Smith Coffee Daniell II, an affluent cotton planter, constructed the mansion from 1859-1861 on 21,000 acres of plantation land in Mississippi. It was the largest antebellum Greek revival mansion in Mississippi and was built to pattern the height of southern prosperity. It was constructed for approximately $175,000 or $4,608,981 today’s money. It is located four miles east of the Mississippi River, facing the river in Claiborne County. The home’s basic feature was Greek revival, but had added touches of Italiante and gothic architecture. At 17,000 square feet, the mansion consisted of 29 columns, 25 rooms, 24 fireplaces and 3 stories. The 2nd and 3rd floors were living quarters and a ground floor basement held supply rooms, a doctor’s office, a dairy, a commissary, and a school room. A unique feature of the home for the time was 2 interior bathrooms supplied by  rainwater tanks in the attic. On the rooftop was a domed glass enclosed cupola. Legend has it, after the war, Mark Twain observed the Mississippi from the cupola, he wrote of its elegance in his book “Life on the Mississippi“.