Stanton Hall, also known as Belfast, 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 ...
Classical Revival
Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...
mansion at 401 High Street in
Natchez, Mississippi. Built in the 1850s, it is one of the most opulent antebellum mansions to survive in the southeastern United States. It is now operated as a
historic house museum
A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that has been transformed into a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a ...
by the Pilgrimage Garden Club. The house was declared a
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
in 1974
[ and ] and a
Mississippi Landmark in 1995.
[
]
Description
Stanton Hall occupies an entire city block north of downtown Natchez, bounded by High, Commerce, Monroe, and Pearl Streets. The property is ringed by wrought iron fencing with elaborate gate posts. The house is a three-story brick structure, plastered and painted white. Designed and built by Thomas Rose, the house accrued a final bill of about $83,000. It is also said that Mr. Rose requested to sign his tremendous work somewhere on the property, but Frederick Stanton refused. In response, Mr. Rose had the wrought iron fencing around the house designed with an abundance of roses as his stamp in quiet defiance.
Its front entrance features a two-story Greek temple portico, with four fluted Corinthian columns supporting an entablature and gabled pediment. Spaces between the columns have decorative iron railings, repeated in a second-floor balcony railing set under the portico. The main roof is hipped, and truncated with a large cupola at the center. The interior is elaborately decorated, using materials such as imported Italian marble, textiles from Paris and chandeliers made of glass and bronze.
History
Stanton Hall was built during 1851–57 for Frederick Stanton, a cotton broker, as a replica of his ancestral home in Ireland. Stanton named it "Belfast", but only lived in it for nine months before he died of yellow fever. The house's scale and opulence made it a great financial burden on his heirs, but it survived 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 ...
, and in 1890 was made home to the Stanton College for Young Ladies. In 1940 it was acquired by the Pilgrimage Garden Club, which uses it as its headquarters and operates it as a museum and event venue.
In popular culture
The mansion serves as a design for Disneyland
Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney initially envision ...
's Haunted Mansion
The Haunted Mansion is a dark ride attraction located at Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, and Tokyo Disneyland. The haunted house attraction features a ride-through tour in Omnimover vehicles called "Doom Buggies", and a walk-through show is displa ...
.
The house's insides have appeared in ABC's mini-series ''North and South'' as the Mains' mansion interiors.[The exteriors were filmed at the ]Boone Hall
Boone Hall Plantation is a historic district located in Mount Pleasant, Charleston County, South Carolina, United States and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The most important historic structures in the district are the br ...
Plantation, near Charleston, South Carolina The house was also seen briefly in ''Show Boat
''Show Boat'' is a musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the performers, stagehands and dock worke ...
'' (1951).
In '' South and West: From a Notebook'', Joan Didion
Joan Didion (; December 5, 1934 – December 23, 2021) was an American writer. Along with Tom Wolfe, Hunter S. Thompson and Gay Talese, she is considered one of the pioneers of New Journalism. Didion's career began in the 1950s after she won ...
writes that Ben Toledano's wife suggested she visit Stanton Hall as well as the Asphodel Plantation, the Oakley Plantation and the Rosedown Plantation to understand the South better.
Notes
References
External links
Official Stanton Hall and Longwood website
Natchez on the River: Stanton Hall
{{Smoky Mountain Wrestling
1857 establishments in Mississippi
Antebellum architecture
Historic house museums in Mississippi
Houses completed in 1857
Houses in Natchez, Mississippi
Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Mississippi
Mississippi Landmarks
Museums in Natchez, Mississippi
National Historic Landmarks in Mississippi
National Register of Historic Places in Natchez, Mississippi
Neoclassical architecture in Mississippi