General Nathan Bryan Whitfield of Demopolis, Alabama, designed and built the beautiful plantation Gaineswood, originally called Marlmont. He was born to Gen Bryan Whitfield (1754-1817) and Winifred Bryan Whitfield on the Whitfield family owned plantation, "Pleasant Plains" built by his Grandfather Gen William Whitfield II.

Gen Nathan Whitfield renamed Marlmont to "Gaineswood" to honor his good friend and original owner of the land, George Strother Gaines. The structure took 20 years to build and was finished just before the War Between the States commenced. It is considered the finest and grandest plantation ever built in Marengo County.

Gen Whitfield was a planter, architect and General of the North Carolina Militia.

General Nathan Bryan Whitfield is the son of General Bryan Whitfield (1754-1817) and Winifred Bryan Whitfield. His father fought in the American Revolution and was appointed Major General of the North Carolina Militia after the war. General Whitfield's father was the owner of a large plantation known as Pleasant Plains in Lenoir County, North Carolina. In 1789 he was one of the founders of the University of North Carolina and was one of its first Trustees.

Nathan Bryan Whitfield graduated from the University of North Carolina at the age of 17, and at 19 was seated in the North Carolina Senate. He married his cousin, Elizabeth Watkins Whitfield and later moved his family and slaves from Lenoir County, North Carolina to Marengo County, Alabama, in 1835, where his cousin and brother-in-law Gaines Gaius Whitfield had settled earlier and likewise, prospered immensely.

Gen. Whitfield purchased the plantation of his great friend Col George Strother Gaines, the Choctaw factor, and spent the next twenty years turning the primitive but solid two-story log dog-trot house into the Greek Revival mansion seen at Gaineswood today. The original logs can still be viewed inside some of the original walls. An historic event occurring on the grounds in 1842 was the meeting of Col Gaines and Indian Chief Pushmataha under a huge oak tree where the treaty was signed giving the terms of the Choctaw Removal, though the treaty was not agreed upon by the other "civilized tribes" and was actually done under the veil of secrecy and highly contested by the other Eastern tribes.

Choctaw Herald, Feb. 11, 1869: "Demopolis has lost another one of her oldest and best citizens, Gen. N.B. WHITFIELD. He leaves a large number of relatives and friends to mourn his death." (Biography provided by Whitfield Descendant, Nancy Yankie, Great Granddaughter of C. William Whitfield)

General Nathan Bryan Whitfield of Demopolis, Alabama, designed and built the beautiful plantation Gaineswood, originally called Marlmont. He was born to Gen Bryan Whitfield (1754-1817) and Winifred Bryan Whitfield on the Whitfield family owned plantation, "Pleasant Plains" built by his Grandfather Gen William Whitfield II.

Gen Nathan Whitfield renamed Marlmont to "Gaineswood" to honor his good friend and original owner of the land, George Strother Gaines. The structure took 20 years to build and was finished just before the War Between the States commenced. It is considered the finest and grandest plantation ever built in Marengo County.

Gen Whitfield was a planter, architect and General of the North Carolina Militia.

General Nathan Bryan Whitfield is the son of General Bryan Whitfield (1754-1817) and Winifred Bryan Whitfield. His father fought in the American Revolution and was appointed Major General of the North Carolina Militia after the war. General Whitfield's father was the owner of a large plantation known as Pleasant Plains in Lenoir County, North Carolina. In 1789 he was one of the founders of the University of North Carolina and was one of its first Trustees.

Nathan Bryan Whitfield graduated from the University of North Carolina at the age of 17, and at 19 was seated in the North Carolina Senate. He married his cousin, Elizabeth Watkins Whitfield and later moved his family and slaves from Lenoir County, North Carolina to Marengo County, Alabama, in 1835, where his cousin and brother-in-law Gaines Gaius Whitfield had settled earlier and likewise, prospered immensely.

Gen. Whitfield purchased the plantation of his great friend Col George Strother Gaines, the Choctaw factor, and spent the next twenty years turning the primitive but solid two-story log dog-trot house into the Greek Revival mansion seen at Gaineswood today. The original logs can still be viewed inside some of the original walls. An historic event occurring on the grounds in 1842 was the meeting of Col Gaines and Indian Chief Pushmataha under a huge oak tree where the treaty was signed giving the terms of the Choctaw Removal, though the treaty was not agreed upon by the other "civilized tribes" and was actually done under the veil of secrecy and highly contested by the other Eastern tribes.

Choctaw Herald, Feb. 11, 1869: "Demopolis has lost another one of her oldest and best citizens, Gen. N.B. WHITFIELD. He leaves a large number of relatives and friends to mourn his death." (Biography provided by Whitfield Descendant, Nancy Yankie, Great Granddaughter of C. William Whitfield)