"Green Leaves", also known as the Koontz House or the Beltzhoover House, is a

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word '' manse'' originally defined a property l ...

Natchez, Mississippi Natchez ( ) is the county seat of and only city in Adams County, Mississippi, United States. Natchez has a total population of 14,520 (as of the 2020 census). Located on the Mississippi River across from Vidalia in Concordia Parish, Louisiana, N ...

, completed in 1838 by Edward P. Fourniquet, a French lawyer who built other structures in the area. It was purchased by George Washington Koontz, a local banker in 1849 and has been owned by his descendants ever since. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

(NRHP) in 1979.

Description

The house is best recognized for its preserved family memorabilia and furnishings. The NRHP listing documentation notes that although it is "a somewhat static setting" externally, "the interior design of the house is notable for both its excellence and integrity". It includes not merely many period architectural features but also period decoration and contents, which together make it "one of the most valuable national documents of mid-nineteenth century taste". It is one of several historic buildings in Natchez which adopted the Greek Revival style and which maintain significant historic interiors. The house is also well known for its gardens, which contain a wide variety of plants, including several

camellia ''Camellia'' (pronounced or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalayas east to Japan and Indonesia. There are more than 220 described species, with some controversy ...

s and

azalea Azaleas are flowering shrubs in the genus ''Rhododendron'', particularly the former sections ''Tsutsusi'' (evergreen) and '' Pentanthera'' (deciduous). Azaleas bloom in the spring (April and May in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, and Octob ...

s. The entire back yard is shaded by a massive

live oak Live oak or evergreen oak is any of a number of oaks in several different sections of the genus ''Quercus'' that share the characteristic of evergreen foliage. These oaks are not more closely related to each other than they are to other oaks. ...

tree, estimated to be well over 400 years old. The Natchez Indians are believed by some to have used the tree as a gathering place. The front contains a smaller live oak, estimated to be over 200 years old, and a large

magnolia ''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendro ...

tree, reportedly one of the largest in the state.

History

The original house, now the north wing, was built around 1812 for Jonathan Thompson, a wealthy

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

farmer in the area. This house was two stories and framed entirely of brick, and was later used as an adjacent kitchen and servant and slave quarters. Thompson and his family were killed by

yellow fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. In ...

in May 1820. The land was purchased in 1836 by Edward P. Fourniquet, a French-born lawyer who built other structures in the area. In late 1838, he completed what is now the main section of the house, adjacent to the original, for a price of about $25,000. This section contains the Greek Revival architecture, and is the section that the house became known for. The house was purchased by George Washington Koontz, a banker, in 1849. Koontz moved into the area from Pennsylvania in 1836 and joined in business partnership with William Audley Britton that same year. Their bank, named Britton & Koontz Bank, was in existence until February 2014, when it merged with Home Bancorp, Inc., a

Lafayette, Louisiana Lafayette (, ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the most populous city and parish seat of Lafayette Parish, located along the Vermilion River. It is Louisiana's fourth largest incorporated municipality by population and the 234th- ...

banking company. The Koontzes added a south bedroom wing in the 1850s and connected the main section and the original building in the 1880s and 1890s.Green Leaves, Sanborn Insurance Maps, 1886-1895. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on March 29, 1979.

Description

History

See also

References

Further reading