Reverie (Marion, Alabama)
Reverie | |
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| Location | 110 West Lafayette Street Marion, Alabama |
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| Coordinates | 32°37′54″N 87°19′13″W / 32.63167°N 87.32028°W |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival |
| Part of | West Marion Historic District (ID92001844[1]) |
Reverie is a historic
History
The property on which Reverie sits was sold on February 9, 1858, for $4,000, a large sum in that day, to Joseph Thompson Whitsitt, a
Carlisle shortly sold the house again on April 28, 1863, to David Scott, a merchant and cotton, grist, and saw mill operator and manufacturer. Scott died on August 9, 1868, and left a will recording the furnishings of the mansion at that time. Harrison H. Hurt, son of a prominent merchant and planter, bought the mansion in 1871 at auction for $4,650. Mr. Hurt's daughter Nellie married Dr. R.C. Hanna and the mansion became known as the Hurt-Hanna House.
After Mrs. Hanna's death in 1944, the house was sold to Dr. William T. Weissinger, who in the course of a distinguished career had been General Douglas MacArthur's physician in the army. Mrs. Weissinger first named the house Reverie which it has remained ever since.[3] Since Dr. Weissinger's death in 1971, the house has been owned by a number of families, each of which maintained it as a residence.
While the house was owned by David Scott in the 1860s, Union troops occupied the town of Marion and used the house as their headquarters. Some markings of these troops can be found in the attic.[4][5]
Architecture
Four white
The mansion is a standard four-room over four-room house with a spacious central hall and grand, unsupported staircase, but also has two story cabinet rooms on the east and west sides. These flanking rooms were unusual at the time and, together with the portico, made the design quite distinctive. Two outbuildings survive: the original kitchen, now connected to the house, and a brick smokehouse.
The interior of the Mansion includes elaborate plaster moldings and medallions, original to house, along with inlaid flooring of oak and mahogany which was added later. The ceiling height downstairs is 14' and upstairs 13' with original heart pine floors in most areas.[4]
In the garden, a
Gallery
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References
- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ Historic American Buildings Survey, #AL-773 (#24), AL-772 (#133), AL-774 (#142).
- ^ a b Hammond, Ralph (1951). Ante-bellum Mansions of Alabama. New York: Bonanza Books.
- ^ a b c d e Hatcher, Gregory, comp. "Reverie Mansion and Gardens, Genteel Memories," 2001.
- ^ ISBN 1-59629-669-0.
Further reading
- Drake, Eleanor (2010). Perry County (Images of America). Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing. p. 45.
- Harris, W. Stuart (1991). Perry County Heritage 1814-77. W. Stuart Harris.