Springfield Plantation is an

antebellum Antebellum, Latin for "before war", may refer to: United States history * Antebellum South, the pre-American Civil War period in the Southern United States ** Antebellum Georgia ** Antebellum South Carolina ** Antebellum Virginia * Antebellum ...

house located near Fayette in

Jefferson County, Mississippi Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi; its western border is formed by the Mississippi River. As of the 2010 census, the population was 7,726, making it the third-least populous county in Mississippi. Its county ...

. It has been associated with many famous people throughout its history.

History

Springfield Plantation - Fayette, Mississippi

One of the oldest mansions in Mississippi, the Springfield Mansion was built between 1786 and 1791. The original

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 ...

had over and was purchased by Thomas M. Green Jr., a wealthy

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

planter, in 1784. Green had the house built to show off his wealth. The mansion was one of the first houses in America to have a full

colonnade In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or cur ...

across the entire facade and is the first such mansion to be built in the Mississippi Valley. The whole house was built by his slaves out of clay from the land. The hinges, knobs, and all metal tools were built at the plantation's blacksmith building. Possibly what makes Springfield Plantation most famous is the wedding that took place there in 1791. Thomas M. Green Sr., the owner's father, was one of the magistrates of the Mississippi Territory and as such, performed the marriage ceremony of

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

and Rachel Donelson at the house in August 1791. This marriage would lead to one of the first romantic tragedies in America. For two years, Green Jr. had to leave his beloved plantation to go to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

when he became a Congressman from the Mississippi Territory. The plantation survived 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 ...

and the Union occupation of Mississippi during the later half of the 1800s.

Restoration

After numerous owners over the years, the house decayed for decades. Arthur Edward Cavalier de LaSalle, Arthur LaSalle as he liked to be called, was given a lifetime lease of the home by the owners to repair, live in, and give tours of the mansion in the early 1970s. When asked about the mansion when he first arrived, he said, "It was occupied by the rats and pigeons, nothing else." Springfield is still a working plantation. On August 14, 2008, LaSalle died there. The tours have stopped, but the owners say they will be restarted.

Cemetery

It is not known how many people are buried at the Green Family Cemetery at Springfield Plantation. These are the names of those known. * Thomas M. Green Jr. (1758–1813)--Martha Kirland (1760–1805) *Martha Wills Green (1783–1808)

References

Sources

{{commonscat, Springfield Plantation (Fayette, Mississippi)
Springfield Plantation TourLocation Details and Plantation Size
Plantation houses in Mississippi Houses in Jefferson County, Mississippi Houses completed in 1791 Antebellum architecture