Mansions are fascinating, oozing with extravagant opulence
or dripping with Southern charm and magnificent splendor, like the plantation
homes in the South.
It’s fascinating to walk inside these stately residences and
wonder about their histories and the secrets they hold. And of course, stroll
the lush gardens that surround many of these glorious structures, filled with
colorful roses, fragrant wisteria and the wafting scents of magnolia blossoms.
Time
travel may not be possible, but we can experience the next best thing by touring
these living museums that preserve history by keeping the era in which they
were built alive.
Here are some of the most
impressive places to visit.
PHOTO: The Breakers, Newport, Rhode Island. (photo via Flickr/Dale Cruse)
The Breakers
There is certainly no shortage of Gilded Age mansions in
Newport, Rhode Island, but The Breakers is the crown jewel of them all.
This grand 70-room Italian-Renaissance-style mansion was built
between 1893-1895 for Cornelius Vanderbilt II, heir to America’s fortune in
railroads. The stunning chateau occupies 14 acres overlooking Easton Bay, marked
by ornate iron gates and a limestone wall, offering breathtaking ocean views.
Though the construction cost was over $7 billion in the 1890s, the mansion is
valued at well over $150 million
today.
Rosecliff
If visitors have time to take in more than one Newport mansion,
Rosecliff should be next on the list. The property is named for the rose
gardens planted along Newport’s stunning Cliff Walk. The French Baroque Revival “summer
cottage,” was inspired by the Grand Trianon at Versailles with a distinctive
H-shaped layout, white terracotta façade and paired Ionic pilasters and served
as a backdrop to many films, including The Great Gatsby in 1974.
The mansion boasts Newport’s largest private ballroom, a
heart-shaped double staircase, a French Renaissance-style salon with a
limestone fireplace, wood-paneled library for gentlemen and ornate chandeliers.
PHOTO: Biltmore Estate, Asheville, North Carolina. (Photo via Flickr/Blake Lewis)
Biltmore Estate
Located in Asheville, North Carolina, the French
Renaissance–château–style residence built from 1889-1895 by George Washington
Vanderbilt II, consists of 250 rooms, including 35 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, 65
fireplaces, an indoor swimming pool and a bowling alley. The French château’s
architecture includes steep roofs, towers and turrets with conical roofs and
arched windows and doors.
Technically advanced for its era, the estate was powered by
Edison light bulbs, equipped with a fire alarm system, elevators, telephone,
indoor plumbing, heating and electricity.
The château originally sat on 125,000 acres, but today about
8,000 acres encompass the house, formal gardens, winery, Antler Hill Village
and 22 miles of trails. The massive estate remains under the control of the
Vanderbilt’s descendants.
Hearst Castle
Once the home of media magnate William Randolph Hearst, the
stunning, sprawling property located high on a bluff in San Simeon on California’s
Central Coast includes 56 bedrooms, 41 fireplaces, exuberantly adorned indoor
and outdoor swimming pools and an impressive art collection took 28 years to
complete.
Bequeathed to California as a state park, this magnificent
Mediterranean Revival estate once served as a playground for Hollywood legends
like Marilyn Monroe, Cary Grant, Bette Davis and Marion Davies, Hearst’s West
Coast mistress. The residence, guesthouses and gardens were also featured in a
myriad of well-known movies like Spartacus, The Bodyguard and The Godfather.
Henry Morrison Flagler Museum (Photo Credit: Noreen Kompanik)
Henry Morrison Flagler Museum
Also, known as Whitehall, the neoclassical Beaux Arts
structure named after American industrialist Henry Morrison Flagler and located
in Palm Beach, Florida was modeled after grand European palaces of the
Renaissance and Baroque eras.
Completed in 1902 as a lavish wedding gift to his third
wife, Mary Lily Kenan, the estate boasts a grand façade with massive marble
columns, pedimented portico, arched windows and a signature red-tile barrel
roof. The awe-inspiring mansion is comprised of 75 rooms across three stories
with grand marble floors, walls and columns. Spacious rooms that include the
library, music room, billiard room, dining and ballroom are all arranged around
the central courtyard.
An 8,100 square-foot railway palace-style pavilion houses Railcar
No. 91, Flagler’s private luxury railcar built in 1886 for his exclusive use
while overseeing the expansion of his Florida East Coast Railway empire.
Belle Meade Plantation (Photo Credit: Noreen Kompanik)
Belle Meade Plantation
Located in Belle Meade, Tennessee just outside of Nashville, the plantation representing
an architectural showpiece of antebellum Greek Revival design now operates as a
museum. Originally purchased by John Harding in 1806, the land was used to
produce cotton.
At its peak, the estate spanned 5,400 acres and maintained
136 enslaved people. During the Civil War, the mansion was used as a
Confederate Headquarters with bullet holes still lodged in its porch. The plantation was later renowned for thoroughbred breeding. Post-war debt and the Panic
of 1893 led to the estate’s subdivision and sale in 1906. In 1953, the state acquired
the mansion transferring the property to the Association for the Preservation
of Tennessee Antiquities. Visitors will get a window into the plantation’s
slavery history and experience the culture of its winery, restaurant and
magnificent gardens.
Magnolia Plantation
One of America’s oldest plantations, Magnolia was
established in the 1670s as a rice plantation featuring extensive dikes and
earthworks built by enslaved Africans with a link to the Gullah culture. Post Civil War, the property shifted to horticulture.
After a layered history of destruction and rebuilding, Magnolia
Plantation and Gardens is Charleston, South Carolina’s most visited plantation
and still renowned for its 66 acres of magnificent botanical gardens and
waterways. The Victorian-style farmhouse with Gothic Revival elements features
a broad wraparound porch, gabled rooflines, ornamental woodwork, large bay
windows and a steeply pitched roof.
Unlike opulent columned mansions like Belle Meade or The
Breakers, Magnolia’s current home is more charming, reflecting a postbellum
adaptation rather than antebellum showmanship.
Bridge and lake at Magnolia Gardens. (Photo via NatalieMaynor / Flickr)
Boone Hall Plantation
Located in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina just outside of Charleston,
Boone Hall is one of the most iconic and visually stunning plantations in the
U.S. Founded in 1681, it’s one of the oldest continuing operating plantations
in America offering a deep dive into both Southern grandeur and the painful
history of slavery.
One of the plantation’s top draws is the iconic Avenue of
the Oaks with over 80 live oak trees dripping with Spanish moss. The
quarter-mile entrance is one of the most photographed spots in the South,
featured in films like The Notebook and mini-series North and South.
The current main house was built in 1936 in Georgian Revival
style replacing earlier structures but still maintains antebellum aesthetics
with historic furnishings. The preserved row of original brick slave cabins now
houses the powerful ‘Black History in America’ exhibit which chronicles the
lives of the slaves who lived and worked on the property. The Gullah Theater
Presentation shares the cultural contributions of the Gullah people through
live storytelling, song, and language—an essential feature of Lowcountry
heritage.
PHOTO: Oak Alley Plantation preserves and educates on historic plantation life (photo via Navin75/Flickr).
Oak Alley Plantation
Named for the double row of 300-year-old southern live oaks
creating an inviting alley from the Mississippi River up to its main house, the
former sugarcane plantation, located in Vacherie, Louisiana was completed in
1839.
Its Classic Greek Revival architecture is typical of antebellum
grand homes with 28 colossal Doric columns, formal symmetry, high ceilings and
a slate roof. The interior however is less opulent than the monumental
exterior that blends natural grandeur with classical formality, a powerful emblem
of antebellum style and romance. If nothing else, visitors will be in awe of
its stunning live oak tree tunnel.
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