Is Natchez a small town? Kind of. It’s home to about 13,000 people, which may knock it out of the small-town category, but that number pales in comparison to some of Mississippi’s larger cities like Jackson (150,000), Gulfport (73,000), and Southaven (55,000). There are many reasons to visit this charming city nestled along the Mississippi River, including Longwood, the largest octagonal house in the United States.
There are many architectural wonders peppered along the Mighty Mississippi, but none like Longwood.
For starters, it's not often you come across a mansion this massive...that's not completed.
Philadelphia architect Samuel Sloan designed the home in 1859 for Haller Nutt, a local cotton planter.
Timing is everything, and unfortunately for this stately mansion, the timing could not have been worse.
Two years into construction, work was halted due to the Civil War.
Many of the workers were skilled artisans from the north, and once tensions grew, they decided to skedaddle.
The men basically just dropped their tools and headed back home, never to return again. Many of the tools still remain today, peppered around the property.
Unfortunately, Nutt passed away from pneumonia in 1864, and never got to see his dream home completed.
Of the 32-room house, only nine rooms on the first floor were completed, and that’s where Nutt’s wife, Julia, and their children lived.
All in all, the mansion clocks in at 30,000 square feet. If it would have been completed, it would have had 32 rooms, 26 fireplaces, 115 doors, and 96 columns. There is a family cemetery on the grounds, where you'll find the final resting place of the family.
More than a million bricks were made to build Longwood, and they were all made right here on the property.
Longwood sat neglected for many years until it was preserved and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1971.
You'd never guess by the exterior that the inside looks the way it does.
Longwood is just full of surprises. Speaking of surprises, you may (or may not) be surprised to learn that Longwood is believed to be haunted by the original owners, Julia and Haller Nutt. Maybe they are waiting for the construction to be completed?
Tours are operated daily, and you can schedule one on the website.
If the paranormal side of Longwood got your attention, maybe you'll want to book a room at one of Mississippi's most haunted hotels.
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