Lochinvar (Pontotoc, Mississippi)
Encyclopedia
Lochinvar is an antebellum
home near Pontotoc, Mississippi
built by Robert Gordon ca. 1836.
woodwork and handmade bricks highlight the attention to detail of its wealthy owner and the Scottish architects and builders he employed. Solid Doric style columns from a castle
in Scotland
support the front porches, and the balcony railing is carved to resemble English lace. An entirely self-supporting spiral staircase winds to the second floor, and a secret stairway is set between the walls in the back of the house.
woman, Molly Gunn, daughter of William Colbert and wife of James Gunn. Robert Gordon had immigrated to Cotton Gin Port, Mississippi
, from Scotland
. He excelled as a trader in the Native American communities and a landowner, and founded the town of Aberdeen
in Monroe County, Mississippi
. After the Chickasaw Cession of 1832 he purchased two sections of land near Pontotoc, where he built Lochinvar in 1836. He married Mary Elizabeth Walton. Their son, James Gordon, grew up in the house, married Carolina Virginia Wiley, and had two children, Annie and Robert James. James Gordon served as an officer in the Confederate Army under Jeb Stuart and Nathan Bedford Forrest
, and he was briefly suspected of conspiring with John Wilkes Booth
in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln
. James Gordon represented Chickasaw County
in the Mississippi legislature in 1857, 1878, 1886, and 1904-1908; and in December 1909 Governor Edmond F. Noel appointed him to fill the unexpired term of U.S. Senator Anselm J. McLaurin
until the state legislature could elect a new senator in February 1910. James Gordon inherited Lochinvar when his father died in 1867. Lochinvar remained in the Gordon family until 1900, when J. D. Fontaine, an attorney
in Pontotoc, Mississippi
, bought it to use as a tenant house. Dr. Forrest Tutor and his wife, Dr. Janis Burns Tutor, purchased the home from Fontaine's son in 1966 and restored it. The house is on the National Register of Historic Places
. Heavily damaged by a tornado in 2001, Lochinvar has been restored by the Tutors to its former glory. A photo album of the house is maintained by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History
at the link in "External Links" below.
Antebellum architecture
Antebellum architecture is a term used to describe the characteristic neoclassical architectural style of the Southern United States, especially the Old South, from after the birth of the United States in the American Revolution, to the start of the American Civil War...
home near Pontotoc, Mississippi
Pontotoc, Mississippi
Pontotoc is a city in Pontotoc County, Mississippi, United States. Pontotoc is west of the much larger city of Tupelo. The population was 5,625 at the 2010 census...
built by Robert Gordon ca. 1836.
Architecture
The house's heart pinePine
Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...
woodwork and handmade bricks highlight the attention to detail of its wealthy owner and the Scottish architects and builders he employed. Solid Doric style columns from a castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
support the front porches, and the balcony railing is carved to resemble English lace. An entirely self-supporting spiral staircase winds to the second floor, and a secret stairway is set between the walls in the back of the house.
History
The land on which the home stands was bought by Gordon from a ChickasawChickasaw
The Chickasaw are Native American people originally from the region that would become the Southeastern United States...
woman, Molly Gunn, daughter of William Colbert and wife of James Gunn. Robert Gordon had immigrated to Cotton Gin Port, Mississippi
Cotton Gin Port, Mississippi
Cotton Gin Port is a ghost town in Monroe County, Mississippi, United States.-Geography:Cotton Gin Port was located at on the east bank of the Tombigbee river.-History:...
, from Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. He excelled as a trader in the Native American communities and a landowner, and founded the town of Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
in Monroe County, Mississippi
Monroe County, Mississippi
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 38,014 people, 14,603 households, and 10,660 families residing in the county. The population density was 50 people per square mile . There were 16,236 housing units at an average density of 21 per square mile...
. After the Chickasaw Cession of 1832 he purchased two sections of land near Pontotoc, where he built Lochinvar in 1836. He married Mary Elizabeth Walton. Their son, James Gordon, grew up in the house, married Carolina Virginia Wiley, and had two children, Annie and Robert James. James Gordon served as an officer in the Confederate Army under Jeb Stuart and Nathan Bedford Forrest
Nathan Bedford Forrest
Nathan Bedford Forrest was a lieutenant general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. He is remembered both as a self-educated, innovative cavalry leader during the war and as a leading southern advocate in the postwar years...
, and he was briefly suspected of conspiring with John Wilkes Booth
John Wilkes Booth
John Wilkes Booth was an American stage actor who assassinated President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre, in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. Booth was a member of the prominent 19th century Booth theatrical family from Maryland and, by the 1860s, was a well-known actor...
in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
. James Gordon represented Chickasaw County
Chickasaw County, Mississippi
-National protected areas:* Natchez Trace Parkway * Tombigbee National Forest -Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 19,440 people, 7,253 households, and 5,287 families residing in the county. The population density was 39 people per square mile . There were 7,981 housing units at an...
in the Mississippi legislature in 1857, 1878, 1886, and 1904-1908; and in December 1909 Governor Edmond F. Noel appointed him to fill the unexpired term of U.S. Senator Anselm J. McLaurin
Anselm J. McLaurin
Anselm Joseph McLaurin was an American politician from Mississippi.McLaurin was born in Brandon, Mississippi, the son of Ellen Caroline and Lauchlin McLaurin III. A Democrat, he served briefly in the U.S...
until the state legislature could elect a new senator in February 1910. James Gordon inherited Lochinvar when his father died in 1867. Lochinvar remained in the Gordon family until 1900, when J. D. Fontaine, an attorney
Attorney at law
An attorney at law in the United States is a practitioner in a court of law who is legally qualified to prosecute and defend actions in such court on the retainer of clients. Alternative terms include counselor and lawyer...
in Pontotoc, Mississippi
Pontotoc, Mississippi
Pontotoc is a city in Pontotoc County, Mississippi, United States. Pontotoc is west of the much larger city of Tupelo. The population was 5,625 at the 2010 census...
, bought it to use as a tenant house. Dr. Forrest Tutor and his wife, Dr. Janis Burns Tutor, purchased the home from Fontaine's son in 1966 and restored it. The house is on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. Heavily damaged by a tornado in 2001, Lochinvar has been restored by the Tutors to its former glory. A photo album of the house is maintained by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History
Mississippi Department of Archives and History
The Mississippi Department of Archives and History is a state agency of Mississippi. The agency has its headquarters in the William F. Winter Archives and History Building in Jackson. The department, founded in 1902, functions as the state's historical agency.-External links:* *...
at the link in "External Links" below.
External links
- [Lochinvar Photograph Album, http://mdah.state.ms.us/arrec/digital_archives/lochinvar/, n.d. Photos of Lochinvar]