Haller Nutt (1816-1864) was an American Southern planter. He was a successful cotton planter and

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

owner in

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

. He developed a strain of cotton that became important commercially for the

Deep South The Deep South or the Lower South is a cultural and geographic subregion in the Southern United States. The term was first used to describe the states most dependent on plantations and slavery prior to the American Civil War. Following the war ...

Early life

Haller Nutt was born on February 17, 1816, on Laurel Hill Plantation in

Jefferson County, Mississippi Jefferson County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi; its western border is formed by the Mississippi River. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the population was 7,726, making it the third ...

. His father was Dr.

Rush Nutt Rush Nutt (1781-1837) was a Mississippian planter, physician, and scientist. He was the founder of Laurel Hill Plantation and discovered Petit Gulf cotton. He is a former justice of the Jefferson County court in Mississippi. Early life Nutt was b ...

, son of Richard Nutt of

Northumberland County, Virginia Northumberland County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 11,839. Its county seat is Heathsville. The county is located on the Northern Neck and is part of the Northern Neck George Washin ...

. His maternal grandfather was David Ker, the first presiding professor (later known as university president) of the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

and later a Judge of the

Mississippi Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Mississippi is the highest court in the state of Mississippi. It was established in the first constitution of the state following its admission as a State of the Union in 1817 and was known as the High Court of Errors and Appe ...

. Nutt was educated at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Ch ...

from 1832 to 1835.

Career

Nutt returned to Mississippi and helped his father manage the Laurel Hill Plantation. He owned several plantations, including: *the Araby Plantation in

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. *the Evergreen Plantation in Louisiana. *the Winter Quarters Plantation in Louisiana. *the Cloverdale Plantation in Mississippi. *the Laurel Hill Plantation in Mississippi. *the Longwood Plantation in Mississippi. He mainly grew

cash crop A cash crop or profit crop is an Agriculture, agricultural crop which is grown to sell for profit. It is typically purchased by parties separate from a farm. The term is used to differentiate marketed crops from staple crop (or "subsistence crop") ...

s, including cotton and

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalks t ...

. These plantations brought him considerable wealth. He made a net profit of more than $228,000 from agricultural enterprises in 1860. He owned of land and 800

slave Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

s. His fortune prior to the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

was estimated at more than three million dollars. He suffered large financial losses during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

due to the destruction of his cotton fields and real estate. However, General Grant spared the Winter Quarters plantation because Nutt was pro-Union. Nevertheless, the expropriation of stores and supplies by the Union and Confederate armies led to the foreclosure on Nutt's plantations in Louisiana. After the war, he filed documents with the federal government that would compensate for the loss of assets due to the Union army. According to Haller Nutt's listed property in 1860, he owned 42,947 acres and 800 slaves.

Personal life

Nutt married Julia Augusta Williams, the daughter of Austin Williams and Caroline Routh Williams, in 1840. She was eighteen at the time. They had eleven children: *Caroline Routh Nutt (c. 1841–1842) *Mary Ella Nutt (1844). *Fanny Smith Nutt (1846). *Haller Nutt Jr. (1848). *John Ker Nutt (1850). *Austin Nutt (1852). * Sargeant Prentiss Nutt (1855). *Julia Nutt (1857). *Calvin Routh Nutt (1858). *Lillie Nutt (1861). *Rushworth Nutt (1863). They decided to begin construction on Longwood in the spring of 1860. They hired

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

architect Samuel Sloan to design the multistory octagonal in the Oriental Revival style. Construction of the exterior was completed by the beginning of the Civil War. With the threat of the Civil War looming, Sloan's artisans soon halted their construction, fearing for their safety, and fled back to the North. The basement story was completed by slave labor and was ready for occupancy by 1862. Longwood is the largest octagonal house in the United States.

Death

Nutt died on June 15, 1864, of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

. His family continued living at Longwood plantation after his death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nutt, Haller 1816 births 1864 deaths People from Jefferson County, Mississippi People from Natchez, Mississippi University of Virginia alumni American planters Deaths from pneumonia in Mississippi American slave owners