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Thornhill (Forkland, Alabama)
Encyclopedia
Thornhill is a historic plantation
near Forkland
, Alabama
. The Greek Revival
main house was built in 1833 by James Innes Thornton. The house was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
on May 10, 1984.
. He was educated at Washington and Lee University
and then emigrated to Huntsville, Alabama
. He began to practice law there in 1820. He was elected as Alabama's third secretary of state
in 1824 and remained in that position until 1834. After this he retired from public life and became a planter in Greene County
. Thornton married Mary Amelia Glover in 1825, daughter of Allen and Sarah Norwood Glover of Demopolis
. They had two children. Her brother, Williamson Allen Glover, developed the neighboring plantation known as Rosemount
. Mary died after only a few years, in 1831 Thornton remarried to Anne Amelia Smith of Dumfries, Virginia. Anne died in 1864, he then remarried in 1870 for a third and final time to Mrs. Sarah Williams Gould Gowdy, daughter of William Proctor and Eliza Chotard Gould of the Hill of Howth, Boligee. Thornton died at Thornhill on September 13, 1877.
Regarding the Thornton connection to George Washington, Mildred Washington Gregory, George Washington's paternal aunt and godmother, had three daughters who married three Thornton brothers. Mildred Gregory's daughter Frances (circ. 1720-1790)(first cousin of George Washington) married Col. Francis Thornton III (circ. 1711-1748) of Fall Hill. They were the great grandparents of James Innes Thornton.
Thornhill Plantation was developed as a cotton plantation in the early 1830s and extended over 2600 acres (10.5 km²). It utilized the labor of 156 slaves by 1860. About a third of the slaves lived in quarters behind the main house. According to the diary of Josiah Gorgas
, in talking with Thornton at Thornhill on Tuesday, June 6, 1865, less than two months after the end of the Civil War
, Thornton "oppos(ed) ... the doctrine of secession
and necessary deduction that we fought so valiantly (in the War) and bled so freely in a cause radically wrong." Gorgas pointed out however, "He has, I learn however, done his share to sustain the war, & perhaps that consciousness makes him talk the more freely of his former views"
is believed to be the architect of the main house at Thornhill. Nichols became the state architect of Alabama in 1827. He is known for designing the now-destroyed Alabama State Capitol building at Tuscaloosa
and the former Mississippi State Capitol
building in Jackson, Mississippi
. The house at Thornhill was completed by 1833. The monumental two-story portico
with six Ionic
columns was added circa 1850. David Rinehart Anthony, of Eutaw
, is believed to be the builder who made the portico addition and second story balcony (crisscrossed lattice railing). The house measures 55 feet (16.8 m) wide. Inside is a 14 ft (4.3 m) wide by 40 ft (12.2 m) long central hall with a spiral staircase at the back. There are two rooms to either side. The left front room was the parlor, with the dining room behind it. On the front right was the master bedroom with the plantation office behind it. Upstairs is a matching hall and four bedrooms. All eight rooms are 19.5 feet (5.9 m) square. The downstairs rooms have 12 feet (3.7 m) ceilings. The upstairs ceilings are 11 feet (3.4 m). Originally there was a brick kitchen behind the house, it later burned. Additions were made to the original structure from circa 1890 to 1949. They were razed in 1994 and rebuilt to better match the original intent of the house. The house and grounds were extensively recorded by the Historic American Buildings Survey
in 1934. The plantation schoolhouse was constructed circa 1845. The Thornton children, as well as neighboring plantation children, were taught there. Surrounding the schoolhouse are 230-year-old post oaks.
Grandson James Innes Thornton (March 10, 1873 - July 23, 1951) was re-interred in Eutaw
's Mesopotamia Cemetery, next to his second wife, Helen Williamson Allison Thornton (February 15, 1890-December 12, 1963). His first wife, Betty Woolf Thornton (April 23, 1887-September 22, 1932), was re-interred in the Dayton
Cemetery.
Thornton's first wife, Mary Amelia Glover Thornton, is buried in the Glover Mausoleum
at Riverside Cemetery, Demopolis. His third wife, Sarah Williams Gould Gowdy Thornton (June 11, 1824-August 23, 1885), is buried in the Bethsalem Cemetery, Boligee.
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
near Forkland
Forkland, Alabama
Forkland is a town in Greene County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 629. It is part of the Tuscaloosa, Alabama Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:Forkland has one site on the National Register of Historic Places, St...
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
. The Greek Revival
Greek Revival architecture
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in Northern Europe and the United States. A product of Hellenism, it may be looked upon as the last phase in the development of Neoclassical architecture...
main house was built in 1833 by James Innes Thornton. The house was placed 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...
on May 10, 1984.
History
James Innes Thornton was born October 28, 1800, at the Thornton family plantation known as Fall Hill, in Spotsylvania County, VirginiaSpotsylvania County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 90,395 people, 31,308 households, and 24,639 families residing in the county. The population density was 226 people per square mile . There were 33,329 housing units at an average density of 83 per square mile...
. He was educated at Washington and Lee University
Washington and Lee University
Washington and Lee University is a private liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States.The classical school from which Washington and Lee descended was established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, about north of its present location. In 1776 it was renamed Liberty Hall in a burst of...
and then emigrated to Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville is a city located primarily in Madison County in the central part of the far northern region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Huntsville is the county seat of Madison County. The city extends west into neighboring Limestone County. Huntsville's population was 180,105 as of the 2010 Census....
. He began to practice law there in 1820. He was elected as Alabama's third secretary of state
Secretary of State of Alabama
The Secretary of State of Alabama is one of the constitutional officers of the U.S. state of Alabama. The office actually predates the statehood of Alabama, dating back to the Alabama Territory. From 1819 to 1901, the Secretary of State served a two-year term until the State Constitution was...
in 1824 and remained in that position until 1834. After this he retired from public life and became a planter in Greene County
Greene County, Alabama
Greene County is the least populous county in the U.S. state of Alabama. Its name is in honor of Revolutionary War General Nathanael Greene of Rhode Island. As of 2010 the population was 9,045...
. Thornton married Mary Amelia Glover in 1825, daughter of Allen and Sarah Norwood Glover of Demopolis
Demopolis, Alabama
Demopolis is the largest city in Marengo County, Alabama, United States. The population was 7,483 at the time of the 2010 United States Census....
. They had two children. Her brother, Williamson Allen Glover, developed the neighboring plantation known as Rosemount
Rosemount (Forkland, Alabama)
Rosemount is a historic plantation house near Forkland, Alabama. The Greek Revival style house was built in stages between 1832 and the 1850s by the Glover family...
. Mary died after only a few years, in 1831 Thornton remarried to Anne Amelia Smith of Dumfries, Virginia. Anne died in 1864, he then remarried in 1870 for a third and final time to Mrs. Sarah Williams Gould Gowdy, daughter of William Proctor and Eliza Chotard Gould of the Hill of Howth, Boligee. Thornton died at Thornhill on September 13, 1877.
Regarding the Thornton connection to George Washington, Mildred Washington Gregory, George Washington's paternal aunt and godmother, had three daughters who married three Thornton brothers. Mildred Gregory's daughter Frances (circ. 1720-1790)(first cousin of George Washington) married Col. Francis Thornton III (circ. 1711-1748) of Fall Hill. They were the great grandparents of James Innes Thornton.
Thornhill Plantation was developed as a cotton plantation in the early 1830s and extended over 2600 acres (10.5 km²). It utilized the labor of 156 slaves by 1860. About a third of the slaves lived in quarters behind the main house. According to the diary of Josiah Gorgas
Josiah Gorgas
Josiah Gorgas was one of the few Northern-born Confederate generals and was later president of the University of Alabama....
, in talking with Thornton at Thornhill on Tuesday, June 6, 1865, less than two months after the end of the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, Thornton "oppos(ed) ... the doctrine of secession
Secession in the United States
Secession in the United States can refer to secession of a state from the United States, secession of part of a state from that state to form a new state, or secession of an area from a city or county....
and necessary deduction that we fought so valiantly (in the War) and bled so freely in a cause radically wrong." Gorgas pointed out however, "He has, I learn however, done his share to sustain the war, & perhaps that consciousness makes him talk the more freely of his former views"
Architecture
William NicholsWilliam Nichols (architect)
William Nichols, Sr. was an English-born architect who emigrated to the United States and became most famous for his early Neoclassical-style buildings in the American South...
is believed to be the architect of the main house at Thornhill. Nichols became the state architect of Alabama in 1827. He is known for designing the now-destroyed Alabama State Capitol building at Tuscaloosa
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Tuscaloosa is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west central Alabama . Located on the Black Warrior River, it is the fifth-largest city in Alabama, with a population of 90,468 in 2010...
and the former Mississippi State Capitol
Old Mississippi State Capitol
The Old Mississippi State Capitol, also known as Old Capitol Museum or Old State Capitol, is a building that is a Mississippi State Historic Site and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1990....
building in Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...
. The house at Thornhill was completed by 1833. The monumental two-story portico
Portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls...
with six Ionic
Ionic order
The Ionic order forms one of the three orders or organizational systems of classical architecture, the other two canonic orders being the Doric and the Corinthian...
columns was added circa 1850. David Rinehart Anthony, of Eutaw
Eutaw, Alabama
Eutaw is a city in Greene County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 1,878. The city is the county seat of Greene County and was named in honor of the Battle of Eutaw Springs, the last engagement of the American Revolutionary War in the Carolinas...
, is believed to be the builder who made the portico addition and second story balcony (crisscrossed lattice railing). The house measures 55 feet (16.8 m) wide. Inside is a 14 ft (4.3 m) wide by 40 ft (12.2 m) long central hall with a spiral staircase at the back. There are two rooms to either side. The left front room was the parlor, with the dining room behind it. On the front right was the master bedroom with the plantation office behind it. Upstairs is a matching hall and four bedrooms. All eight rooms are 19.5 feet (5.9 m) square. The downstairs rooms have 12 feet (3.7 m) ceilings. The upstairs ceilings are 11 feet (3.4 m). Originally there was a brick kitchen behind the house, it later burned. Additions were made to the original structure from circa 1890 to 1949. They were razed in 1994 and rebuilt to better match the original intent of the house. The house and grounds were extensively recorded by the Historic American Buildings Survey
Historic American Buildings Survey
The Historic American Buildings Survey , Historic American Engineering Record , and Historic American Landscapes Survey are programs of the National Park Service established for the purpose of documenting historic places. Records consists of measured drawings, archival photographs, and written...
in 1934. The plantation schoolhouse was constructed circa 1845. The Thornton children, as well as neighboring plantation children, were taught there. Surrounding the schoolhouse are 230-year-old post oaks.
Family Cemetery
Buried in the family cemetery, located east of the main house, are:- James Innes Thornton (October 28, 1800 - September 13, 1877)
- Anne Amelia Smith Thornton (February 14, 1812 - August 2, 1864), his second wife. She had two sisters who married Virginians and came to live in Greene County. Mary Virginia Smith married Dr. Philip Lewis Lightfoot and lived at "Morven", named for the Lightfoot family home in Virginia. The younger sister, Sally Innes Smith, married Colonel George Willis and spent the spring and fall at their Greene County home, "Ben Lomond", on their semi-annual journeys between their home in Virginia, and their winter home in Florida. The homes of these three sisters, "Thornhill", "Morven", and "Ben Lomond" were quite near each other. Morven was on the same ridge as Thornhill (north one mile), and Ben Lomond was on the ridge across the road from Thornhill (northwest 1/2 mile).
- James Innes Thornton Jr. (November 31, 1835 - December 12, 1837), his son.
- Fitzgerald Thornton (October 6, 1837 - July 6, 1939), his son.
- Catherine (Kate) Marshall Thornton (September 30, 1842 - October 27, 1870), his daughter. She was re-interred from Nevada in 1906. She married her first cousin Harry Innes Thornton, whose father, the senior Harry Innes Thornton was Justice of the Alabama Supreme CourtAlabama Supreme CourtThe Supreme Court of Alabama is the highest court in the state of Alabama. The court consists of an elected Chief Justice and eight elected Associate Justices. Each justice is elected in partisan elections for staggered six year terms. The Governor of Alabama may fill vacancies when they occur...
. - Harry Innes Thornton (May 18, 1848 - May 30, 1900), his son.
- Sallie A. Blocker Thornton (1849 - 1924), his daughter-in-law.
- Bettie Cooper Thornton (September 19, 1876 - July 16, 1878), his granddaughter.
- Harry Innes Thornton (January 18, 1883 - 1938), his grandson.
- George Francis Thornton (December 10, 1885 - July 14, 1889), his grandson.
Grandson James Innes Thornton (March 10, 1873 - July 23, 1951) was re-interred in Eutaw
Eutaw, Alabama
Eutaw is a city in Greene County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 1,878. The city is the county seat of Greene County and was named in honor of the Battle of Eutaw Springs, the last engagement of the American Revolutionary War in the Carolinas...
's Mesopotamia Cemetery, next to his second wife, Helen Williamson Allison Thornton (February 15, 1890-December 12, 1963). His first wife, Betty Woolf Thornton (April 23, 1887-September 22, 1932), was re-interred in the Dayton
Dayton, Alabama
Dayton is a town in Marengo County, Alabama, United States. The population was 60 at the 2000 census.-History:Dayton began to be settled in the early 19th century, with a town survey done and a "public well" established in 1832. The post office was established in 1837. It was incorporated on...
Cemetery.
Thornton's first wife, Mary Amelia Glover Thornton, is buried in the Glover Mausoleum
Glover Mausoleum
The Glover Mausoleum, also known as the Glover Vault, is a Greek Revival mausoleum located within the Riverside Cemetery in Demopolis, Marengo County, Alabama...
at Riverside Cemetery, Demopolis. His third wife, Sarah Williams Gould Gowdy Thornton (June 11, 1824-August 23, 1885), is buried in the Bethsalem Cemetery, Boligee.
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Greene County, Alabama