Skip to main content

Secondary sourcePhotograph2017-10-10

Sign in Front of Ida Wells-Barnett Birthplace, Holly Springs

Ser Amantio di Nicolao · 2017-10-10

A modern photograph of the house in Holly Springs, Mississippi, recognized as the birthplace of Ida B. Wells.

This house in Holly Springs is recognized as Wells's birthplace, linking her to her Mississippi origins.

Ask Ida B. Wells about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
A white two-story wooden house with columns and a front porch, with a black wrought-iron sign on a post in the lawn reading 'Gatewood-Boiling 1858'. A brick walkway leads toward the steps.
Ida Wells-Barnett birthplace, Holly Springs, Mississippi. Photograph by Ser Amantio di Nicolao, 2017.

About this source

What it is

A photograph of a white two-story wooden house with columns and a front porch in Holly Springs, Mississippi, identified as the birthplace of Ida Wells-Barnett. A sign in the yard reads 'Gatewood-Boiling 1858', and the building is part of the East Holly Springs Historic District.

Why it matters

This house connects Wells to her early life and Mississippi roots. Its preservation as part of a historic district shows how local communities protect sites tied to significant figures.

Look closer

  • What does the sign's name, 'Gatewood-Boiling', tell you about the house's history before or alongside its connection to Wells?
  • Why might a birthplace site be preserved even if no original artifacts remain inside?
  • What questions would you want answered about the house's connection to Wells's childhood?

This photograph is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Ida B. Wells on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More Ida B. Wells sources

Meet the AI Ida B. Wells →
Title page of the 1892 pamphlet 'Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases' on aged, stained paper. Below the title is an engraved portrait of a woman with hair piled high, and the caption 'Miss IDA B. WELLS'. Text reads 'Price, Fifteen Cents' and 'The New York Age Print, 1892'.Book

Primary source

Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases

Ida B. Wells · 1892

Book

Primary source

The Red Record

Ida B. Wells-Barnett · 1895

Sepia-toned studio portrait of a woman in three-quarter view facing left, with hair piled high in an updo and a small ornament on top. She wears a dark lace dress with a high ruffled collar and a light decorative pin at the neck.Photograph

Primary source

Ida B. Wells-Barnett Portrait

Mary Garrity · c. 1893

Sepia-toned studio portrait of a woman with voluminous hair piled high on her head, turned three-quarters to the right. She wears a high-necked dark dress with beaded and embroidered trim at the collar.Photograph

Primary source

Ida B. Wells Portrait by Cihak and Zima

Cihak and Zima · c. 1895

Black-and-white newspaper photograph of women in white sashes at a 1913 suffrage parade. Sashes read 'Vote No Tax' and a banner reads 'Illinois'. Caption names Virginia Brooks, Mrs. Belle Squire, and Mrs. Ida Wells Barnett. Inset below shows a smaller figure.Newspaper article

Primary source

Ida B. Wells at 1913 Suffrage Parade

May 1913

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Ida B. Wells now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions