This antebellum cottage was built by Dr. Henry Gaither but is most associated with a young woman purported to be a spy for the Confederacy, Izora “Zora” Fair, and is even referred to as the Zora Fair Cottage based upon this history. The history itself may be apocryphal or embellished, however. It posits that while Zora was a refugee from war-ravaged South Carolina, she disguised herself as a mulatto with crushed walnut hulls, sneaked into General Sherman’s headquarters, and overheard his plans for the March to Sea. When she tried to pass this information to Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston, it was intercepted by Union soldiers, and she hid out in the attic of this house.

Considering that the most recent sources for this information were published in the 1910s, they must be held to some scrutiny, especially since they were published by partisan historians. There must be something to the story; perhaps a more objective modern researcher can put it all together.

Oxford Historic District, National Register of Historic Places