Dunleith facts for kids
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Dunleith
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 Location in Mississippi
Location in the United States
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| Location | 84 Homochitto Street, Natchez, Mississippi |
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| Area | 40 acres (16 ha) |
| Built | 1855 |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 72000684 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | September 14, 1972 |
| Designated NHL | December 2, 1974 |
Dunleith is a beautiful old mansion located at 84 Homochitto Street in Natchez, Mississippi. It was built around 1855. This house is special because it's the only one left in Mississippi that has a full circle of Greek Revival columns all around it. This style was more common a long time ago.
Today, Dunleith is used as an inn and a place for meetings. It was recognized as a National Historic Landmark in 1974. The old horse stable on the property is now a fancy restaurant with a traditional English pub downstairs.
What Dunleith Looks Like
The main house at Dunleith has 12 rooms. It sits on about 40 acres of land. There are also several other buildings nearby. These include a carriage house, a dairy barn, and a poultry house. There's also a three-story brick building. This building used to hold the kitchen, laundry, and living areas for enslaved people.
The main house is designed in the Greek Revival style. It has 26 large columns made of brick and stucco. These columns go all the way around the house. There are also porches on both the first and second floors. These porches have pretty iron railings. Some windows on the first floor can roll up. This makes them act like doorways, similar to windows found in Monticello.
The Story of Dunleith
The land where Dunleith stands once had an older house. It was called Routhland and was built in the 1790s by Job Routh. His daughter, Mary Routh, later owned it. In 1855, lightning struck Routhland, and it burned down.
Mary's husband, General Charles G. Dahlgren, then built the Dunleith house we see today. In 1858, he sold it for $30,000. That was a lot of money back then! The new owner was Alfred Vidal Davis, who renamed the house Dunleith.
Dunleith has been featured in movies and TV shows. Parts of the 1957 film Raintree County were filmed there. A section of the 1974 movie Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn was also filmed at Dunleith. In 1998, an episode of the TV show Promised Land used the house as a filming location.
Since 1976, Dunleith was a historic inn. It offered tours and rooms for guests. It also had a restaurant and was a place for events. In February 2019, the property changed ownership. It continues to be used as a hotel, restaurant, and event space. The historic inn has 22 guest rooms. These rooms are in the main house, the courtyard building, and the dairy barn. Many different spaces are available for weddings, meetings, and family gatherings. The Castle Restaurant & Pub is in the old carriage house, built around 1790. It serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
One important person connected to Dunleith was John Roy Lynch. He was born into slavery in Louisiana. He taught himself to read and write. Later, he became the first African-American Speaker of the House of Representatives in Mississippi. He was also one of the first African-American U.S. Congressmen. John Roy Lynch studied law and wrote several books. He held many important political and military jobs throughout his long life. He passed away in Chicago in 1939 at 92 years old. He was buried with military honors in Arlington National Cemetery. This was because of his service as a Congressman and military officer.
See also
In Spanish: Dunleith para niños
