Walnut Hall, also known as the Willie P. Mangum House, was a plantation in

Durham County, North Carolina Durham County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 324,833, making it the sixth-most populous county in North Carolina. Its county seat is Durham, which is the only incorporate ...

, near Bahama. It was the estate of Willie Person Mangum, who served as President pro tempore of the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

. Walnut Hall was a 600-acre plantation that produced tobacco, corn, and wheat through the

forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, or violence, including death or other forms of ...

enslaved people Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

. In 1863, Mangum's daughter, Martha Person Mangum, started a school for girls at the plantation. The plantation was later sold to William B. Hampton. In 1933, a large section of the house was destroyed in a fire. The remaining structure of the house was destroyed in another fire in 1980. Since 1977, the land where Walnut Hall stood has been part of the G.W. Hill Forest, managed by

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and p ...

. The family cemetery, which remains on the property, is the burial place of Senator Mangum and his former teacher, John Chavis.

History

Walnut Hall was built by the politician Willie Person Mangum, who served as President pro tempore of the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

. The house was built as an addition to his father's home, which was built around 1800. The house, originally styled after the nearby Fairntosh Plantation, was constructed between 1842 and 1845 in northern Durham, near Red Mountain, in present-day Bahama. Mangum named his 600-acre estate for two large walnut trees growing on the property. The plantation included the manor house, a kitchen, an icehouse, a smokehouse, an office building, a carriage house, a carriage driver's house, several barns, and three houses for enslaved people. Mangum planted various specimens of trees and other plants at Walnut Hall that he procured in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Mangum's wife, Charity Cain Mangum, managed the plantation operations. The Mangums enslaved twenty people in 1850, twelve people in 1860, and by 1861 they enslaved four people. Through

forced labor Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, or violence, including death or other forms of ...

of enslaved people, Walnut Hall produced wheat, corn, and tobacco as

cash crops A cash crop, also called profit crop, is an agricultural crop which is grown to sell for profit. It is typically purchased by parties separate from a farm. The term is used to differentiate a marketed crop from a staple crop ("subsistence crop") ...

. After Mangum inherited debts from his father, his father-in-law, William Cain of Pleasant Grove Plantation, saved him from financial ruin. Mangum's wife maintained a rose garden, a rose arbor, a summer house of cedars, and an orchard. Some of the trees on the estate were brought from Pennsylvania by Mangum's grandparents before the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

. Mangum retired from politics in 1856 and remained at Walnut Hall for the remainder of his life. The 6th North Carolina Regiment Flat River Guards of the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...

, which included Mangum's son, William Preston Mangum, marched to Walnut Hall before leaving to fight in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. Mangum's son died less than a month later, during the

First Battle of Bull Run The First Battle of Bull Run, called the Battle of First Manassas
. by Confederate States ...

. Mangum died shortly after that, on September 7, 1861. He and his son were both buried in the family cemetery at Walnut Hall. Mangum's former teacher, a free black man named John Chavis, is also buried in the Mangum cemetery.Shaw, G. C. ''John Chavis, 1763–1838'', Binghamton, New York: The Vail-Ballou Press, 1931 After the death of her husband, Charity Cain Mangum and her daughters continued to resided at the plantation, where they managed the farm while selling off portions of the land to their neighbor, Zachariah Hampton. One of their daughters, Martha Person Mangum, started a girls' school at Walnut Hall in 1863. Martha and her sister, Mary Sutherland Mangum, resided at Walnut Hall until their deaths in 1902. After the deaths of Mary and Martha, the plantation was placed into a public auction, excluding the family cemetery from the sale, which remained in the Mangum family. Walnut Hall was purchased by William B. Hampton, a neighbor of the Mangum family, for $3,850 for 565 acres. The Hampton family lived at Walnut Hall until 1916, when they moved to Braggtown, after which they rented the house to various tenants. By 1929, the manor house had fallen into bad shape. On December 24, 1933, the 1845 section of the house was destroyed in a fire. The property remained in the Hampton family until 1977 when it was acquired by the

's School of Forestry and was added to the adjacent G.W. Hill Forest. The original 1800 part of the house burned down in 1980.

References

{{Reflist Cemeteries in North Carolina Defunct girls' schools in the United States Defunct private schools in the United States Defunct schools in North Carolina Demolished buildings and structures in North Carolina Greek Revival houses in North Carolina Houses completed in 1845 Houses in Durham County, North Carolina North Carolina State University Plantation houses in North Carolina Tobacco plantations in the United States