The Color Purple Filming Locations

Locations Manager(s): Kokayi Ampah

On Location

Filmed in Anson County and Union County, North Carolina, USA

The main house used for the film is the Huntley house located close to Lilesville, NC.

The house is officially known as the James Bennett house but has had other owners since then that include John Jennings Dunlap I (1866-1909), John Jennings Dunlap II (1909-1926), The N. Hedrick Family, the H.H. Huntley family (which owned the home when the movie was filmed; if you remember the postman’s name was Mr. Huntley in honor of the man who owned the farm at the time.) The current owners are Pat and Ronnie Oaks who restored the house in 2008.

It is a few miles off of Highway 74. It is a large old farmhouse that had been empty for years prior to filming.

After the filming I went to the house many times to look around. It is once again unused. Now, the current owner has placed a gate at the end of the drive to keep people away.

I always found it interesting that the film only shows it once from the front (when Sug arrives.) I think this may be because it looks a little too grand and formal for the context of the film. I believe that the interior scenes were all done on location in the house and not on a sound stage. The house is surrounded by a lot of land and on that land the film crew built other structures used in the filming.

The house where Celie lives at the end of the movie was actually just a false front. It stood for years but eventually fell down or was torn down and no longer exists.

All of the town scenes were done in Marshville, NC in Union County (also on Highway 74.)

The store is actually a produce store still in business today called "Apple Jack's". Dirt was put down to cover the pavement of the street and decorative items were added to many of the facades of nearby buildings. Remnants of these items still survive.

The dream sequence where Celie throws the gold chocolates to her sister was done on railroad tracks near Ansonville, NC.

The scene with Celie goes to an Immigration Office to arrange for her children to come home was filmed at the Anson County Courthouse in Wadesboro, NC.

The church was an unused old church that the crew moved from another location in Anson County to the Huntley farm. It was set up on the back of the property down a hill from the main house.

[Our deep gratitude to Wayne Maness for the wonderful locations info]

Can you help? Do you know any of the filming locations used for The Color Purple? [Please send them in]


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