Missed out on last month’s chance to own a Frank Lloyd Wright original? Another one of the late architect’s rare designs just hit the market in Jackson, Mississippi—this time for $2.5 million—and it’s every bit as distinctive.
Wright designed the home in 1948, at the age of 81, and construction took place between 1950 and 1954 for local oil speculator J. Willis Hughes, who lived there until 1980. Originally known as the Hughes House, the property later became known as “Fountainhead,” a name inspired by its striking backyard water feature and pool. The moniker also carries a literary nod—Wright is widely believed to have influenced Ayn Rand as she wrote her seminal novel, The Fountainhead.
Today, the 3,558-square-foot residence stands as one of just around 60 homes built in the Usonian style—a term coined by Wright himself in the 1940s. Conceived as an accessible architectural solution for the American middle class in the postwar era, Usonian homes are defined by their modest footprints, open floor plans, and use of organic materials.
Fountainhead has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1980 and is currently on the market with Douglas Adams and David Abner Smith of Crescent Sotheby’s International Realty. Its current owner, architect Robert Parker Adams, has spent decades meticulously restoring the home. “It is an honor representing a Frank Lloyd Wright property,” Adams told Galerie. “Stepping inside Fountainhead provides an awe-inspiring glimpse into the world that only Wright dared to design; built on land that everyone said couldn’t be built on; and crafted with such precision that still astonishes most architects today.”
Set on nearly an acre of wooded hillside, the three-bedroom home reflects Frank Lloyd Wright’s fascination with geometric form—specifically the parallelogram, which informed everything from the angled walls to the etched floor pattern. Rather than conventional brick and stud construction, Wright opted for a mix of concrete, glass, and Heart Tidewater Red Cypress, lending warmth and texture throughout.
The roof, still clad in its original copper sheeting, adds to the home’s architectural integrity. Other signature details include sweeping windows, sculptural landscaping, rich wood accents, and built-in furnishings designed by Wright himself.
Mississippi is home to one other Wright house, Charnley-Norwood House built in Ocean Springs in 1890.
Rachel Silva is the associate digital editor at ELLE DECOR, where she covers all things design, architecture, and lifestyle. She also oversees the publication’s feature article coverage, and is, at any moment, knee-deep in an investigation on everything from the best spa gifts to the best faux florals on the internet right now. She has more than 16 years of experience in editorial, working as a photo assignment editor at Time and acting as the president of Women in Media in NYC. She went to Columbia Journalism School, and her work has been nominated for awards from ASME, the Society of Publication Designers, and World Press Photo.
