An Antebellum Porch

By Brian Vanden Brink

This remarkable two story porch is attached to the well known antebellum mansion Longwood in Natchez, Mississippi. Designed in 1859 for Dr. Haller Nutt by Samuel Sloan, an architect from Philadelphia, the construction of the house was interrupted by the outbreak of the U.S. Civil War in 1861. It was never fully completed, and remains today as a reminder of the wealth and style of the pre-war deep south. Longwood is the largest octagonal house in the country and the porch is a richly ornamented and detailed structure that must have been a wonderful place to sit and enjoy a steamy southern evening. The fact that the house was so grand and elaborate but never completed gives rise to its nickname, “Nutt’s Folly”.

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An Antebellum Porch

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