Hall

Stanton Hall, one of the most magnificent houses of antebellum America, stands on a rise on High Street, bordered by Pearl Street on the west and Commerce Street on the east.

The magnificent Greek Revival-style house is surrounded by huge live oak trees more than a century old and is approached by entrances on each side leading to the front of the house.

Stanton Hall was built by Frederick Stanton, one of three brothers who came to America from Belfast, Ireland, in 1815. He settled in the Natchez area and married Hulda Helm.

Stanton became immensely wealthy as a cotton planter and cotton commission broker.

In 1849, Stanton bought the square on which he was to build his dream house; construction was completed in 1857. Building the mansion to the designs of Natchez architect- builder Thomas Rose, Stanton spared no expense.

Though Stanton did seek some of the furnishings for his mansion from outside Natchez, his confidence in the skills of local artisans was so high that all the

Apicturesque cottage-villa, quaint Glenfield nestles on a low hillside in Natchez, with approximately 150 acres of land surrounding it.

The building, like many other old Natchez homes, consists of two distinct sections each dating to a different era. Investigation into the construction of the house has revealed that, without doubt, the rear wing is the original house erected about 1812 by Charles B. Green for his wife, Helen Andres Girrault.

This portion bears all the earmarks of age and the construction techniques that would have been used during that early period. The walls are thick and built entirely to the ground.

The ceilings are low and the windows small and heavily shuttered to ward off prowling forest animals so prevalent in the early days of the Natchez settlement when much of the land continued to be undeveloped.

Perhaps the most interesting part of this old portion is the back gallery work on the edifice was done by Natchez architects, builders, artists and finishers.

The main hall is of impressive dimensions, with ceilings almost 17-feet high. An exquisitely carved overhead arch breaks the extreme length of the hall.

Circular arabesques embellish the ceilings, which are also bordered by narrow geometrical friezes. Furnishings in the hall include matching bronze chandeliers, which, like those in other rooms of the house, are attributed to the Cornelius firm of Philadelphia, Pa.

To the right of the hall are a large front parlor and smaller back parlor, sometimes called a music room. Together, these rooms are 72-feet long.

The length of the front parlor is broken by an elaborately carved and unsupported arch similar to the arch in the hall. Mantels in the parlors are of finest white Carrara marble, richly carved with fruits and flowers.

Silver-plated hardware is used on door knobs, hinges, key escutcheons, lock plates and call bells. Mirrors are original to the house, specially made in France. The parlor includes a matched set of highly carved Victorian furniture and a pair of pier tables with marble columns. floored with bricks and enclosed with thick handmade blinds.

The beautiful carpet in both parlors is a reproduction of an 1850 Natchez design. It was made for Stanton Hall at the Ax Minster Carpet Mills in Greenville.

The small parlor contains an antique piano and an ornately carved window seat or meridienne made by John Belter of New York.

On the other side of the main hall is a library, containing an elaborately carved bookcase, two side chairs, a desk and desk chair belonging to Frederick Stanton and returned to Stanton Hall by his heirs.

Also on this side of the hall is a formal 35-foot dining room, centered with a Natchez-made dining table. Other furnishings include a set of early Empire chairs and a breakfront containing a large set of Old Paris china. Probably the most stunning items in the dining room are the many pieces of antique silver hollowware.

Some of the original Stanton Hall furnishings on display at the house include a highly carved American Gothic hat rack and two matching tall chairs.

An old floor cistern and hickory pins used in its construction are other evidences of the age of the house and the period of its construction. The front portion of Glenfield is built at right angles with the original wing.

Like other homes of its period, Glenfield is deceivingly large.

A tour through the house reveals it contains more rooms than some of the showier mansions in Natchez built during the Greek Revival era. The architectural style of the house is dis- tinctly Gothic, a style that became popular in Natchez in the 1850s and is evident in the mansion Edgewood, not on tour for the Pilgrimage and located in the Pine Ridge community, and in St. Mary Basilica in downtown Natchez. Glenfield has a unique floor plan a large central living room flanked on each side by twin halls.

Thus two doors open onto a narrow front porch featuring slender pillars. Between the doors is an ornate Gothic window with heavy, handmade blinds.

This section contains high-ceiling rooms centered by impressive marble mantels.

The dining room at Glenfield occupies the left side of the building and contains a number of interesting antiques.

The home is near the site of a skirmish that took place during the Civil War, and bullet holes made by contending forces can still be seen in the front door of the house.

Glenfield was featured on early Natchez pilgrimages, including the first in 1932.

The handsome house is located at 6 Providence Road and not far from the high bluffs that characterize the east banks of the Mississippi River at Natchez.

Owners and residents of Glenfield are Mr. and Mrs. Lester Meng Jr. The house has been in Mrs. Meng’s family, the Field family, since shortly after the Civil War.

Situated on a hill in downtown Natchez, Oak Hill is a blend of two significant architectural styles.

The home was built in 1835 when the classic Federal style was beginning to give way to Greek Revival architecture. The house, built in the style of a planter’s cottage, features a front gallery with turned wood columns indicative of Federal-style architecture as well as interior details that were popular with Greek Revival style.

The home, designed by Jacob Byers, who also designed Melrose in Natchez, was built for William A. and Elizabeth Beatty. A survey of the vacant lot coupled with records of the sale of construction materials found in the antebellum papers of Andrew Brown’s sawmill were used to authenticate the date of construction. The total cost to build the two-story structure was recorded to be $3,874.57.

Because of amount of architectural integrity maintained at Oak Hill, it has become one of downtown’s most significant properties. All the original millwork, including substantial mantel pieces, paneled doors and window and door trim, remain. Doors in the main house still have their original Carpenter and Co. locks dating from the 1830s. Also unique to Oak Hill is the well- planned placement of windows. Sliding windows in the board partitions between the hallway on the second floor provided cross ventilation and a sort of natural air conditioning.

In 1970, the house underwent a delicate restoration process that included the construction of new rear wing. This new wing incorporated an original detached building. The new construction blends well with the original main house.

The floors of the main house are the original cypress floors while the addition features old pine flooring. The interior of the house is beautifully appointed with significant New York Empire pieces and a French mechanical bird that dates to 1832. A signed Carrara marble lamp that dates to the 1850s is also displayed. The home’s collection also features an elaborate silk embroidery made by the Ursuline nuns of New Orleans in the 1860s.

The large lot on which Oak Hill is located also helps set this home apart from others. A recent emphasis has been placed on the restoration of the gardens of Oak Hill.

The home, purchased by Donald McGlynn and Douglas Mauro in 2004, won the Historic Natchez Foundation Award for Restoration in 2005.