Skipwith Hall
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Skipwith Hall | |
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| Location | Columbia, Tennessee, U.S. |
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| Coordinates | 35°38′28″N 87°08′30″W / 35.6410°N 87.1416°WCoordinates: 35°38′28″N 87°08′30″W / 35.6410°N 87.1416°W |
| Area | 13 acres (5.3 ha) |
| Built | 1815-1816 |
| NRHP Reference # | 77001283[1] |
| Added to NRHP | November 23, 1978[2] |
Skipwith Hall, also known as Oakwood Farm, is a historic mansion in Maury County, Tennessee, USA.
History
The land was granted by George Washington to Nathanael Greene in 1807.[3] However, Greene let his brother-in-law, Captain William Littlefield, settled the land.[3] When Littlefield's son, Newport, Rhode Island native Edward B. Littlefield, married Greene's daughter, Cornelia, recently widowed from Peyton Skipwith, the new couple decided to build a mansion for their plantation.[3][4]
The mansion was built with timber in 1815-1816.[3] It was the residence of Edward Littlefield and his wife Cornelia.[3] It was home to the first piano in Maury County.[4] When he won Lucius J. Polk's seat in the Tennessee Senate, Littlefield moved to Nashville and left the mansion to sons, George G. Skipwith and Peyton H. Skipwith.[3] They formally inherited it in 1836.[3] By 1849, their son George passed it on to the Planters Bank through a deed of trust.[3] Shortly after, the bank sold it to Benjamin Harlan.[3]
Harlan renamed it Oakwood Farm and turned it into a stock farm, importing stock from Spain and selling it in the South.[3] Meanwhile, Harlan hired architect Nathan Vaught to redesign the mansion.[3] Vaught added "six white pillars and a grand veranda."[4] According to local historian Reid Smith, Harlan added his "own special trademark of hospitality" with "A little Negro slave boy [who], stationed in the shade of a mighty oak along the pike, stood ever ready with a drink of spring water for each and every passerby."[4]
The property was later inherited by Harlan's descendants, who were still the owners of the mansion in the 1970s.[3]
Architectural significance
It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since November 23, 1978.[2]
References
- ↑ National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
- 1 2 "Skipwith Hall". National Park Service. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "National Register of Historic Places Inventory--Nomination Form: Skipwith Hall". National Park Service. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 Smith, Reid (1983). Majestic Middle Tennessee. Gretna, Louisiana: Pelican Publishing Company. p. 31.