Arlington is a historic house complex consisting of a main house and two other supporting buildings. Located in Natchez, Mississippi, Arlington was built between 1819 and 1820 on a 55-acre property. They were listed in Mississippi’s ten most endangered historic places in 2009, following a fire that damaged most of the main house.

Architectural History

Arlington was built by John Hampton White and his wife Jane Surget White in 1821. The building was reviewed as one of the four important federal-style villas. Constructed using high-quality bricks, it consisted of a log basement and two full stories above. The interior of the house was subdivided into levels by a central hall plan, consisting of two rooms each inside. The east side had a stair hall with a fanlight-topped doorway linking it to the main hall.

 The profile of the woodwork inside the building was also not left behind as it was also highly developed. The building had service wings like the one-story brick wing on the Southeastern corner of the main house. There were also two-story brick supporting buildings that were used as the kitchen and cooks’ quarters. Some of the minor but key rooms included a library, a drawing-room, and a music room.

Decline of Arlington

Following the death of George Boyd in 1867, Arlington stayed unoccupied for a long time until it was purchased by Mrs. L.S. Gillette lived in the house for 3 years. Dr. Thomas Vaughan later inherited the property from his parents but abandoned it when it proved to be too expensive to maintain. The damage to Arlington resulted from the disastrous fire that occurred on September 17, 2002. The fire was so severe that it destroyed the main roof and most parts of the second floor. 

The Historic Natchez Foundation decided to build a new roof shortly after the fire. After trying to renovate the building for almost a decade with no meaningful results, Natchez Preservation Commission took the matter to court. Though major destructions like the breaking of windows were caused by vandals, the commissioned wanted the owner held liable for letting such damages be inflicted on the building. The owner was convicted for neglect and endangerment of civil lives by leaving the extremely unsafe building unrestricted to the general public. 

Arlington's current situation

Despite the high cost, the Natchez Preservation Commission was able to restore a large portion of the palatial house. It was recently opened to the public as the management plans to raise more funds to develop the remaining buildings. Tours are offered every single day from eight in the morning to late in the evening. Management urges visitors to carry emergency kits in case of accidents.