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 US
** Antebellum Georgia
** Antebellum South Carolina
** Antebellum Virginia
* Antebellum architectu ...
house
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...
located near
Fayette in
Jefferson County, Mississippi. It has been associated with many famous people throughout its history.
History
One of the oldest mansions in Mississippi, the Springfield Mansion was built between 1786 and 1791. The original
plantation
Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...
had over
and was purchased by
Thomas M. Green Jr., a wealthy
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
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 curv ...
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 claim that a wedding that took place there in 1791.
Thomas M. Green Sr., the owner's father, was one of the magistrates of the
Mississippi Territory
The Territory of Mississippi was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that was created under an organic act passed by the United States Congress, Congress of the United States. It was approved and signed into law by Presiden ...
and as such, performed the marriage ceremony of
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...
and
Rachel Donelson at the house in August 1791. However, this date and location is disputed, and there is no documentary evidence that the marriage took place at Springfield or even that it took place at all in Mississippi or elsewhere prior to Rachel's legal divorce from
Lewis Robards in 1794.
According to Southern chronicler
Harnett T. Kane, "...the Greens, also went from the Natchez vicinity, leaving their Springfield, a mellowed place of thick red walls and white columns. Toward the bases of the shafts the colors fade; there is a hint of red through the white, and the rich mold-green that only the years can bring are marks of honorable age. But the crowded life of the Greens has no modern counterpart. The house stands in a district of deserted sites that time has left behind."
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)
See also
*
Robards–Donelson–Jackson relationship controversy
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