Longwood (Natchez)

On our way out of town we decided to take a quick look at Longwood, however, we were impressed with what we saw and stayed for the tour of the house. Longwood looks from a distance a most imressive mansion (or a small palace at 30,000 square feet!). However, closer inspection reveals that only the daylight basement part of the house ( a mere 10,000 square feet) was finished. The reason is, as usual in these parts, the "war between the states". Dr. Nutt, who helped design the house as a present for his wife, lost his fortune (8 plantations in Louisiana, 800 slaves) and died before the end of the war.

His wife and 8 surviving children furnished the basement with furniture from Stanton Hall (Mrs. Nutt's birthplace) and other items the family owned. Most of these furnishings are still there, see below. In the center a picture showing the view from the groundfloor up to the unfinished observatory on the 4th floor.

The floor plan - how the principal floor should have looked like

This is how the principal floor really looks - above the center hallway, below family room filled with tools left by the Northern workmen who departed for home at the outbreak of the war.

The grounds at Longwood

The old slave - later servant quarters, today used for restrooms and a picture gallery.

The servants quarters and the carriage house

Mrs Nutt's carriage and assorted other items inside the carriage house.

Longwood serves as a splendid example of first the wealth and hubris of the Southern Plantation gentry, followed by the long period of genteel poverty and neglect after the war.

Descendants of the family lived in the house until the 1950's. Then the house fell into neglect, until a wealthy benefactor restored it and eventually gave it to the Garden Club with the stipulation that the house could never be finished. Today it is a historic landmark and thus can only be maintained, not altered.

The Cloisters Ellis Island Museums NYC Natural History Transportation; Monticello  Richmond Williamsburg CharlestonSavannan-Montgomery Natchez Monmouth Longwood

Vicksburg Santa Rosa Painted Desert  Petrified Forest Winslow Grand Canyon