Windsor Ruins

Windsor Ruins
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Mississippi Landmark
Windsor Ruins
Location ofWindsor Ruinsin Mississippi Windsor Ruins (the United States)
Location	Claiborne County, Mississippi
Nearest city	Port Gibson, Mississippi
Coordinates	31°56′26″N91°7′46″W
Area	2.1 acres (0.85 ha)
Built	1859-61
Architectural style	Greek Revival,Italianate
NRHP referenceNo.	71000447
USMSNo.	021-ALC-1001-NR-ML
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	November 23, 1971
Designated USMS	October 11, 1985

Windsor Ruinsare inClaiborne County, Mississippi,United States, about 10 miles (16 km) southwest ofPort GibsonnearAlcorn State University.The ruins consist of 23 standingCorinthian columnsof the largestantebellumGreek Revivalmansion ever built in the state.The mansion stood from 1861 to 1890, when it was destroyed by fire. The 2.1-acre (0.85 ha) site with the columns was added to theNational Register of Historic Placesin 1971 and was designated aMississippi Landmarkin 1985.

History

Background

Windsor mansion was located on aplantationthat covered 2,600 acres (1,100 ha). The mansion was constructed byenslaved African Americansbetween 1859 and 1861 for Smith Coffee Daniell II.He was born in Mississippi and had acquired great wealth by age 30 as acotton planter.In 1849, Smith Daniell married his cousin Catherine Freeland (1830–1903).The couple had six children, with three surviving to adulthood.

Construction

Windsor mansion was built facing theMississippi River,which formed the major transportation route. It was located about 4 mi (6.4 km) east of the river. The architect David Shroder supervised a crew of skilled artisans—carpenters, plasterers, masons, and painters—from Mississippi,northeastern states,and Europe to do finishing work on the mansion.

The footprint for Windsor mansion was set by 29 columns which supported a projected roof line that protected 9 ft (2.7 m) wideverandason the second and third floors.The 29 columns were constructed of bricks that were covered withstucco.Each column was more than 3.5 ft (1.1 m) in diameter at the base and stood 40 ft (12 m) tall. The columns were constructed atop 10 ft (3.0 m) tall, paneled brickplinthsthat were almost 5 ft (1.5 m) square. Bricks were made in an onsitekiln.The fluted columns were crowned with ornate, ironCorinthian capitals.The columns were joined at the height of the third floor by ornamental ironbalustrades.

Column capitals, balustrades, and four cast iron stairways were manufactured inSt. Louisand shipped down the Mississippi River to the Port ofBruinsburg,about 2 mi (3.2 km) west of Windsor mansion.

Description

Windsor mansion was constructed as a three-story block, consisting of a ground floor basement, with living quarters on the second and third floors.The main block was 64 ft (20 m) on each side. A three-storyellprojected from the east side of the main block. The ell measured 59 ft (18 m) by 26.5 ft (8.1 m). Archeological examination suggests that outer walls were constructed of wood covered in stucco. When completed, the 17,000 sq ft (1,600 m²) mansion contained three hallways and 23 to 25 rooms, each with its own fireplace. A featured innovation for that time period was the inclusion of two interior bathrooms supplied with rainwater from a tank in the attic. In 1861, cost of construction was about US$175,000 (equal to $5,934,444 today).

The ground floor basement contained a school room, doctor's office, dairy, commissary, and storage rooms.The second floor had a hallway flanked by the master bedroom, a bathroom, two parlors, a study and a library. In the ell off the second floor was the dining room. Connected to the dining room by adumbwaiterwas the kitchen, located on the ground floor. The third floor contained an additional bath and eight more bedrooms. Eight chimneys extended from theslate-covered roof, and a domedcupolawith glass walls was constructed above the attic, over the main block of the mansion.

On April 12, 1861, Smith Daniell died at age 34, just weeks after construction of the mansion was completed.

Civil War era

Once theAmerican Civil Warbegan in 1861,Confederateforces used the Windsor mansion cupola as an observation platform and signal station.In the spring of 1863, as part of hisVicksburg campaign,Union GeneralUlysses S. Grantand 17,000Uniontroops landed at the port of Bruinsburg and took control of Windsor mansion.Following theBattle of Port Gibson,the mansion was used by Union troops as a hospital and as an observation station. The Daniell family was allowed to live on the third floor of the mansion during the Union occupation.

Sketch of Windsor mansion (May 1, 1863)

Windsor mansion survived the war and continued to be used by the Daniell family as a home and for social gatherings in the area. DuringReconstruction,the family derived income by leasing part of their vast land holdings.

For more than 100 years, the outward appearance of Windsor mansion was a matter of conjecture. But in the early 1990s, an 1863 sketch of Windsor mansion was discovered in the papers of a former Union officer,Henry Otis Dwight,of the20th Ohio Infantry.Historians believe that Henry Dwight made the sketch while his unit was encamped on the grounds of the mansion.

Fire

On February 17, 1890, a fire started on the third floor when a guest dropped ashes from a cigarette or cigar into construction debris left by carpenters who were making repairs.Windsor mansion was destroyed leaving only the columns, balustrades, cast iron stairways, and pieces ofbone china.

Historic site

Windsor Ruins in 2007

Cast iron stairway from Windsor Ruins, now at the entrance to Oakland Memorial Chapel, Alcorn State University

When Catherine Daniell died in 1903, her daughter, Priscilla Daniell, inherited the mansion property.Priscilla married Joseph Magruder, and the mansion site remained in the Magruder family until 1974, when they donated 2.1 acres (0.85 ha), containing the mansion ruins, to the state of Mississippi. The historic site contains 23 standing columns and 5 partial columns; it is administered by theMississippi Department of Archives and History.

Through the years, three of the cast iron stairways, that survived the 1890 fire, disappeared from the site.The fourth stairway was moved toAlcorn State Universityand serves as the entrance toOakland Memorial Chapel.

North of Windsor Ruins is a cemetery where members of the Daniell and Freeland families have been buried since the early 19th century. The earliest grave is that of Frisby Freeland (1747 – 1819), anAmerican Revolutionary Warsoldier.

In popular culture

Windsor's ruins have been shown in two motion pictures—Raintree County(1957) andGhosts of Mississippi(1996).

External links

• Video of the Windsor Ruinsfrom 2016