Ruins of a once large Plantation Complex in Alabama

Roseland Plantation - Frank Gaines Place, Faunsdale Alabama

Date added: May 08, 2024

Do you have an update on the current status of this structure? Please tell us about it in the comments below.

The Roseland Plantation was the home of Samuel Fitts who came to the Canebrake region in the 1830s. Samuel Fitts probably constructed the log core of the plantation house around 1835. Fitts prospered as a planter and by 1860 had amassed land and slaves valued at over $95,000, including 637 acres of land and 67 slaves. The later addition of the dwelling probably dates from the mid 1850s. A two-story addition was attached to the log dogtrot, the front porch of the original structure became a cross hall while the dogtrot was extended to become a very long central hall. The hallway contained a reverse stair. The Roseland plantation house, with its cross hall and reverse staircase, resembles the main house at the nearby Cedar Grove plantation, which also underwent a extensive renovation in the mid-1850s. Around the main house of Roseland arose the necessary outbuildings needed for the operation of a large plantation, including the dairy/cooler, kitchen, privy, barn, and an apothecary for the medical practice of Samuel Alston Fitts, son of Samuel Fitts, the original patentee of the plantation. A simple Greek Revival structure, the apothecary was moved to the grounds of Sturdivant Hall, a house museum in Selma, Alabama for preservation. Roseland remained in the Fitts' family, becoming the property of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Gaines. Upon the death of Mrs. Gaines, the property was leased for pastureland. Hay was stored in the main house and the dwelling fell into ruins. Today, the plantation is owned by Mr. Frank Gaines, Jr. and the significant collection of outbuildings is threatened by demolition by neglect.

Site Description

Located approximately four miles from Uniontown, Alabama on the old Lower Uniontown to Demopolis Road (present day Marengo County Road 54), Roseland Plantation contains a number of significant outbuildings and the ruins of a once imposing and unique plantation house. The site occupies a small rise at the end of a long drive. Today, the estate is overgrown with small trees, shrubs, and vines and the entire complex is threatened by demolition by neglect.

The ruins of the main house are encircled by a dairy or cooler, an outbuilding believed to be a kitchen, a privy, a barn and a modern garage. At one time, a Greek Revival apothecary stood on the site but this structure was moved to the grounds of Sturdivant Hall in Selma, Alabama to ensure its preservation. The remains of the plantation house consist of the original log dogtrot core of the dwelling, which is now visible, and the remnants of the mortise and tenon construction of the later addition. The log core dates back to 1835, the approximate time of the acquisition and initial residence of the Fitts family while the frame addition probably dates from the 1850s.

The Roseland Plantation complex includes two rare structures, the dairy cooler and the privy, the only two structures of their type discovered in an initial survey of the Canebrake area. The cooler is a rectangular structure with a deep brick-lined basement. The roof extends out over the southeast elevation to cover a well. The privy is a two-room structure with a simple gable roof. The structure has a two-bay facade and louvered ventilation openings on each side.

The kitchen structure is a simple rectangular structure with simple gable roof and a fireplace centered along the northeast wall. The barn is a rectangular, gable front, one-and-a-half storied structure with decorative diamond-shaped pierced openings around the exterior. Also contained on the grounds is a garage structure which may possibly have served as a carriage house at one time. All of the outbuildings probably date from ca. 1850.