112 Hillendale Drive Hattiesburg, Miss.

In the last feature of “Architects’ Homes” we saw Carl Matthes Sr. remodeled home in Biloxi; with today’s featured residence we get to see the house that his son lived in and quite possibly designed.  Carl E. Matthes Jr.‘s (1927-1964) life was cut short when he died from Leukemia at age 37.  Here’s his bio from the MDAH artisan database:

Born in Biloxi, MS, son of CARL EMIL MATTHES, he attended Mississippi State University where he received a B.S. in Civil Engineering in 1949. He received a second B.S. from Georgia Tech, graduating with honors in 1952, and a B. Arch. in 1953. A licensed engineer, he was registered as an architect as well. He worked in his father’s firm LANDRY & MATTHES, and joined the practice as a partner in 1960, residing in Hattiesburg, but died of leukemia on August 21, 1964.

Not outlined in the MDAH HRI database is that Carl Jr. married Bernice Wadlington in 1949 and The couple had two children.  Built prior to 1960(as the house appears in a 1960 aerial photograph) the house at 112 Hillendale Drive is in Hattiesburg’s University Heights neighborhood, which is just south of USM’s campus and just west of Forrest General Hospital.  While I do not have any direct proof that Carl Jr. designed his home, the house is an architectural stand-out compared even to some of the more adventurous mid-century designs in the neighborhood.

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Categories: Architectural Research, Hattiesburg, Modernism