Wessyngton (Cedar Hill, Tennessee)

Wessyngton is a historic mansion on a former tobacco plantation in Cedar Hill, Tennessee, U.S. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Wessyngton
Nearest cityCedar Hill, Tennessee
Coordinates36°30′05″N 87°00′14″W
Area15,000 acres (6,100 ha)
Built1815
Architectural styleFederal
NRHP reference No.71000830[1]
Added to NRHPMay 6, 1971

History

The house was built in 1815 for Joseph Washington, his wife Mary née Cheatham, and their infant son George Augustine Washington (1815-1892). Washington developed it as a tobacco plantation, and his son continued to operate it for that commodity crop.[2]

George served in the Tennessee General Assembly from 1873 to 1875. His son Joseph E. Washington followed him into politics, serving in the United States House of Representatives from 1887 to 1897.[2] In 1860 George owned 274 slaves, who cultivated thousands of acres of land. After the war and emancipation, most of the freedmen stayed on the plantation, with some working as domestic servants for the family, and most as sharecroppers.[3] In the 1890s, Joseph Washington and his wife commissioned portraits of some of their servants from noted artist Maria Howard Weeden of Huntsville, Alabama.[4]

After Joseph's death, his widow Mary Bolling Kemp Washington owned the plantation from 1915 to 1938. After her death, it passed to their three children.[3]

The Washingtons grew tobacco on the plantation, which was known as the largest tobacco plantation in the United States. [2][3] It 1976 it was recognized as a Century Farm.[3]

Architectural significance

The house was designed in the Federal architectural style.[2] It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since May 6, 1971.[5]

Further reading
  • Babson, David W.; Orser, Charles E. (1994). Families and Cabins: Archaeological and Historical Investigations at Wessyngton Plantation, Robertson County, Tennessee. Normal, Illinois: Illinois State University. OCLC 34707614.
  • Baker, John F. (2010). The Washingtons of Wessyngton Plantation: Stories of My Family's Journey to Freedom. New York: Atria Books. ISBN 9781416567417. OCLC 424555333.
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References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Wessyngton". National Park Service. United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved March 2, 2018. With three photos from 1971.
  3. Van West, Carroll. "Wessyngton Plantation". The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture. Tennessee Historical Society and the University of Tennessee Press. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
  4. Baker, John F. (2010). The Washingtons of Wessyngton Plantation: Stories of My Family's Journey to Freedom. New York: Atria Books. p. 327. ISBN 9781416567417. OCLC 424555333.
  5. "Wessyngton". National Park Service. United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
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