Background of Afton Villa
St Francisville

The Barrow Relatives

RuinsOn Also can eleventh of the yr 1820, Bartholomew Barrow bought 1,025 arpents of land (roughly 867 acres) from his brother, William Bartholomew III of Highland, for the sum of $20,000. This acquisition might cause the production of the attractive gardens of Afton Villa.

Bartholomew Barrow lived in this plantation for nearly 20 years. On the time, the place of dwelling become a white residence with columns and galleries, probable much like Stay Oak. In 1839, Bartholomew bought the Afton belongings to his son, David (1805 – 1874). The census of 1860 files that he turned into the wealthiest guy in West Feliciana Parish.

David Barrow became born in Enfield, North Carolina in 1805. Little or no is understood of his adolescence. The subculture is that he changed into on path to attend Princeton Institution in New Jersey while he stopped for the nighttime at Moseley Corridor in Lenoir County, North Carolina, the house of Matthew and Elizabeth Herring Moseley, who have been on the time exciting their amazing younger granddaughter, Sarah (Sallie) Hatch. Younger David changed into captivated through Sarah and gave up the basis of school and married Sarah as an alternative in 1823. Sallie was once basically fifteen on the time of the marriage, even as David changed into simply 3 years older. In 1830, David and Sallie Barrow made the overland trek from North Carolina to Louisiana. Upon attaining West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana (the outing took one month) they bought or rented a plantation at the Pinckneyville Street contrary Are living Oak, the property which become then owned through William Hill Barrow and his up to date bride Eliza. second wedding dresses for older brides

It really is believed that David standard his new domestic at Solitaire, which were the house of his 0.5-sister, Ann Barrow Ratliff, earlier than her loss of life in 1828. David and Sally lived there simply two years, in which time their daughter Francis died and Sallie had twins that died in a while after their delivery. After the lack of 3 teenagers, David and Sallie made up our minds to go back to North Carolina. In approximately 1832 they moved lower back to the North Carolina dwelling house. In this time 3 greater childrens had been born: Louisa, Francina, and Bartholomew II, generally known as Batt.

In 1836 David Barrow moved to Florida to make a brand new homestead the place a number of his wife’s relations, the Moseleys have been dwelling. In line with his daughter, Mary: “My father…bought a sizable cotton plantation in Florida, on a pleasing lake, and there wonderful disorder got here to them returned. My little sister Louisa, 9 years ancient, died -- such stunning teenagers. They had been buried in Tallahassee, Florida, so solely Batt and myself have been left.”

David and Sallie Barrow remained in Florida simply two years after which they lower back to West Feliciana Parish, in which they lived the rest of their lives. On January nine, 1839 he bought the house Vicinity (later which is called Afton Villa) from his father, Bartholomew, in conjunction with 80-3 slaves and lands in Pointe Coupee Parish for $one hundred ten,000. The Afton Estate were bought through David’s father in 1820 and had a comfy, unpretentious house which was their abode. In spite of the fact that, his greatest planting pastimes had been all the time dependent in Pointe Coupee at the west financial institution of the Mississippi River, in preference to inside the parish the place he resided.

After returning to Louisiana, Sallie gave start to slightly female, Louisa Ann, who died on the age of 2 and is buried within the circle of relatives cemetery at Afton. She had tons affliction all the way through her married existence, yet become stated to had been a most lovely woman. Regrettably, no image of her survives. She died in childbirth in 1846 and was once buried at Afton.

On the time of Sallie’s dying, David Barrow was once best forty years vintage. His daughter Mary used to be married and his son Batt used to be 11 years ancient. Because the tale has been retold, David and his daughter Mary have been sitting within the foyer of the St. Charles Motel in New Orleans whilst he spotted Susan Woolfolk cross via. He turned into at present interested in her and is claimed to have commented to his daughter that he supposed to make her his spouse. Susan became the widow of the past due John A Rowan of Virginia, who became touring New Orleans along with her sister, Sallie Wookfolk Meade. A gathering become organized and in the summertime of 1847, David Barrow, followed via his son, Batt, traveled to Kentucky to marry the attractive younger widow of twenty-six.

Afton VillaWhen David Barrow married his 2d spouse Susan, she observed their modest two-tale house close to St. Francisville in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana never to her liking. To thrill Susan, a astonishing brunet keen on dressing stylishly and aware of residing on a grand scale, Barrow advised her she ought to construct any area she needed, provided that the unique residing remained intact.

Susan agreed with the aid of construction over and round the long-established, smaller home. As a consequence, started out the introduction of Afton Villa and its ideally suited gardens.

Afton Villa was the main implementing property in West Feliciana Parish – the 1849 plantation place of dwelling of a aggravating mistress, Susan Barrow. She lavished eight years on growing the forty-room Gothic Revival mansion, in addition problematic gardens that stretched over 25 acres.

Inspired by means of the stylish Gothic mansions she had noticed in France and alongside the Hudson River, Mrs. Barrow made up our minds upon a Gothic revival dwelling. Structure of the sumptuous towered and turreted French condo commenced in 1849 and took 8 years to finish. The L-formed condominium with 40 rooms, adding fifteen bedrooms, was once among the greatest and most original plantation buildings in Louisiana. The stucco outdoors of the fairy-story fort changed into painstakingly incised and sanded to resemble stone and become decorated with carved cypress.

The Barrows lived at Afton in the course of the Civil Conflict. Following David Barrow's Dying in 1874, Mrs. Barrow left the plantation, under no circumstances returning, and is buried in her local Kentucky.

Afton Villa IndoorsIn 1915, Dr. Robert E. Lewis of Illinois offered Afton Villa, and along with his spouse, made the phenomenal contribution of resurrecting the ancient gardens.

In 1945, Afton Villa grew to be the house of Mr. and Mrs. Wallace Percy who utterly restored the home to its unique grandeur to make it a showplace.

Alas, the house become fully destroyed via hearth in 1963. Most effective the gardens remained...

+2