Well, these three buildings were built in 1860 before Tupelo was built and still known as the small town of Harrisburg. These buildings were the Headquarters and Ammunition Distribution Depot for General Nathan Bedford Forrest! Forrest was also stationed here when he was given the rank of General. The railroad, which still follows the wartime railroad through Verona, is right next to these buildings and served as a recruitment point and shipping location to stage troops and supplies to various areas where they were needed. While Forrest was in Nashville the Union Army invaded Verona and destroyed the depot and supplies. Also of note there is an old Civil War era home that is seriously dilapidated about two blocks from these buildings and I took photos of that as well (the Blue Moon owners know the owner of the house and said it was ok to look through it). Forrest stayed at the house and his troops camped on the grounds behind the home. The railroad also runs behind the home. There is also a hotel site (the hotel is no longer there) across the street from the Blue Moon is the location of the hotel Vernon and Gladys stayed at on their wedding night. The hotel is now gone but a sign in the front yard of the current house that sits there stating it is the hotel site. Next to that the Blue Moon owners are building a couple of shotgun houses in the style of the Elvis Birthplace home and will rent them out to Elvis fans like a hotel. I was very surprised that the Forrest/Civil War connection was not focused on more and was almost an afterthought as well as no historical markers being present for the buildings. When I took my photos, I focused the Civil War interest instead of Elvis but some Elvis may have gotten in there as it is all over the place. I was also allowed access to the second floor of Forrest's HQ (Town Hall) which the owners do not show during the tour and keep locked-up. I asked them if I could go up and photograph it. I was allowed to go up but nobody else went up with me. The owners stated that the building is haunted and relayed the story of a Confederate Soldier walking through the front door of the first floor of Forrest's HQ, turning to the left and walking through the wall under the stairwell that accesses the second floor (from a door outside in the front of the building). She also said there has been a mist or haze seen floating in the air in the large room on the second floor. She stated that the second floor was also used for secret meetings either by Masons or the Klan. She thought about researching it but thought it best be left alone as to not dredge up memories that most people believe should stay in the past. I told my wife if I owned the building I would still find out everything I could about it's history...the good and the bad, but just not advertise it within the current museum. The second floor is currently not being used and they said they have no plans to restore the Town Hall building at all. We also made another trip back to Verona today to visit the local cemetery. There is a section that has graves of Confederate Soldiers killed at the Battle of Harrisburg. Soldiers were carried to homes (hospitals) in Verona and some of the dead buried there as well. So, there is a ton of history throughout the years related to these buildings but I am sure they will go down as being known most prominently for the Elvis Presley connection due to the direction of the current business owners. If I owned them and had the resources, I would turn them into a Civil War museum/relic shop and focus on that part of it's history. Verona is almost a part of Tupelo as once you get to the outskirts of Tupelo on Hargrove Road past the hospital it bleeds into Verona almost like a subdivision. It only takes me about 15 minutes to get there from my house. All of the relics in the old cases I took photos of were dug in Verona and are on display on the first floor of Forrest's HQ/Town Hall. Just shows you that history can be right in your back yard without you knowing about it! This is a historically rich set of buildings and a nice gem of Civil War history!
 
-Steven