American homes prior to the Civil War (1861–65) were predominantly characterized by Georgian, Neoclassical, and Greek Revival styles—not so for a Natchez, Mississippi-area mansion called Longwood. While it does display some of the era’s popular architectural styles, distinctiveness is apparent in the mansion’s interior and exterior design elements.
Longwood’s looming presence among oaks dripping with Spanish moss is primarily noteworthy for being America’s largest existing octagonal-style residential structure, with its remarkable eight-sided floorplan and centerpiece cupola and dome. Although Natchez boasts several ornately decorated dwellings, Longwood stands out with its Oriental Revival style that combines both Italianate and Moorish characteristics.
According to curators at the Historic Natchez Foundation, Italianate aspects are particularly evident in the arched openings, and sawn millwork, including balustrades, brackets, arcaded frontispieces (decorative façade), spandrels (triangular shapes in the curve of an arch), and crestings (an ornamental ridge at the top of a wall). The onion-shaped dome and tall minaret are distinctly Moorish in design.
While it seems that Philadelphia architect Samuel Sloan’s 1859 project was seemingly a hodgepodge of ideas, Longwood illustrates an exotic and eclectic phase of architectural romanticism that flourished from the early- to mid-19th century.
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Deena Bouknight
Author
A 30-plus-year writer-journalist, Deena C. Bouknight works from her Western North Carolina mountain cottage and has contributed articles on food culture, travel, people, and more to local, regional, national, and international publications. She has written three novels, including the only historical fiction about the East Coast’s worst earthquake. Her website is DeenaBouknightWriting.com