Bluff Hall & Gaineswood

Bluff Hall & Gaineswood

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We visited two of Demopolis’ Historic Landmarks – Bluff Hall and Gaineswood Mansions. Please make sure you view the pictures. Some of the pictures are dark but I was very excited that we were allowed (without the flash) to take them.

Bluff Hall - was built in 1832 by slaves of Allen Glover for his daughter, Sarah Serena, and her husband, Francis Lyon. The couple used Bluff Hall as a townhouse. The house was one of several homes build atop a limestone cliff overlooking the Tombigbee River. The house is a two-story brick structure, with portions covered by smooth stucco. The double parlor in the interior features two columns that were an anniversary gift to the Lyons from the Whitfield family. (see pic) The Whitfield’s lived nearby at Gaineswood (the other mansion we visited) the house was altered in the 1840’s with the addition of a front portico and large rear wing. The rear wing contained the dining room and kitchen (one of the first kitchens ever added directly to a house). Also, two bedrooms were added to the second floor. In one of the rooms there was a bathtub. (see pic) We were told they did not take baths very often because the water made them sick. (Malaria) And they did not submerge into the water; it was just poured over them.
The house was filled with about 70% original belongs of the family. There were dresses, quilts, toys and other interesting artifacts. In the kitchen she showed us a tin egg crate. There were about 24 egg sized pockets. She said the people ordered fertilized eggs from Sears so they could have different breeds of chickens. She also showed us spoons that were made from silver dollars that had been melted down. Demopolis had its own wallpaper design. There was a one of a kind black powder gun on display that was designed by a local dentist from the 1800’s. (see pic) We were told that Francis Lyon donated 6 million dollars of his own money to keep the banks from going bankrupt during the war. The house, although built by slave labor, was estimated to cost $10,000.

Gaineswood - In the 1820’s George Gaines built a dog-trot cabin where the Gaineswood now stands. Then in 1843 Nathan Whitfield, a wealthy cotton planter, bought the estate and the 480 acres surrounding it from Gaines. Whitfield and his skilled slaves and craftsmen took 18 years to build Gaineswood. The cabin was enlarged and refined into an elegant mansion under the direction of Whitfield, who was his own architect and designer for his neoclassical Greek Revival-style house, even though he had no formal training in those fields.
The house has two huge domed ceilings with ornate plasterwork. There are carved wood columns (like the ones he gave to the Lyon’s couple) through out the house. Whitfield had a passion for design and constantly changed the architecture as the trends changed. He wanted two matching mantles for the drawing room and could not find them so he commissioned someone to make them using his design. He paid $55 each for them.

We were told his wife raised 24 children, which 12 were her own, during their marriage. She died at the age of 45. Because of Whitfield’s passion for architecture he was away from home a lot. His wife was left to manage the home and plantation. There were many letters from her letting him know it was time for him to come home. It is said that after her death he truly regretted being absent as he loved her very deeply.