Waverley is a

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 ...

, formerly a

plantation house A plantation house is the main house of a plantation, often a substantial farmhouse, which often serves as a symbol for the plantation as a whole. Plantation houses in the Southern United States and in other areas are known as quite grand and e ...

and now 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 ...

, in

Clay County, Mississippi Clay County is a county in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2010 census, the population was 20,634. Its county seat is West Point. Its name is in honor of American statesman Henry Clay, member of the United States Senate from Kentucky ...

, ten miles east of

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

. Built in the 1838, it is architecturally unique among Mississippi's antebellum mansions for its enormous octagonal cupola. It 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 1973.

Description

Waverley is located roughly midway between West Point and

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

, on the northeast side of Waverley Road south of

Mississippi Highway 50 Mississippi Highway 50 (MS 50) is a state highway in Mississippi. It generally follows an east/west track for and runs from MS 9 in Walthall, Mississippi, east to the Alabama state line east of Columbus. MS 50 serves the following Mississippi c ...

. It is set overlooking the

Tombigbee River The Tombigbee River is a tributary of the Mobile River, approximately 200 mi (325 km) long, in the U.S. states of Mississippi and Alabama. Together with the Alabama, it merges to form the short Mobile River before the latter empties int ...

on a small portion of the original plantation land. The main house is a basically H-shaped two story structure, with a hip roof from which an oversized octagonal cupola rises another two stories. The building's Greek Revival features include corner pilasters and a dentillated cornice. The interior is richly decorated, with four rooms on each level opening into a central octagonal space. Hanging from the center of the cupola is the original gas-fired chandelier.

History

The

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 ...

home was originally owned by George Hampton Young, a colonel from

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. Young named the home after

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy' ...

's novel ''Waverley''. From its accepted date of completion in 1852, the Waverley Plantation was a self-sustaining community, complete with gardens, orchards and livestock. It maintained a

brick kiln Brick Kiln is a settlement in the east of the island of Nevis in Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Kitts and Nevis (), officially the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis, is an island country and microstate consisting of the two islands ...

cotton gin A cotton gin—meaning "cotton engine"—is a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, enabling much greater productivity than manual cotton separation.. Reprinted by McGraw-Hill, New York and London, 1926 (); a ...

, ice house and

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...

with a

bathhouse Public baths originated when most people in population centers did not have access to private bathing facilities. Though termed "public", they have often been restricted according to gender, religious affiliation, personal membership, and other cr ...

. Gas for the chandeliers was produced by burning pine knots in a retort. In later years, Waverley had its own lumber mill, leather tannery and hat manufacturing operation. It is believed that the first American-made saddle blankets were produced at Waverley and the first fox hunt association was formed in the mansion's library in 1893. The mansion fell into disrepair following the end of the Young family line in 1913, but was restored by the Robert Snow family beginning in 1962.http://www.wpms.net/waverley_mansion.htm ''Waverley Mansion''. The City of West Point, Mississippi. Retrieved 2009-03-13. The house is open for tours Sunday - 1 pm - 5pm; Tuesday - Saturday - 9 am - 5 pm.

References

External links

Waverly Mansion
- City of West Point

- ExploreSouthernHistory.com {{National Register of Historic Places Historic house museums in Mississippi Museums in Clay County, Mississippi Plantation houses in Mississippi Houses completed in 1852 National Historic Landmarks in Mississippi Octagon houses in the United States Historic American Buildings Survey in Mississippi Antebellum architecture Greek Revival houses in Mississippi National Register of Historic Places in Clay County, Mississippi 1852 establishments in Mississippi Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Mississippi