Twelve Oaks
Encyclopedia
In Margaret Mitchell
's novel Gone with the Wind
, Twelve Oaks is the plantation of the Wilkes family in Clayton County, Georgia
named for the twelve great oak trees that surround the family mansion in an almost perfect circle, a "beautiful white-columned house that crowned the hill like a Greek Temple".
Twelve Oaks suffers terribly in the war from the same shortages and privations as its neighbors. The family is also decimated as first Charles Hamilton dies of pneumonia, then John Wilkes is killed in combat (though elderly, he joined the Home Guard
in defense of Atlanta). The mansion is looted and burned by Union troops in 1864; Scarlett finds a straggling cow in the ruins of the home and enough beans and turnips for a meal from its slave quarters gardens but otherwise it is a total loss. Presumably the lands are lost to the same taxes that necessitates Scarlett's marriage to Frank Kennedy to save Tara.
corresponds more or less to the description of the house in the novel. The portrayal of the mansion at Twelve Oaks in the film is exaggerated and bears more resemblance to the Colonial Revival mansions popular in the United States in the first quarter of the 20th Century than it does to the home of an antebellum planter in rural Georgia. During the film's pre-production period this discrepancy raised mild disapproval from author Margaret Mitchell
. Mitchell had envisioned a more ordinary and historically accurate house. Nevertheless it is the stately mansion from the film with its imperial staircase
and improbably high ceilinged corridors (the product of early paint-on-glass style special effect rather than a physical set) that remains in the public mind as the iconic image of "Twelve Oaks" rather than the more restrained Greek revival house described in the novel.
Margaret Mitchell
Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell was an American author and journalist. Mitchell won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1937 for her epic American Civil War era novel, Gone with the Wind, which was the only novel by Mitchell published during her lifetime.-Family:Margaret Mitchell was born in Atlanta,...
's novel Gone with the Wind
Gone with the Wind
The slaves depicted in Gone with the Wind are primarily loyal house servants, such as Mammy, Pork and Uncle Peter, and these slaves stay on with their masters even after the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 sets them free...
, Twelve Oaks is the plantation of the Wilkes family in Clayton County, Georgia
Clayton County, Georgia
Clayton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of 2000, the population was 236,517. The 2008 Census estimate placed the population at 273,718. The county seat is Jonesboro...
named for the twelve great oak trees that surround the family mansion in an almost perfect circle, a "beautiful white-columned house that crowned the hill like a Greek Temple".
John Wilkes
John Wilkes is the elderly widowed patriarch of the family which includes his son, Ashley, and two unwed daughters, India and Honey. The Wilkeses are among the early white settlers of the state of Georgia with roots in Savannah (but not of the penal stock brought by Oglethorpe) and they are among the wealthiest families in the county with land, slaves and money second only to those of the large and hardy Tarleton family of Fairhill Plantation. The Wilkes are revered by the county folk for their generosity, good nature, sophistication and elegance.Scarlet O'Hara
When the novel begins, Gerald O'Hara is returning from Twelve Oaks (having purchased a slave to be wife to his devoted valet Pork) with the news that Ashley Wilkes, with whom 16 year old Scarlett O'Hara is convinced she is in love, has just formally become engaged to his second cousin, Melanie Hamilton of Atlanta. In spite for what she perceives as Ashley spurning her, Scarlett accepts the impromptu proposal of Melanie's brother Charles, who was expected by all to marry Honey Wilkes (though changed to India in the film, which omits the character of Honey) and as such becomes a relative by marriage to both Melanie and Ashley.Twelve Oaks suffers terribly in the war from the same shortages and privations as its neighbors. The family is also decimated as first Charles Hamilton dies of pneumonia, then John Wilkes is killed in combat (though elderly, he joined the Home Guard
Confederate Home Guard
The Confederate Home Guard was a somewhat loosely organized militia that was under the direction and authority of the Confederate States of America, working in coordination with the Confederate Army, and was tasked with both the defense of the Confederate home front during the American Civil War,...
in defense of Atlanta). The mansion is looted and burned by Union troops in 1864; Scarlett finds a straggling cow in the ruins of the home and enough beans and turnips for a meal from its slave quarters gardens but otherwise it is a total loss. Presumably the lands are lost to the same taxes that necessitates Scarlett's marriage to Frank Kennedy to save Tara.
Mansion discrepancy
The representation of the plantation house at Tara in the film Gone with the WindGone with the Wind (film)
Gone with the Wind is a 1939 American historical epic film adapted from Margaret Mitchell's Pulitzer-winning 1936 novel of the same name. It was produced by David O. Selznick and directed by Victor Fleming from a screenplay by Sidney Howard...
corresponds more or less to the description of the house in the novel. The portrayal of the mansion at Twelve Oaks in the film is exaggerated and bears more resemblance to the Colonial Revival mansions popular in the United States in the first quarter of the 20th Century than it does to the home of an antebellum planter in rural Georgia. During the film's pre-production period this discrepancy raised mild disapproval from author Margaret Mitchell
Margaret Mitchell
Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell was an American author and journalist. Mitchell won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1937 for her epic American Civil War era novel, Gone with the Wind, which was the only novel by Mitchell published during her lifetime.-Family:Margaret Mitchell was born in Atlanta,...
. Mitchell had envisioned a more ordinary and historically accurate house. Nevertheless it is the stately mansion from the film with its imperial staircase
Imperial staircase
An Imperial staircase is the name given to a staircase with divided flights. Usually the first flight rises to a half-landing and then divides into two symmetrical flights both rising with an equal number of steps and turns to the next floor. The feature is reputed to have first been used at El...
and improbably high ceilinged corridors (the product of early paint-on-glass style special effect rather than a physical set) that remains in the public mind as the iconic image of "Twelve Oaks" rather than the more restrained Greek revival house described in the novel.