Liberty Hall, historic plantation house near Camden, Alabama, USA
Liberty Hall is a Greek Revival house built in 1855 near Camden in Alabama for John Robert McDowell. The two-story home features a front portico with four columns, two round Ionic columns in the center and two square columns on the sides, with a wide central hall opening into four spacious rooms on each floor.
Built in 1855 by builder W.W. Robinson for John Robert McDowell, the house stood as a symbol of wealth in Alabama's cotton region. During a river storm, two of the originally ordered round columns were lost in transport, so square columns were substituted in their place - a detail that remains part of its identity today.
The name Liberty Hall reflects ideals of freedom rooted in American thought of that era. The house shows the tastes of the family who lived there, particularly in details like the plasterwork designed by Harriet McDowell, which reveals how educated women contributed to their homes' beauty.
Located about four miles southwest of Camden on the west side of Highway 221, the house is now operated as a bed and breakfast where visitors can stay overnight or join reserved tours to explore the rooms and family heirlooms inside.
A fascinating architectural detail reveals how the front columns tell a story of loss and adaptation: two of the originally ordered round Ionic columns were lost in a storm while traveling up the Alabama River, so the builder substituted square columns instead. This unintended mix of styles is a quiet testament to the challenges of construction in the 1850s.
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