Ashland - Belle Helene, iconic southern plantation - 1850s
- Designer/Architect: Unknown
- Date of construction: 1823
- Location: Nachez, Mississippi
- Style: Antebellum
- Number of sheets: 10 sheets measuring 18”x24”
Sheet List
- Cover Sheet, Location Plan
- Basement Plan, 1/8”=1’-0"
- First Floor Plan, 1/8”=1’-0”
- Second Floor Plan, 1/8”=1’-0”
- Attic Floor Plan, 1/8”=1’-0”
- Roof Plan, 1/8”=1’-0”
- 3 Sheets of Elevations and details, various scales
- 1 Sheet of Sections and details, various scales
Rosalie was built by Peter Little in 1823. The identity of the designer is not known. Little had moved from Pennsylvania to Natchez as a youth and become a very successful and wealthy cotton broker. When Peter's friend Jacob Lowe and Jacob's wife both caught yellow fever and were dying Little agreed to take on the care of their daughter Eliza, who was 14 at the time. After their deaths, 25 year old Peter Little married Eliza and sent her for several years to a boarding school in Baltimore. Upon her return from Baltimore they set up house together. As they prospered they acquired land that had been developed in the 1700s by French military forces and named Rosalie in honor of the Countess of Pontchartrain. Peter and Eliza chose to keep the name Rosalie for their new mansion. Though they never had children of their own they raised Peter's niece in this home and hosted orphan children from the orphanage which they sponsored.
After the Littles' deaths in the 1850s the house passed on to the Wilson family and during the Civil War served as headquarters for the Union Army after the 1863 Battle of Vicksburg. Rosalie remained in the ownership of the Wilson family until 1838, when the last descendants, Annie and Rebecca, sold it to the Mississippi State Society, Daughters of the American Revolution. They continued living there until their deaths, with Annie passing away at the age of 101 in 1958.
As a work of art these prints are worth purchasing in their own right. For those of you interested in building a historically inspired house, these plans offer an excellent starting point. The house is skillfully designed for a southern climate. A central hall runs straight through from front to back on each floor. On either side are 3 rooms, each opening onto the surrounding colonnade. This arrangement provides for natural ventilation throughout the entire house. This house would be most suited for a flat or low sloping lot. It would be comfortable in a suburban or country setting. Including porches, this house has outside dimensions of approximately 82’ x 82’.
SHIPPING: Your drawings are shipped to you, rolled, not folded, in a Priority Mail tube. This eBay listing includes architectural prints ONLY. Any photos shown in the description are for information only and are NOT included in your purchase. Thanks.
IF YOU ARE PLANNING TO BUILD: These plans are not complete architectural drawings as might be required by your local permitting agency and do not contain all the structural, waterproofing and other details and information necessary for construction. But your local builder or architect should be able to adapt these drawings and add to them as necessary. What they do provide is accurate design information about a REAL historic house, not a pseudo-historic tract house as you will find in the house plan magazines on your supermarket shelf
INTERNATIONAL BUYERS PLEASE NOTE: Orders shipped to addresses outside the USA may be subject to customs duties at their destination. The buyer is responsible for any such duties.
The original drawings from which these dimensionally accurate scans were made are kept at the Historic American Building Survey, in the Library of Congress. (AN015)
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