction of his home.

Colonel William Kindrick is buried in what would now be considered the back yard of the home, referred to at that time as the “garden.” It wasn’t uncommon for people to be buried on their own property; however, many headstones and grave markers from that time have not survived. Also thought to be buried behind the home are Robert Perry Cypert; Pantha Emma Meek, the first wife of Robert Perry Cypert; and possibly up to four more graves from that time period. Other tombstones at the site were reportedly removed and destroyed sometime in the 1920-1930 period. Only the stone of Col. W.P. Kindrick remains.

The rich history and untold memories from the Morrow House have been recorded in detail, but when the home itself burned down, it took a lot of the history and memories of the home with it. The nostalgia of the Morrow House, and other historic places in our county have certainly been taken for granted; memories will undoubtedly begin to fade away as future generations are not told of our rich Wayne County history. The lone gravestone of William Kindrick invokes many feelings, both good and sad, as it stands as a sentinel just behind the remains of the Morrow House.