The Windsor Ruins near Port Gibson Mississippi, are those of the largest antebellum Greek Revival mansion built in the state, and have been used in various motion pictures. At one time the plantation covered 2,600 acres. Smith Coffee Daniell II, who was born in Mississippi in 1826, the son of an Indian fighter turned farmer and landowner, constructed the mansion itself in 1859-1861. Basic construction of the house, which was designed by David Shroder was done by slave labor. The bricks for use in the 45-foot columns were made in a kiln across the road from the house. The columns were then covered with mortar and plaster. There were 29 of these columns supporting the projecting roof line with its plain, broad frieze and molded cornice. This provided protection for the galleries that encompassed the house at the second and third levels. The fluted columns had iron Corinthian capitals and were joined at the galleries by an ornamental iron balustrade. The mansion contained twenty-five rooms with twenty-five fireplaces, with a basement containing a school room, dairy, and supply rooms. The home survived the war only to be totally destroyed on February 17, 1890, by a fire said to have been caused by a party guest who carelessly dropped a cigarette. (Greg Disch gdisch@gregdisch.com)

Windsor Ruins

The Windsor Ruins near Port Gibson Mississippi, are those of the largest antebellum Greek Revival mansion built in the state, and have been used in various motion pictures. At one time the plantation covered 2,600 acres. Smith Coffee Daniell II, who was born in Mississippi in 1826, the son of an Indian fighter turned farmer and landowner, constructed the mansion itself in 1859-1861. Basic construction of the house, which was designed by David Shroder was done by slave labor. The bricks for use in the 45-foot columns were made in a kiln across the road from the house. The columns were then covered with mortar and plaster. There were 29 of these columns supporting the projecting roof line with its plain, broad frieze and molded cornice. This provided protection for the galleries that encompassed the house at the second and third levels. The fluted columns had iron Corinthian capitals and were joined at the galleries by an ornamental iron balustrade.
The mansion contained twenty-five rooms with twenty-five fireplaces, with a basement containing a school room, dairy, and supply rooms.

The home survived the war only to be totally destroyed on February 17, 1890, by a fire said to have been caused by a party guest who carelessly dropped a cigarette.

Windsor’s ruins have appeared in several motion pictures including the 1957 filmRaintree County starring Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift and most recently in the 1996 movie Ghosts of Mississippi with Whoopi Goldberg, Alec Baldwin and James Woods.

Click for larger view.

windsor-2_Page_1

windsor-2_Page_2

What to Photograph:

The only remnants today are 23 haunting columns.

The Windsor Ruins near Port Gibson Mississippi, are those of the largest antebellum Greek Revival mansion built in the state, and have been used in various motion pictures. At one time the plantation covered 2,600 acres. Smith Coffee Daniell II, who was born in Mississippi in 1826, the son of an Indian fighter turned farmer and landowner, constructed the mansion itself in 1859-1861. Basic construction of the house, which was designed by David Shroder was done by slave labor. The bricks for use in the 45-foot columns were made in a kiln across the road from the house. The columns were then covered with mortar and plaster. There were 29 of these columns supporting the projecting roof line with its plain, broad frieze and molded cornice. This provided protection for the galleries that encompassed the house at the second and third levels. The fluted columns had iron Corinthian capitals and were joined at the galleries by an ornamental iron balustrade. The mansion contained twenty-five rooms with twenty-five fireplaces, with a basement containing a school room, dairy, and supply rooms. The home survived the war only to be totally destroyed on February 17, 1890, by a fire said to have been caused by a party guest who carelessly dropped a cigarette. (Greg Disch gdisch@gregdisch.com)

Best Time for Photographers:

Best times would be early morning or evening, the sun will rise behind the columns.

Getting There:

Windsor Ruins are located 12 miles from port Gibson on Mississippi Highway 552.

The Windsor Ruins near Port Gibson Mississippi, are those of the largest antebellum Greek Revival mansion built in the state, and have been used in various motion pictures. At one time the plantation covered 2,600 acres. Smith Coffee Daniell II, who was born in Mississippi in 1826, the son of an Indian fighter turned farmer and landowner, constructed the mansion itself in 1859-1861. Basic construction of the house, which was designed by David Shroder was done by slave labor. The bricks for use in the 45-foot columns were made in a kiln across the road from the house. The columns were then covered with mortar and plaster. There were 29 of these columns supporting the projecting roof line with its plain, broad frieze and molded cornice. This provided protection for the galleries that encompassed the house at the second and third levels. The fluted columns had iron Corinthian capitals and were joined at the galleries by an ornamental iron balustrade. The mansion contained twenty-five rooms with twenty-five fireplaces, with a basement containing a school room, dairy, and supply rooms. The home survived the war only to be totally destroyed on February 17, 1890, by a fire said to have been caused by a party guest who carelessly dropped a cigarette. (Greg Disch gdisch@gregdisch.com)

Maps:

Interactive Google Map

Use the map  + – controls to zoom in and out, click and drag the to move the map, use the Map drop-down to change to “Map”, “Satellite”, “Hybrid”, or “Terrain” views.  Drag the little man icon from the upper left corner to a map location for street level view.

Cost:

There are no fees for this area.  There is a sign stating that the area is closed from sunset to sunrise.

The Windsor Ruins near Port Gibson Mississippi, are those of the largest antebellum Greek Revival mansion built in the state, and have been used in various motion pictures. At one time the plantation covered 2,600 acres. Smith Coffee Daniell II, who was born in Mississippi in 1826, the son of an Indian fighter turned farmer and landowner, constructed the mansion itself in 1859-1861. Basic construction of the house, which was designed by David Shroder was done by slave labor. The bricks for use in the 45-foot columns were made in a kiln across the road from the house. The columns were then covered with mortar and plaster. There were 29 of these columns supporting the projecting roof line with its plain, broad frieze and molded cornice. This provided protection for the galleries that encompassed the house at the second and third levels. The fluted columns had iron Corinthian capitals and were joined at the galleries by an ornamental iron balustrade. The mansion contained twenty-five rooms with twenty-five fireplaces, with a basement containing a school room, dairy, and supply rooms. The home survived the war only to be totally destroyed on February 17, 1890, by a fire said to have been caused by a party guest who carelessly dropped a cigarette. (Greg Disch gdisch@gregdisch.com)

Facilities:

There are no facilities at the ruins.

Location Contact Information:

Windsor Ruins were added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 23, 1971 and are administered by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History’s Division of Historic Sites and Archaeology.

Nearest City or Town:

Port Gibson Mississippi

 

Windsor Ruins Photo Gallery

Click Here for full page gallery

More Photographic Destinations in Mississippi:

Interactive Google Map

Use the map  + – controls to zoom in and out, use the Map drop-down to change to “Map”, “Satellite”, “Hybrid”, or “Terrain” views.  Drag the little man icon from the upper left corner to a map location for street level view. Click on a pushpin for more information about the Photographic Destination, then click on the title to go to the location page.

Click Here for Photographic Destinations by State 

 

All the information in this post was believed to be accurate at the time it was published.  Please be sure to double check with the location before relying on this information as everything changes over time, especially hours, prices, and whether the location is still open.  

Great Places for Great Photos

 

Let me help you to find a great location for your next photography adventure.  I will list many lesser-known destinations, as well as the famous "Icon Locations" for photography.  I will provide photos (Lots of Photos), location information, consisting of what there is to photograph as well as other information about the destination.  I will give costs, maps, directions, contact information, and other essential information for a successful photo trip.  I will only post for locations that I have personally photographed to ensure a quality guide to great locations for photography. If you know of great places that are not posted, please send me the details, I may just decide that is a place I need to go!

 
 

Greg Disch is a freelance photographer located in Arkansas. Greg specializes in nature, scenic, wildlife, and other outdoor subjects in Arkansas and other areas of the country.  Most of the images on this site are available for sale as prints, personal use, or rights managed stock photos.

Greg offers both classroom instruction and in the field hands on photographic workshops. Classroom sessions are normally held in Fort Smith Arkansas, but arrangements can be made to bring a class to your group.

All classes and workshops have small class sizes designed to provide an optimum student to instructor ratio, where you can get the personal attention, you need.  Most classes and workshops are limited to a maximum of six participants and will be held with a minimum of only two.

If you are looking for a wonderful opportunity to get personal individual instruction, I do private workshops and classes at a location of your choice, whether doing a location photo shoot, coming to your home or business, traveling across the country on a road trip, or at my classroom.  This is a fantastic way to learn digital workflow and be sure that your computer equipment is properly configured for optimum performance.

On November 8, 2014   /   Mississippi   /   Leave a comment

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.