| The home of John Routh, "at one time the largest cotton planter in the world," and was owned by Charles Clark, the Civil War governor of Mississippi. The fine and unusual elements of the local vernacular Federal style found at Routhland in combination with well-detailed features of the mid-nineteenth century give it architectural significance in addition to its historic significance. The following was compiled by Mimi Miller, Historic Natchez Foundation, c.1986: "Stylistic and documentary evidence suggest that Routhland was probably constructed c.1815, the year John Routh married Anna Smith (Marriage book 1:313). The had definitely been built by 1824, when John's father Job Routh had 'surveyed and laid off for Mr. John Routh including his house a Lot of Land containing Ten Acres' (Deed Book N:458). "The present Routhland is the third Natchez house to be called Routhland, and all three were constructed on the same 180-acre plantation near downtown Natchez. The first Routhland was probably begun in the 18th century and was located on property acquired in 1794 by Job Routh. This early house burned in 1855, when it had become the property of Job Routh's daughter and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs Charles Dahlgren (THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT, January 24, 1886). The Dahlgrens rebuilt on the same site a much grander Greek Revival mansion, now known as Dunleith, but originally called Routhland (NATCHEZ DAILY COURIER, March 25, 1859). The name was changed to Dunleith about 1859 by a new owner. When the name Routhland was abandoned, it was then attached to the present Routhland. "Routhland's present architectural character is a blend of the Federal and Greek Revival styles with minor elements of the Rococo and Gothic Revival. However, the basic floor plan of the original house (56' by 46') is evident. The original house had a center hall plan, two room deep. From the back gallery, a door in the rear wall opens onto a narrow straight flight of stairs which leads up to two unequally sized rooms. The upper-story rooms are lighted by two original rear dormers containing sash with semi-elliptical heads of a naïve design. These dormers are matched by two others on the front, which are walled off from the interior and hidden on the exterior by the portico, which was obviously an early addition. Although the house has been enlarged and remodeled, much of the early delicately molded, Federal-style millwork survives. "The house enjoys a park-like setting in landscaped grounds, and almost all the property historically associated with the house is intact." This house was listed on the National Register on 22 August 1977, with 20 acres of land. It is included in "The Majesty of Natchez" (1969/1981/1986) (pp. 56-57), "Old Homes of Mississippi, Volume I: Natchez and the South" (1977) (p. 64), "The Great Houses of Natchez" (pp. 101-102), and "Louisiana Architecture, 1714-1820" (2004) (pp. 257-258). |