Arlington: No Time to Enjoy
- Jay Brothers
- 3 hours ago
- 2 min read
Current address: 1320 John A. Quitman BL Natchez, MS
Circa 1820 (parts may date earlier to 1806). 2-story Federal style mansion
The gates of the great Southern Colonial mansion sit off Main St. in Natchez. Monmouth Historic Inn and Linden Historic Bed & Breakfast sit to the east of the estate.
Narratives about Arlington’s origins differ. Most likely, Lewis Evans purchased the land and built a home about 1806. He was a local planter. Evans is also connected with Hope Farm.
About eight years later, in 1814, Jonathan Thompson (1782-1823) and Anna Williams Thompson (?-1825)(m.1814) bought the property as an investment. His brother-in-law was Winthrop Sargent, the first governor of the Mississippi Territory. A Massachusetts native, Thompson was a lawyer and speculator. He was associated with Aaron Burr, the Burr Expedition, and the Burr Conspiracy. He acquired several mansions: Green Leaves, Pine Grove, Bradley and Hawthorne. The entire family died in a yellow fever epidemic.
The next owners were the White family. Local tradition has it that John Hampton White (1772-1819) and Jane Surget White (1787-1825)(m.1800) expanded the home to a mansion in 1819. John’s family was from New Jersey. Jane was the oldest daughter of Pierre (Peter) and Catherine Surget of Cherry Grove Plantation and others. John died in a yellow fever epidemic that same year. The very first night in her new home, Jane died. She left her estate to her sister, Charlotte Catherine Surget Bingaman (1777-1841). She was married to Adam Bingaman (1767-1819)(m.1792).
Five generations of Surgets resided at Arlington. They collected world treasures of their own: French 19th century furniture, paintings from Vernet, Baroccio, Carolo Dolci and Coccanari, a 300-year old spinet. The library boasts 5,000 books.
By 1940, Hubert Francis Barnum (1863-1939) and Annie Shotwell Gwin Barnum(1881-1960 were owners. Barnum gave his wife the mansion with 55 acres as a wedding gift - Annie was related to the Sargent family. Her first husband was Lucien Clouston Gwin, Sr.
The property was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 and a National Historic Landmark in 1974. Evidently, it still retains 55 acres. Then a daughter Anne Green Gwin Vaughn (1915-1991) and Jack Chapline Vaughn (1912-1991)(m1942) resided there.
By 2002, the owner was Dr. Thomas Vaughan of Gulfport. After a 2002 fire caused extensive damage to the home, the home was left vacant and continued to deteriorate. Arlington was placed on the state’s 10 most endangered historic places list in 2009. NR 1973 See also Cherry Grove, Hope Farm
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