Around 1928, Emilie and Marie Stapp moved to the small town of Wiggins, Mississippi where they had acquired 80 acres of land two miles east of town on Mississippi Hughway 26. They named their new property Friendship Farm. In the quiet solitude of southern Mississippi, Emilie Stapp could fully devote herself to creative writing. Upon the fertile ground of Friendship Farm, Emilie and Marie Stapp established a pecan orchard and built their home named The Dolls’ House. The home received its name from a rare collection of over 400 dolls of historic significance, that the Stapp sisters acquired from their world travels and prominently displayed there.
Soon after their arrival in Wiggins, Mississippi, Emilie and her sister Marie, became actively involved within the community. In 1932, they deeded 12 acres of land and a club house to the Women’s Club of Wiggins, and with a donation of over 4,000 books, they established the first lending library in Stone County. Becoming concerned with the dilapidated condition of the old post office, the Stapp sisters funded construction of a new post office for the City of Wiggins.
The collection of dolls and their personal papers are part of the McCain Library and Archives at the University of Southern Mississippi.
The Old Firehouse Museum 