We have been to
Natchez several times in the past, but there were still a few things we wanted
to do. One of the antebellum homes that
is considered a must see in this area is known as Longwood. It is the largest octagonal home in the United States.
The property the home occupies
was purchased by Haller Nutt in 1850.
Nutt was a wealthy cotton plantation owner, as was his father. He married the daughter of a wealthy
plantation owner, Julia Augusta Williams.
They had eleven children, 8 of which survived to adulthood. The property for Longwood was 95 acres, but
they owned 43000 acres of plantation land and some 800 slaves. They were by any standards extremely wealthy,
with an estimated worth before the Civil War at 3 million dollars.
When they moved onto
the property, they lived in the existing small home there. After studying building designs for a number
of years, he finally decided on a design by a Pennsylvania architect out of a
book. It was home # 49, called a Oriental
Villa. He hired the designer , Samuel Sloan to build his house. It was to be octagonal with four floors
totaling 40,000 square feet of living space. So in 1859 the construction began
with professional builders from Pennsylvania and the slave labor from the
plantations. The complete outside
construction and basement level were completed in 18 months. However, by this time the Civil War had
begun. Nutt decided that the war would
not last more than a few months with the Confederacy winning.
By 1861, it was clear
that the war was ongoing and the construction had to be stopped. In part by the fact that the professional
builders from Pennsylvania decided it was time to return home. Of the 32 rooms
planned only the nine rooms in the basement were completed-a total of 10000
square feet. The family decided to move
into the basement from the slave quarters building they had completed first and
had used during the construction.
For the next several
years, the reality of war in the south proved extremely difficult for the
family. First, the Confederate army
burned all their cotton that could not be shipped south to New Orleans due to
the Union blockade of the port. This was
to prevent the Union from taking it as a prize.
Next they grew food crops as source of income, but unfortunately, the
Union Army occupied Natchez and seized their crops. They were now in dire straits.
In 1864, Nutt caught a
cold on a business trip and returned home and died of pneumonia. Julia refused
to leave the home. While she lost all of
the plantation land to unpaid property taxes, she hung on to Longwood and
continued to live in the basement for another 33 years. Her children lived there afterward without
ever finishing the home.
Many of the family
members are buried on the property.
The home was finally
purchased and restored to the condition of 1864. It was then donated to the local garden club
with the understanding it was to be preserved as it was in 1864.
It has many unique
features and nearly all of the furniture in the basement level is from the Nutt
period. Unfortunately, photos are not
allowed on this level. It is an amazing house on its own merits and when
combined with the historical drama that played out during its construction, it
is absolutely a must see.
12 comments:
WOW, that would have been some house!! It was never completed? Very sad.. love seeing things like that..
How devastating for the family to lose everything over the years.
Wow what an amazing story. Riches to rags. I had never heard of it. Thanks for the pictures and information.
Some of those homes are absolutely beautiful. We're kind of heading in that direction -- maybe --. I'd love to see some gorgeous southern mansions.
The outside of Longwood is gorgeous. I am not sure I would like all the brick inside.
If she lived downstairs, did she rent the top part of the house? Such a sad story.
A sad story indeed, but perhaps even sadder still for the slaves that were being fought over. The house is very interesting looking - I'd love to see it sometime.
I can't wait to see it! We're heading down to Natchez next weekend for the Spring Pilgrimage. We'll be staying at a plantation in Lorman for the weekend.
Candy
Another great history lesson from the road. Loved it! :c)
Beautiful place!
Let's see. A net worth of 3 million before the Civil War would be the equivalent to what? A gazillion dollars today, right? :)
How beautiful!
Like many other big dreams this one waa met by a harsh reality. But the house looks very impressive. Interesting story about the family.
Added to our list
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