Former large Cotton Plantation in AL

Cuba Plantation, Faunsdale Alabama

Date added: May 26, 2024

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In 1835, John C. Calhoun, the great South Carolina statesman, and his son Andrew purchased 1,140 acres of land known as the Tulip Hill plantation, near the community of Faunsdale, Marengo County, Alabama. In 1840, Andrew Calhoun purchased Cuba, a second plantation adjacent to Tulip Hill on the west, consisting of approximately 840 acres. Cuba was a working plantation; the management of the plantation was left to an overseer. In the mid-1850s, Andrew Calhoun sold Tulip Hill plantation, his principal residence, and returned to South Carolina where he purchased his father's estate, Fort Hill. He retained possession of Cuba, however, eventually adding an additional 420 acres to the property. The 1860 census notes that Cuba was under the management of Anderson Walker, an overseer from South Carolina. The plantation was worked by 100 slaves and produced 340 bales of cotton. Calhoun's property and personal estate was valued in 1860 at $174,275.

In 1860, Andrew Calhoun sold his plantation to T.B. Bethea of Montgomery although the transaction and final payment of the property was not finalized until 1865. After the war, Henry Bethea, son of T. B. Bethea, moved to Cuba and took up residence on the plantation. Henry was a widower; his wife, the daughter of S.F. Rice, died before the family moved to the Cuba plantation. As of 1992 Cuba remained in the possession of the Bethea family and was owned by Samuel Rice Bethea of Baytown, Texas.

Site Description

Cuba Plantation is located on Marengo County Road 54, southwest of Faunsdale and west of State Highway 25. Cuba was a working plantation of Andrew P. Calhoun, son of John C. Calhoun, the South Carolina statesman. The plantation was adjacent to Calhoun's Tulip Hill, upon which the planter's family resided. The plantation complex consists of a main house, two log outbuildings, a laundry building, a corncrib, a dovecote, two modern tenant houses, and a garage/shed building. The approach is from the south through a dense grove of hardwood trees, winding through the thicket to the west. The main house faces west and the outbuildings are located immediately behind and to the north of the dwelling. The main house was constructed circa 1870 incorporating two earlier two room cabins which were located on the property. The two cabins were aligned and connected by a central hall. A second story was then added over the hall and above the two rooms lying directly north.

The main house is a two-story frame structure, covered in weatherboarding, with a cross-gable roof of asphalt shingles. The facade (west) is asymmetrical, with a two-story block flanked on the right by a one-story wing, creating a two-over three-bay facade. A two-story wing, slightly recessed from the facade, is located to the left of the central block. A full-width porch with a half-hip roof and supported by six square columns runs the entire width of the lower floor of the facade. The front-facing gable of the two-story block contains decorative shinglework, a louvered vent, and cross-braced stickwork. Classical pilasters are attached to the corners of the two-story block. The double-leaf entrance with full transom and sidelights is centrally located in the middle bay of the lower floor. The windows on the facade are all 4/4 double-hung sash.

The south elevation features two bays on the one-story wing, a bay window, and a double window, while two upper-story windows can be seen at either end of the two-story block. The eastern elevation, the rear of the main house, has a two-over-four-bay facade. A single leaf entrance with transom is located in the first bay while a single leaf bay with full transom and sidelights is positioned in the second bay. The kitchen wing at the extreme right, projects slightly from the plane of the house. A partial-width shed roof porch with four classical posts is attached to the rear of the house. The two bays of the upper story contain an early 9/6 pane sash and a later 4/4 pane sash. A decorative louvered vent is positioned in the center of the front-facing gable. Noticeable on the rear facade is the seam where the house's two cabins were joined. The southern half of the central block projects slightly from the remainder of the facade. The cabins were of uneven dimensions and when joined, the southern rooms were slightly larger than the northern rooms, resulting in a slight projection along the wall surface.

The two-story wing with a front-facing gable is centered on the western elevation with a two-bay facade on the first floor and a half hipped roof porch with two square classical posts. The one-story kitchen wing is located on the left while the western side of the two-story central block is evident to the right.

The interior of the main house contains a central hall plan with flanking double rooms. The staircase is located at the rear of the hall. The parlor and a bedroom are located to the right of the hall while a bedroom and dining room are located to the left. A small hallway, bathroom, and kitchen are located off the bedroom and dining rooms. The house contains a mixture of early and later mantles and detailing. Greek Revival moldings and mantles are found in the parlor and bedroom to the right of the hallway while later Victorian mantles and detailing are evident in the rooms lying to the north of the hallway. The upstairs contains three bedrooms and a bath.

The outbuildings are arranged around the perimeter of a rectangular fenced-in area, immediately behind the main house. Two cement cisterns topped by latticework screens flank the house on the north and south sides. A log outbuilding which once may have served as the plantation kitchen and then later as an office, is located immediately behind the main house to the northeast. The single pen structure features the V-notching technique, a side gable roof, a single leaf entrance door, and a large end chimney which has been reconstructed. Another log outbuilding, located behind the main house to the southeast, may have served at one time as an agricultural storage building. This log structure is similar in form to the kitchen but does not have a chimney or any windows. Both of these log structures were constructed circa 1850. The frame kitchen immediately to the north of the log kitchen is a rectangular building with a side gable roof, single-leaf entrance, and full-width porch. This structure was built in the late 1800s and was at one time connected to the main house by a covered passageway. The dovecote is a square structure resting on four poles with a hip roof with wooden shingles and capped by a small finial. Portions of each side of the structure are exposed to allow for the egress of doves into the structure. The interior contains nine tiers of square box-like partitions. The dovecote was probably constructed in the 1880s. A small frame laundry building with a side gable roof, single leaf entry bay, and shed roof porch, lies directly behind the main house to the east. This building was constructed in ca. 1890 for the Bethea family. A deteriorated corncrib, dating from the mid-19^th century lies to the northeast of the house, at a distance of approximately 150 yards. A modern shed/garage structure is located immediately to the north and perpendicular to the main house. Two concrete block tenant houses are also located on the property and these structures date from the 1950s.