Forks of Cypress - a Florence, Alabama Plantation

Classic Southern Style Home Plan

At the confluence of the Big Cypress and Little Cypress creeks stand 36 brick columns, all that is left of the magnificent Forks of Cypress Plantation.

James Jackson, an Irish immigrant who came to the USA and made good, built this magnificent mansion in 1830, as the center of his plantation. He died a decade later but his wife Sarah continued to manage the estate up until the Civil War. Author Alex Haley's slave ancestors once worked on this estate and Union forces used the property as a base camp. Forks of Cypress stands in the heart of its time and place, a perfect image of its most gracious and saddest qualities.

Passing through various owners after the war, it slowly fell into disrepair. Then in the mid-20th century it was miraculously restored to its former beauty, only to be struck by lightning in 1966. It burned to the ground. All that stands today are its brick columns, like soldiers standing guard at an honored grave.

With its porch wrapping around all four sides this mansion is the epitome of Antebellum style. Front and back halls are joined by a wide arch, effectively making one room that stretches the full depth of the house. This encourages cross ventilation throughout the house, an effective cooling strategy for the local warm-humid climate.

Double height columns and the broad porch also protect the walls from the direct rays of hot summer sunshine, helping to keep the place cool.

The house was built with brick and wood. Brick was used for the columns, fireplaces, and chimneys. The columns had stone bases and the brick shafts were plastered to appear as stone. Wood framing with poplar siding was used for the walls and the roof.

The interior fittings demonstrated a high level of design and craftsmanship and the detailed drawings prepared by the Historic American Building Survey (HABS) in the 1930s fortunately preserved many of these details, including its elegant staircase.

Years after its destruction in the tragic fire of 1966 a replica was built in Florence, Alabama, serving as a small office building. It gives a hint of what the mansion might have looked like in its heighday.

Drawings for this southern style home can be found in the collection of Historic American Homes.