Burt-Stark Mansion facts for kids
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Burt-Stark Mansion
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Stark House
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 Location in South Carolina
Location in the United States
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| Location | 306 N. Main St., Abbeville, South Carolina |
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| Area | 3.5 acres (1.4 ha) |
| Built | 1830s |
| Architect | Lesley, David; Cubic (slave) |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 70000559 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | April 3, 1970 |
| Designated NHL | October 5, 1992 |
The Burt-Stark Mansion, also known as the Armistead Burt House, is a historic home in Abbeville, South Carolina. This house is famous because it was the location of the very last important meeting of leaders from the Confederate government. This meeting happened on May 2, 1865. During this time, Jefferson Davis, who was the president of the Confederacy, wanted to keep fighting. However, his advisors all disagreed with him. It was at this moment that Davis realized the Confederate cause for independence was lost.
The Burt-Stark Mansion was named a National Historic Landmark in 1992. This special recognition was given because of the historic meeting that took place there.
Contents
A Special Meeting in History
The House's Story
The Burt-Stark Mansion has had seven different owners over the years. The first owner was David Lesley, who owned the house until he passed away in 1855. He hired an English landscaper named Johnson to design the gardens.
Later, a banker named Andrew Simonds bought the house. In 1862, he sold it to Armistead Burt. Burt was the owner when Jefferson Davis visited the house during the American Civil War.
The Last War Council
Jefferson Davis's wife, Varina Davis, knew Armistead Burt. She had met him when her husband first joined the United States Congress in 1845. When Varina had to leave Richmond, Virginia, Burt invited her and her children to stay at his house.
Varina worried that U.S. soldiers might burn the house for helping her. But Burt told her there would be no better reason for his house to be burned. Varina moved into the mansion on April 17, 1865. A few days later, after Varina had moved further south, Jefferson Davis himself arrived at the house.
On May 2, 1865, in the afternoon, Jefferson Davis held his final war council. This meeting included important people like John C. Breckinridge, who was the Secretary of War, and Judah P. Benjamin, the Secretary of State. Several military officers were also there, including Braxton Bragg and Basil W. Duke.
Davis still wanted to continue the fight. He thought they could use the forces that were west of the Mississippi River. However, everyone else at the meeting disagreed with him. When Davis asked why they were still there, they said it was to make sure he got to safety. After thinking it over, Davis agreed with his advisors. This meeting basically marked the end of the Confederate States of America.
Even though this meeting happened, the very last Confederate land force did not surrender until June 24, 1865. This was when Stand Watie surrendered in Oklahoma. The last Confederate naval ship surrendered even later that year in Liverpool. After the meeting in Abbeville, the cabinet members, Davis, a group of 3,000 soldiers, and the Confederate treasury all went their separate ways.
After the war, in 1868, Armistead Burt had to sell the house due to money problems. A local farmer named James R. Norwood bought it. When he died in 1875, his wife and daughter inherited the house. In 1900, James Samuel Stark and his wife bought the house and worked to fix it up. Their daughter, Mary Stark Davis, inherited it after they passed away.
After Mary Stark Davis died in 1987, the Abbeville Historic Preservation Commission took over the house. They have been giving tours of the Burt-Stark Mansion ever since.
Building the Mansion
Inside and Out
The Burt-Stark Mansion is a beautiful two-story house. It is built in the Greek Revival style and is painted white. The front of the house has a large, two-story porch called a portico. This porch is supported by four square columns. Below the porch, there is a small wooden balcony on the second floor.
The house has a brick foundation and wooden walls. The roof is made of aluminum and tin, with some shingles made of asphalt and cedar. The shutters on all the windows are the original ones from when the house was built.
In the past, there were several other buildings on the property. Today, only the kitchen building is still standing. The inside of the house has large rooms and very high ceilings. The main entrance leads into a central great hall with a special fanlight above the door. On each side of this hall, there is a drawing room. Jefferson Davis held his final war council in the drawing room on the left side. Before the war, the wide double doors could open to turn the entire front area into a large ballroom.
After the war, only a few things were added to the house. These included a bathroom and a new section on the northwest corner, which made the kitchen bigger. Most of the furniture inside the house is from the 1850s and 1860s.
Who Built It?
The Burt-Stark Mansion was built in the 1830s by David Lesley. He was a local lawyer, judge, and a leader in the Presbyterian Church. Lesley had seen a house in the Northern United States that he really liked. He decided to use that house as the design for his own home.
He sent Cubic, an enslaved man who was a very skilled carpenter, to look at the house he admired. Cubic then supervised the building of Lesley's new home, making it a copy of the house Lesley had seen.
