Auburn (Natchez, Mississippi)

Auburn
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
Mississippi Landmark
File:Auburn, Auburn Boulevard, Duncan Memorial Park, Natchez vicinity (Adams County, Mississippi).jpg
Auburn, Duncan Park in 1936
Location	Duncan Park, Natchez, Mississippi
Coordinates
Area	4.2 acres (17,000 m2)
Built	1812
Architect	Levi Weeks
Architectural style	antebellum Federal style
NRHP Reference #	74001047
USMS #	001-NAT-4002-NHL-ML
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	May 30, 1974
Designated NHL	May 30, 1974
Designated USMS	January 5, 1984

Auburn is an Antebellum Greek Revival mansion in Duncan Park in Natchez, Mississippi. It was designed and constructed by Levi Weeks in 1812, the first planned building in the town. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1974 and a Mississippi Landmark in 1984.

History

In 1811, Lyman Harding, the first Attorney General of Mississippi, hired Levi Weeks, a young self-proclaimed architect, to design and build the mansion. The original building was 60 feet (18 m) by 45 feet (14 m) with a two story portico supported by four columns and includes an unusual floating spiral staircase between the first and second floors. Levi Weeks designed the house to be, in his words, the "most magnificent building in the state."

After Harding died in 1820, the building was bought by Dr. Stephen Duncan, who expanded the house to include two symmetrical wings, greatly expanding interior space. Duncan later abandoned the building amidst growing secession tensions just before the American Civil War, and the house was placed in the care of his descendants.

The building and 222 acres (90 ha) was sold by the family to the city of Natchez in 1911 and is now a historic house museum in a public park.

External links

• Official website
• Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. MS-9, "Auburn, Auburn Boulevard, Duncan Memorial Park, Natchez vicinity, Adams County, MS"