====== Gaineswood: A Historic Plantation House with Ghostly Legends ======

Gaineswood, located in Demopolis, Alabama, is a notable plantation house renowned for its grand Greek Revival architecture. It stands as one of the most significant examples of this architectural style in Alabama and holds a prominent place in the state's historical and architectural heritage.

==== History ====

Gaineswood was designed and constructed by General Nathan Bryan Whitfield, starting in 1843. Initially built as a dog-trot cabin, it evolved into a grand mansion over nearly 20 years. Whitfield, a cotton planter who relocated from North Carolina to Marengo County in 1834, named his estate Marlmont before renaming it Gaineswood in 1856 to honor George Strother Gaines, the property's former owner. Gaineswood was completed in its current form just before the American Civil War.

Whitfield acquired the 480-acre property from George Gaines in 1842 and expanded his holdings significantly. By 1860, Whitfield owned around 7,200 acres with 235 enslaved individuals working his land, producing nearly 600 bales of cotton annually.

The estate's grounds were historically significant even before Whitfield's time. George Gaines, serving as a U.S. Indian Agent, is reputed to have met the Choctaw chief Pushmataha under an old oak tree on the site, negotiating terms for the Choctaw removal to Indian Territory. This tree became known as the Pushmataha Oak.

After Whitfield's death, the house was passed to his son, Dr. Bryan Watkins Whitfield. The family retained ownership until 1923 when the estate was sold. It was eventually acquired by the state of Alabama in 1966 and has been operated as a historic house museum by the Alabama Historical Commission since then.

==== Architecture ====

Gaineswood is renowned for its Greek Revival architecture and is often cited as "Alabama's finest neoclassical house." The mansion is unique in its use of all three ancient Greek architectural orders: Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. The house features a partially asymmetrical layout and was designed using pattern books by James Stuart, Minard Lafever, and Nicholas Revett.

The exterior is covered in decorative stucco over brick to mimic ashlar blocks and is supported by eighteen fluted Doric columns and fourteen plain square pillars. The property includes several outbuildings, including a cook's house, a garden pavilion with Corinthian columns, and a monumental gatehouse, all dating back to the antebellum period. The gatehouse had to be relocated due to street widening in the 20th century.

Inside, Gaineswood boasts elaborate plasterwork and domed ceilings in the library and dining room. The interior features fluted Ionic and Corinthian columns, a coffered ceiling in the ballroom, and a distinctive lantern dome that admits daylight into the interior spaces.

The estate also includes a drainage canal, dug by enslaved people under Whitfield's direction to prevent flooding. The canal, over a mile long and 30 feet deep in places, channels surface water into the Tombigbee River.

==== Present ====

Gaineswood is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1973. The estate is managed by the Alabama Historical Commission, which has undertaken significant preservation efforts, including repairs to moisture damage on the ceiling and dome.

Much of the original Whitfield family furniture and statuary has been donated or sold to the Historical Commission, and notable pieces like "The Burning of the Eliza Battle," painted by Nathan B. Whitfield, are still displayed at Gaineswood.

==== Folklore ====

Gaineswood is reputed to be haunted by the ghost of a former housekeeper from Virginia. She was responsible for managing the house for General Whitfield after his wife’s death. According to local legend, her ghost is often heard playing the piano in the music room.

==== References ====

  * "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  * "Gaineswood". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. September 15, 2007. Archived from the original on March 1, 2009.
  * Gamble, Robert. *Historic Architecture in Alabama: A Guide to Styles and Types, 1810-1930*. Tuscaloosa, Alabama: The University of Alabama Press, 1990. ISBN 0-8173-1134-3.
  * Hammond, Ralph. *Ante-bellum Mansions of Alabama*. New York: Architectural Book Publishers, 1951. ISBN 0-517-02075-0.
  * Marengo County Heritage Book Committee. *The Heritage of Marengo County, Alabama*. Clanton, Alabama: Heritage Publishing Consultants, 2000. ISBN 1-891647-58-X.
  * "Gaineswood". Alabama Historical Commission. Archived from the original on August 27, 2007. Retrieved September 18, 2007.
  * "National Historic Landmarks Program". Gaineswood. Archived from the original on March 1, 2009. Retrieved September 19, 2007.
  * "Alabama Department of Archives and History". Whitfield Canal Historical Marker. Archived from the original on August 21, 2007. Retrieved September 19, 2007.
  * "Gaineswood Nomination" (PDF). National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination. National Park Service. September 13, 1971. Retrieved January 9, 2008.
  * "The Burning of the Eliza Battle, (painting)". Art Inventories Catalog. Smithsonian American Art Museum. Retrieved October 10, 2010.

==== External Links ====

  * [Alabama Historical Commission: Gaineswood](https://www.ahc.alabama.gov/gaineswood.html)
  * [National Historic Landmark Nomination Photos of Gaineswood](https://www.nps.gov/places/gaineswood.htm)