Lansdowne (Natchez, Mississippi)

Lansdowne
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
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Location	17 Marshall Road, Natchez, Mississippi
Coordinates	31°35′5.2″N91°21′42.8″W / 31.584778°N 91.361889°W / 31.584778; -91.361889
Area	120 acres (49 ha)
Built	1853 (1853)
Architectural style	Greek Revival
NRHP reference No.	78001581 [1]
Added to NRHP	July 24, 1978

Lansdowne is a historic estate that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Natchez, Adams County, Mississippi. The property began as a 727-acre, antebellum, hunting estate - like the estates of the landed gentry in England. ^{[2] [3]} After the Civil War Lansdowne became a cotton plantation. Cotton, corn, sheep and cattle were raised there until about 1960. The original owner's residence and 120 acres of the original estate are still owned and occupied by the descendants of the builder, who open it periodically for tours.

Location

Lansdowne is located on M.L. King, Jr. Road, one mile north of the Natchez city limits (The driveway into the property is now known as Marshall Road). ^[4] Lansdowne adjoined the Homewood estate. ^[5]

Pre Civil War History

The name "Geo Marshall" on this map just above and to the right of the city of Natchez - between the name Balfour (Charlotte's sister Catherine's Homewood estate with about 11 enslaved Africans in 1860) and a Pond along the road - is where Lansdowne is located. The name Archer in the upper right area of the map is where Charlotte's sister Mary Ann and her husband James Archer lived on their Oakwood Plantation with close to 100 enslaved Africans in 1860. The name Marshall just below Natchez is the Richmond estate where Geroge's father lived in 1860.

Map showing Arcola Plantation and some of the other Hunt family plantations (they had about 25) - Hole in the wall (belonged to Charlotte's sister Elizabeth), Woodlawn (Charlotte's parents home, misspelled as Woodland on the map), Brick Quarters, Flatland, Calviton ("F.C.Wood" where David Hunt's grandchildren by his son Abijah lived).

Land previously known as the Nathaniel Ivy tract, became known as Lansdowne when George Matthews Marshall, a Princeton University graduate, and his new bride Charlotte Hunt built their lavish home on the 727 acres in 1852–1853 in Adams County, Mississippi near Natchez. ^{[6] [7] [8] [9] [10]} The hunting estate was named after the Marshall's English friend, the Marquess of Lansdowne, probably because it made them feel like English landed gentry. ^[6]

George and Charlotte's great wealth originated from both of their parents' families. Charlotte's father, Jefferson County, Mississippi planter David Hunt - one of the only 35 millionaires in the U.S. in 1860 - gave the five of his seven children who reached adulthood before the Civil War $70,000 (by his valuation) in assets from his estate. Each received at least one plantation, about 100 enslaved Africans and a set of silver from Baltimore. ^[5] Thus, Charlotte received the Lansdowne property on the high ground near Natchez for her home, and Arcola cotton Plantation in the very fertile flood-prone land of Tensas Parish near the Mississippi River town of Waterproof for an income. ^[11] Presumably, the Lansdowne property was passed down to David Hunt's wife (Ann Ferguson) from her grandfather (Robert Dunbar - wealthy planter and patriarch of the rural Dunbar clan), who had lived on the site before moving on to Oakley Grove Plantation at the site of the current Adams County airport.

George's father, banker and planter Levin R. Marshall - also one of the 35 U.S. millionaires in 1860 - was surely involved in financing George's fine residence on Lansdowne, as well as, in expanding Arcola Plantation. ^[12] Levin R. Marshall lived at the suburban Natchez estate known as Richmond. ^[13]

In 1860 George's Louisiana and Mississippi real estate (land and non-movable items) was valued at $319,000 (~$8.82 million in 2023). ^[14] This did not include his personal property, such as furniture, livestock, enslaved Africans, plantation equipment, cash, stocks, etc. ^[14]

The following is more information about the (approximately $91,000) 727 acre Lansdowne Estate in Adams County, Mississippi in 1860.

• George Marshall had $75,000 in real estate in Adams County in 1860, which included the 727 acres and buildings of Lansdowne. ^[15]
• George Marshall had $16,000 in personal property in Adams County in 1860, which included sixteen enslaved Africans, the main house furnishings of Lansdowne, and the livestock and equipment on Lansdowne. ^[16]
  • Susan Gruby Washington was an enslaved African at Lansdowne, who came from Guyana, Africa. She stayed on Lansdowne, working as a nurse for the Marshall children after the Civil War. She was married to Robert the butler. They lived in the two rooms of the second floor of the kitchen building with the cook immediately behind the main house. She died on February 25, 1918, and was buried in the cemetery there. ^[17]

The following is more information about (the approximately $254,000) Arcola cotton Plantation in 1860, which supported Lansdowne. ^[18]

• Value of Real Property (land - 1,000 improved and 700 unimproved acres - and other non-moveable objects) $119,000 ^[18]
• Value of Personal Property - $135,000 ^[18]
  • $55,000 worth of implements and machinery ^[18]
  • 125 enslaved Africans in 28 dwellings ^[18]
  • $7,940 worth of livestock, which included four horses, 41 mules, 16 milch cows, 23 working oxen, 25 sheep, 150 swine, and 30 cattle ^[18]
  • 1,000 bales of ginned cotton - 400 pounds each, 6,000 bushels of Indian corn, 100 pounds of wool, 50 bushels of peas and beans, 50 bushels of Irish potatoes, 300 bushels of sweet potatoes, $500 of slaughtered meat ^[18]

Civil War and Postbellum History

Portrait of George Matthews Marshall, ca. 1855, by Louis Joseph Bahin

George Marshall fought in the Civil War. ^[3] He was wounded at the Battle of Shiloh, returned home, and paid someone else to fight on in his place. ^[3] During the War on January 8, 1865, eleven Union soldiers broke into Lansdowne to rob the Marshalls. ^[3] They did not get much because the butler, Robert, had hidden the Marshall's silver under the floor of the mansion. ^[3] In frustration the soldiers took a few pieces of the Marshall's fine china and smashed it along the road as they left. ^[3]

With the enslaved African labor from before the war now replaced with share croppers, most of the previously highly profitable plantations began struggling to make a profit. ^[5] In general, the children of David Hunt had to sell off Cincinnati, Ohio real estate investments inherited from their father, and take out mortgages on their plantations to rebuild their plantations and to make up their losses for as many years as they could. ^[5]

After the American Civil War of 1861–1865, the Marshall's Arcola Plantation was lost; so cotton, corn, sheep and cattle were raised on Lansdowne until about 1960. ^{[19] [3] [14]} At times the Marshall descendants only had the small income from the sale of butter and eggs from their farming operation to keep them going. ^[8] Beginning in 1932 during the Great Depression, charging tourists for tours of the antebellum Natchez planters' homes, including Lansdowne, during the annual Pilgrimage tours brought in much needed money to keep the home livable. ^[20] A cotton plantation scene from the movie Show Boat (1951 film) was filmed on Lansdowne Plantation. ^[21] During the 1950s the Marshall descendants sold off the last of their cotton land. ^[6] Lansdowne has been added to the National Register of Historic Places since July 24, 1978. In 1995 Devereaux Nobles and her brother George Marshall IV - both great-grandchildren of George Marshal I - owned Lansdowne. ^[6] The owner's residence and 120 acres still belong to the Marshall descendants. ^[8]

The Marshall's Residence

Lansdowne, by Frances Benjamin Johnston, 1938, during the Great Depression

The residence, built ca. 1853, was designed in the Greek Revival architectural style. ^{[9] [14]} The exterior of the mansion is deceiving, given the scale of the rooms within. ^[22] It has high ceilings, and a 65 foot long center hall. ^[4] The great size of the hall gives it a more extravagant feel than is found in many of the larger Natchez mansions. ^[10] When entering from the front door into the center hall, on the left side of the center hall are the drawing room, dining room and butler's pantry. ^{[4] [22]} A stairwell in the butler's pantry leads to storage rooms in the basement and attic. ^[14] The basement had wine and dairy cellars. ^[6] The attic is finished off nicely with gaslight fixtures. ^[6] On the right side of the center hall are three bedrooms. ^[22] Due to the impending Civil War, the Marshalls finished the home quickly, leaving off the second floor. ^[5] Because of this, the planned library became the middle bedroom instead. ^[8] Two smaller structures flank the rear courtyard behind the house. ^[4] During antebellum times, the north structure housed the kitchen and wash room on the first floor; and the enslaved cook, butler and children's nurse's quarters on the second floor. ^[4] The south structure housed the billiard room and office on the first floor, and the schoolroom and governess's room on the second floor. ^{[4] [14]}

The north building behind the big house at Lansdowne in 1938 during the Great Depression. This building was originally built as a kitchen and wash room on the ground floor and enslaved African quarters for the cook, butler (Robert) and children's nurse (Susan Gruby Washington) on the top floor. After live-in workers were no longer feasible, the building was converted into a complete second home for the Marshall clan and also used as a rental.

The home is important because it contains most of its lavish original interiors and furnishings with many items having been imported from Europe. ^{[4] [14]} The front parlor contains one of the most complete and well preserved Rococo Revival style interiors in Mississippi from the mid-1800s. ^[14] The home contains rare Zuber & Cie wallpaper, rosewood and mahogany furniture, and Egyptian marble mantelpieces. ^{[7] [14]} The rosewood parlor set and Zuber & Cie wallpaper were purchased by George Marshall I on a trip to France. ^[6] Various cypress base boards are painted to resemble oak and marble. ^{[6] [14]} The bronze chandeliers were once powered by gas made in the plantation's gas works. ^[14]

To keep the house livable, in the early 1900s a bathroom was added on the end of the rear porch adjoining a bedroom. ^[14] Electricity was added in the 1940s. ^[14] In 1962 a kitchen was installed in the butler's pantry and a second bathroom was added to one corner of the middle bedroom. ^[14] This was done with as little damage to the original interiors as possible. ^[14]

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
2. verbo website: About This Propertyaccess-date= 4 August 2024
3. Caroline Seebohm and Peter Woloszynski, Under Live Oaks, Clarkson Potter: New York, 2002, pp 144 - 157
4. Lansdowne, Spring Pilgrimage 2013 - a special publication of The Natchez Democrat, North Canal Street, Natchez, MS
5. Kane, Harnett T. Natchez on the Mississippi (1947 ed.). New York: Bonanza Books. pp. 174–189.
6. Cole, Regina. "Plantation Classic". Old House Interiors. 1, No. 4 (Winter 1995): 68–73.
7. Caroline Seebohm, Enshrining the Old South, The New York Times , February 10, 1991
8. Official website: History
9. Helen Kerr Kempe, The Pelican Guide to Old Homes of Mississippi: Natchez and the South, Gretna, Louisiana: Pelican Publishing, 1989, p. 52
10. 1 2 Van Court, Catherine (1937). In Old Natchez. Doubleday. pp. 53–55.
11. Wilkerson, Lyn (2009). Slow Travels - Louisiana. Lulu.com. p. 58. ISBN   978-0557091690 . Retrieved 12 July 2016.
12. Scarborough, William (2006). Masters of the Big House. LSU Press. p. 15.
13. Historic Resources Inventory: Richmond
14. "National Register of Historic Places Inventory -- Nomination Form". National Park Service. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
15. Government. "1860 census". Family Search. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
16. Government. "1860 Slave Schedule". familysearch.org. U.S. Government. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
17. Colson, Marsha. "The End of an Era and a Beginning". Facebook. Blue Magnolia Films. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
18. Menn, Joseph (1998). The Largest Slaveholders of Louisiana - 1860. New Orleans: Pelican Publishing Company. pp. 405, 406.
19. verbo website: About This Propertyaccess-date= 4 August 2024
20. Hasty, Frances. "Mansions of the Mississippi". fayobserver. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
21. "Show Boat Filming Locations". IMDb. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
22. Howard, Hugh (2003). Natchez: the Houses and History of the Jewel of the Mississippi . New York: Rizzoli. pp.  137–141. ISBN   9780847825721.

External links

Media related to Lansdowne Plantation at Wikimedia Commons

• Tour of Lansdowne
• Lansdowne Plantation Facebook page
• You Tube history video showing Lansdowne interiors
• The map at the library of congress website shows George Marshall's Tensas Parish, Louisiana Plantation (Arcola). The plantation is in the area below (south) of the Mississippi River town of Waterproof - near the bottom center of the map.
• Photo of a bedroom in one of the two rear dependency buildings behind Lansdowne mansion