Assembly Hall
a.k.a. Serio House
Assembly and Main Sts., Washington, MSAssembly Hall, in Washington, Mississippi, believed to be the meeting place of the legislative body of the Mississippi Territory (1798-1817), served in that capacity from the time of its construction ca. 1808 until 1811. One of the few surviving buildings from the territorial period in Mississippi, it is a remarkably intact example of Federal period architecture both on the exterior and the interior. It is also the sole known example remaining in Mississippi of a Natchez Trace tavern built specifically for commercial (rather than combined commercial-domestic) use.
In the spring of 1802, Territorial Governor William C. C. Claiborne and his Republican allies removed the capital of the newly formed Territory of Mississippi from Natchez to Washington, closer to the stronghold of Republicans in Adams County. The village had been in existence only since 1798, when John Foster had subdivided a part of his plantation into town lots.
A traveler passing through Washington in 1808 counted thirty buildings there, including private dwellings. Of three taverns, the one belonging to Charles DeFrance seems to have supplied most government needs. The DeFrance house was the site of the 1808 session of the general assembly and provided a room for the use of the Supreme Court of the Mississippi Territory. In June, 1808, Charles DeFrance had purchased the four lots of Block 8 on which the tavern stands from William Brooks for $6,000 and mortgaged the property to Brooks the following month (Deed Book E:19,20). Officials allotted DeFrance over three hundred dollars in compensation.
One of the most significant activities of the territorial legislature between the years 1808 and 1811 was the charter of Mississippi's first bank. Established by the general assembly December 23, 1809, the Bank of the Mississippi was an important factor in the financial development of both the territory and later the state, since it was adopted as the official state bank in 1818.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.