Building with Antebellum Architecture
Antebellum architecture in America refers to the style of building that existed before the Civil War in the South. Here, wealthy plantation owners built magnificent estates on their land and in towns.
During the antebellum years, Natchez, Mississippi, was a center of wealth and culture, where many cotton barons had estates. Today, these homes still stand and give a view into a past way of life. One of these homes is named Dunleith, a townhouse built in 1856. Dunleith is built in a Greek Revival style that exemplifies the Old South for many people. An important element to the Greek Revival style is a single facade of white columns that are two-stories high. Dunleith has a two-story facade on all four sides, the only house in Mississippi built this way.
It was also common in antebellum years for southern estates to be given a single-word name, like Dunleith. Perhaps the most famous estate ever is the fictional “Tara” in “Gone With the Wind.” In this book, Tara is almost a character and represents a way of life that dies with the Civil War.