Architectural Home Plans, Historic Forks of Cypress Antebellum Mansion

Description

Forks of Cypress Plantation - 1830
This listing is for printed drawings sent to you by US post. Please note return policy below.
Building name: Forks of Cypress Plantation
Designer/Architect:      William Nichols
Date of construction: 1830
Location: Florence, AL (vicinity)
Style: Southern Style Plantation Home
Number of sheets: 25 sheets measuring 18"x24"
Sheet List
Cover sheet, Vicinity Map
Plot Plan
6 sheets of Floor Plans, 3/16" = 1'-0" and 1/8"=1'-0"
5 sheets of Elevations, 3/16" = 1'-0" and 1/8"=1'-0"
11 sheets of Details, various scale
1 sheet of Sections, 1/8"=1'-0"
This listing is for prints on 20# bond paper. It is for architectural drawings only. Any photos shown in the description are informational only and not included in this package.
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At the confluence of the Big Cypress and Little Cypress creeks stand 36 brick columns, all that is left of the magnificent Forks of Cypress Plantation. James Jackson, an Irish immigrant who came to the USA and made good, built this magnificent mansion in 1830, as the center of his plantation. He died a decade later but his wife Sarah continued to manage the estate up until the Civil War. Author Alex Haley's slave ancestors once worked on this estate and Union forces used the property as a base camp. Forks of Cypress stands in the heart of its time and place, a perfect image of its most gracious and saddest qualities.
Passing through various owners after the war, it slowly fell into disrepair. Then in the mid-20th century it was miraculously restored to its former beauty, only to be struck by lightning in 1966. It burned to the ground. All that stands today are its brick columns, like soldiers standing guard at an honored grave. Recently a replica has been built nearby, seen in the color photo here.
As a work of art these prints are worth purchasing in their own right. For those of you interested in building a historically inspired house, these plans offer an excellent starting point. In addition to beautifully drawn plans and elevations, they contain a wealth of details, showing the staircase, door and window trim, mouldings, fireplaces, etc. The classic plan consists of a 2 story colonnade wrapping around the central block of the house. This ground floor of this block has a central hall with 2 rooms on either side. The upper floor is arranged like the first. A gracious and elegant staircase occupies one side of the central hall. This traditional plan encourages cross ventilation through every major room in the house, a feature that is especially comfortable in the hot, humid climate of the South. This house would be most suited for a flat lot. It would be comfortable in a suburban or country setting. The main block of the house has outside dimensions of approximately 38' x 58'. The colonnade that wraps around this block is approximately 13'-6" deep.
The prints you are purchasing are crisp, high resolution black line copies on white bond paper. The original drawings were beautifully delineated in 1936, by the Historic American Building Survey. Six of the sheets appear to date from a later and separate survey. They are not dated. Photos shown in the description are NOT included in your purchase. This listing is for architectural drawings only.
SHIPPING:
Your drawings are shipped to you, rolled, not folded, in a Priority Mail tube. This eBay listing includes architectural prints ONLY. Any photos shown in the description are for information only and are NOT included in your purchase. For information about the photos please send me a message through eBay. Thanks.
IF YOU ARE PLANNING TO BUILD:
These plans are not complete architectural drawings as might be required by your local permitting agency and do not contain all the structural, waterproofing and other details and information necessary for construction. But your local builder or architect should be able to adapt these drawings and add to them as necessary. What they do provide is accurate design information about a REAL historic house, not a pseudo-historic tract house as you will find in the house plan magazines on your supermarket shelf.
INTERNATIONAL BUYERS PLEASE NOTE:
Orders shipped to addresses outside the USA may be subject to customs duties at their destination. The buyer is responsible for any such duties.
RETURN POLICY:
Ebay has a glitch that shows a policy of no returns. However we DO accept returns within 30 days for all print orders (conditions apply) shipped in the USA and its territories. If there is a problem with your order please send a message through eBay and allow a few days for a response. Thank you.
The original drawings from which these dimensionally accurate scans were made are kept at the Historic American Building Survey, in the Library of Congress. (AN012)