Pitts' Folly

Pitts' Folly is a historic antebellum residence in Uniontown, Alabama, rather than a conventional commercial brand. Built as the principal home of cotton planter Phillip Henry Pitts, the house is a notable example of Greek Revival domestic architecture in the Black Belt region of Alabama. Its name reflects local skepticism about the scale and ambition of the project: residents reportedly regarded Pitts's decision to construct such a large house as foolishness, or a folly. Pitts was born in Essex County, Virginia, in 1814. His father, Thomas Daniel Pitts, moved the family to Uniontown in 1833. Phillip Henry Pitts married Margaret Davidson in 1841 and later established himself as a substantial planter and landowner. According to his plantation diary, construction of the residence began on February 27, 1852, and the house was completed in April 1853. The property served as the Pitts family's main home, where most of their ten children were raised. Two of the children died during the American Civil War. The house formed part of a larger plantation economy. By 1860, Pitts owned two additional plantations, identified as Rurill Hill and Kings, and controlled approximately 2,200 acres in total. Census records for that year also document his ownership of enslaved people, while several of his children were separately recorded as enslavers. Pitts held stock in the Alabama-Mississippi Railroad and contributed substantially to Davidson College, whose collections later preserved his plantation diaries. These historical associations place the house within the economic and social systems of antebellum slavery and cotton cultivation. Architecturally, Pitts' Folly is a two-story wood-frame building clad in wooden clapboards. Its roof is gabled at the east and west ends, while the broad front portico has a flat roof. Fourteen masonry Doric columns support two-story porticos on the front and eastern elevations, with nine columns across the front and five along the east side. A cantilevered second-floor balcony extends beneath the portico on both sides. Inside, central hallways divide both floors, and several rooms retain decorative plasterwork. The property was documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey during surveys conducted in 1935 and 1936. It was added to the United States National Register of Historic Places in 1984. The residence has remained occupied by descendants of Phillip Pitts into the modern period. Because Pitts' Folly is a named historic house and heritage property, available reference material does not establish commercial product lines, a corporate owner, a consumer-market positioning, or conventional brand operations.

Phillip Henry Pitts was born on June 3, 1814, in Essex County, Virginia. He was the son of Thomas Daniel Pitts, a War of 1812 veteran who relocated his family to Uniontown, Alabama, in 1833. Phillip married Margaret Davidson in 1841. She was related to the Davidson family of North Carolina, whose ancestry included Revolutionary War general William Lee Davidson and whose legacy was connected with Davidson College. Pitts developed into a prominent cotton planter in the Uniontown area. He recorded in his plantation diary that work on his principal residence began on February 27, 1852. The house was finished in April 1853. Its unusually large scale prompted the local nickname Pitts' Folly, a reference to the belief among some residents that undertaking such an ambitious building project was imprudent or foolish. The residence stood at the center of a plantation network that also included properties known as Rurill Hill and Kings. Pitts's wealth was tied to cotton agriculture and the labor of enslaved people. The 1860 census recorded Phillip Henry Pitts as owning 75 enslaved people, while his children were separately listed as owning an additional 68. Pitts also invested in the Alabama-Mississippi Railroad and made significant contributions to Davidson College. His plantation diaries were eventually donated to the college for preservation, providing documentary evidence about his life and agricultural operations. The Pitts household included ten children, most of whom grew up in the house. Two died during the American Civil War. Phillip Pitts continued as a cotton planter until his death on April 22, 1884. The property subsequently remained in the family and continued to be occupied by his descendants. The structure is a two-story, wood-frame Greek Revival house with clapboard siding. Its most distinctive feature is the two-story portico supported by fourteen masonry Doric columns: nine on the front elevation and five along the eastern side. The portico incorporates a cantilevered second-floor balcony that wraps around both sides. The interior follows a central-hall plan on both levels and includes rooms with decorative plasterwork. The Historic American Buildings Survey recorded and documented the house in 1935 and 1936. Pitts' Folly was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. Its importance derives from its architecture, its association with the Pitts family and antebellum plantation history, and its survival as a historic residence. The property should therefore be understood primarily as a cultural and architectural landmark, not as an operating consumer brand.

• 1984

  National Register listing

  [1]Pitts' Follyen.wikipedia.org

  Pitts' Folly was added to the United States National Register of Historic Places.

• 1935

  Historic American Buildings Survey documentation

  [1]Pitts' Follyen.wikipedia.org

  The residence and grounds were surveyed and documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey during the 1935–1936 documentation period.

• 1853

  House completed

  [1]Pitts' Follyen.wikipedia.org

  Pitts recorded that the house was completed in April 1853.

• 1852

  Construction begins

  [1]Pitts' Follyen.wikipedia.org

  Phillip Henry Pitts recorded February 27, 1852, as the beginning of construction on the residence.

A named historic residence and heritage property associated with antebellum Greek Revival architecture in Uniontown, Alabama.

1. 1Pitts' Follyen.wikipedia.org