( CNN ) -- You ca n't miss Beauvoir as you drive along scenic U.S. Highway 90 through Biloxi , Mississippi . Its grand staircase , with the railings scrolling outward , welcomes you like open arms . The front porch wraps around the entire front of the home , supported by regal white pillars , common during the antebellum period . It 's the kind of front porch where you can envision someone sitting in a rocking chair with a glass of iced tea , as the breeze from the beach offers the only respite from a humid August afternoon . When Hurricane Katrina devastated Mississippi 's coastal areas , the storm tore up the home . But it also peeled back a little slice of history about Beauvoir that might never have been known otherwise . Beauvoir was the last home of Confederate President Jefferson Davis . Some call Davis a forgotten hero of American history . He was a graduate of West Point , a hero in the Battle of Monterrey during the Mexican-American War , and a senator from Mississippi . When Davis served in Washington , he helped get the Smithsonian Institution up and running after the founder , James Smithson , died . In the months before the Civil War , Davis resigned from the Senate and was selected as president of the Confederacy . When the war ended , he was charged with treason and , although he was never tried or convicted , he lost the right to run for public office . He later settled in Biloxi , and purchased Beauvoir from a family friend for $ 5,500 , although the owner died shortly after Davis made the first payment . It was his last home . Learn more about the home 's history . Five years ago , Katrina ripped the front porch completely off , taking part of the slate roof with it , and knocking down several support columns . Windows were blown out , and water flooded the interior . Furniture and pictures dating to the 1800s were waterlogged . Winterthur Museum , out of Delaware , voluntarily restored the furniture and paintings . A paint historian surveyed the interior of the home after Katrina to ensure restoration was historically accurate . This was a tedious project , involving Q-tips , paint remover , and a microscope . But the effort paid off , and with a bonus -- because things were discovered about the home that might never have been revealed if Katrina had n't ravaged South Mississippi . Then and now photos of Katrina 's devastation . The historian learned the white doors were originally painted a faux oak color . The director of Beauvoir , Rick Forte , explained that the doors were too large to be made from real oak , a heavy wood . So the original owner opted for cypress and had the doors finished in `` the king of wood '' oak finish , as Forte described it . The white mantles over the fireplaces in the home were originally painted a faux marble . The historian also discovered fresco art on the ceiling of the reception hall , the front parlor and the library . The most revealing discovery was the architecture . Beauvoir was built in the mid-1800s by James Brown . `` We always wondered whether he was his own architect or if he hired one from New Orleans , '' said Forte . It turns out Brown was the architect , and in some ways , not a very good one . Many mistakes had to be repaired , in addition to the restoration work after the hurricane . `` It cost $ 4 million to restore the Beauvoir house , but it is a priceless house , '' according to Forte . Today , Beauvoir is anchored to the ground with a foundation of concrete and rebar . The last national historic landmark house on the Mississippi Gulf Coast is fully restored to its original charm and splendor . `` It looks as good today as the day they finished it in 1852 , '' Forte boasts . As many as 4,000 people toured the home for its grand reopening , but tourists are sparse now , thanks to the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico . But Forte counts his blessings as far as the home 's survival of Katrina . `` It was like going from hell to heaven , to where we are now , '' he said .
Confederate , in Mississippi , Biloxi , was the home of Beauvoir President Jefferson Davis . U.S. Highway 90 tore up the home 's exterior and damaged historical paintings and furniture . During the restoration process , workers learned new info about how the house was built . It cost $ 4 million to restore the home .