An Overview
Majestic Nottoway Plantation, with its towering size, hand-carved marble mantles and intricate plaster frieze work, awes visitors with its grandeur and innovative features. The 64-room, three-story palatial mansion is sometimes referred to as an "American castle."
Nottoway was completed in 1859 for John Hampden Randolph and his wife, Emily Jane Liddell Randolph, and it was home to their eleven children. The mansion boasts 53,000 square feet, and originally sat on 400 acres of highland and 620 acres of swamp. It was designed by renowned architect Henry Howard of New Orleans in Greek Revival and Italianate style.
That Nottoway survived through the Civil War, a variety of owners, and disrepair to become one of the most visited plantations in the South is a testament to its original owner, John Hampden Randolph. Randolph was an astute businessman. It was his business savvy that fostered his tremendous wealth, and his business savvy that saved Nottoway during the hard times during and after the Civil War. And, it was both his sense of grandeur and love of his family that brought Nottoway to life.
Nottoway was completed in 1859 for John Hampden Randolph and his wife, Emily Jane Liddell Randolph, and it was home to their eleven children. The mansion boasts 53,000 square feet, and originally sat on 400 acres of highland and 620 acres of swamp. It was designed by renowned architect Henry Howard of New Orleans in Greek Revival and Italianate style.
That Nottoway survived through the Civil War, a variety of owners, and disrepair to become one of the most visited plantations in the South is a testament to its original owner, John Hampden Randolph. Randolph was an astute businessman. It was his business savvy that fostered his tremendous wealth, and his business savvy that saved Nottoway during the hard times during and after the Civil War. And, it was both his sense of grandeur and love of his family that brought Nottoway to life.