Charles McLaran House, also known as Riverview and as Burris House, is a historic mansion at 512 Second Street South in

Columbus, Mississippi Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Lowndes County, Mississippi, Lowndes County, on the eastern border of Mississippi, United States, located primarily east, but also north and northeast of the Tombigbee River, which is also part of the ...

. Built in 1847 for a major local landowner, it is a distinctive and particularly grand and well-preserved example of

Greek Revival architecture Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

. It was declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

in 2001. and

Description and history

Riverview is located on a roughly parcel, a reduced portion of its original lot, which occupied an entire city block bounded by First and Second Streets South, and by Fifth and Sixth Avenues South. The property originally housed a small estate, with a number of outbuildings accompanying the main house. Of these, only a single one remains. The property's landscaping includes mature plantings, some of which may date to its early days. The main house is a basically square brick structure, 2-1/2 stories in height, with a raised basement and a low pitch hipped roof that has a large square cupola at its center. The house has two primary facades, one facing east to Second Street, and the other to the west toward 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 i ...

. Each is five bays wide, with the center three bays fronted by massive two-story Greek temple fronts. These porticos have paneled square pillars, which rise to a modillioned and dentillated cornice. The interior is significantly more elaborate than the exterior, with elaborate high-quality plaster and woodwork details. The central hall has a grand spiral staircase that rises up to the cupola. Details from one of the parlors are direct copies from plates appearing in

Minard Lafever Minard Lafever (1798–1854) was an American architect of churches and houses in the United States in the early nineteenth century. Life and career Lafever began life as a carpenter around 1820. At this period in the United States there were no ...

's 1835 ''The Beauties of Modern Architecture''. The house was built in 1847 for Charles McLaran, a native of

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

who was then one of the county's largest landowners. Its design is attributed to James Lull, a native of

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

who came to Columbus in 1837. McLaran only lived in the house until 1856, when he moved to

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Charles Mclaran House National Historic Landmarks in Mississippi Houses in Lowndes County, Mississippi Houses completed in 1847 Plantation houses in Mississippi 1847 establishments in Mississippi National Register of Historic Places in Lowndes County, Mississippi

Description and history

See also

References