Roseland Plantation

Roseland Plantation is a historic plantation complex in the Canebrake region of Marengo County, near Faunsdale, Alabama. It is not a commercial consumer brand or operating company; the name identifies a historic estate whose surviving landscape and remnants are significant for understanding antebellum plantation life, architecture, labor, and material culture in the Alabama Canebrake. The property occupies a low hill reached by a long driveway through an overgrown estate. The plantation was established by James Harris Fitts during the late 1820s on approximately 1,200 acres. Fitts and his wife, Rebecca Emily Alston, had a large family, and the estate became the home of their children. Fitts was killed by a discharged overseer on July 16, 1832, leaving his eighteen-year-old son, Samuel Alston Fitts, responsible for the household and the care of his mother and younger siblings. Samuel later married Sarah Elizabeth Alston, whose family also had North Carolina roots and connections in the surrounding region. Under Samuel Fitts, Roseland became a successful agricultural estate. By 1860, the property was reported as being valued at $95,000 and was worked by at least 67 enslaved people. This history places Roseland within the broader plantation economy of the antebellum American South and also makes the site relevant to the history of slavery in Alabama. The estate should therefore be understood not simply as an architectural property, but as a place shaped by the forced labor of enslaved people whose names and individual experiences are not fully represented in the available summary material. The principal dwelling developed in stages. The earliest portion began as a dogtrot house in 1835, a form in which two enclosed rooms are separated by a breezeway. During the mid-1850s, a substantial two-story Greek Revival frame addition was built at the front. The earlier porch became a cross-hall, while the breezeway was extended into a long central hall. A reverse staircase connected the central hallway with the upper floor. The complex also included service and agricultural structures, including a plantation office known as the apothecary, where medicines were dispensed to enslaved workers, as well as a large seven-seat privy dating from the 1850s. By the early 1990s, neglect had caused the main house and most outbuildings to deteriorate or disappear. A 1993 survey found the principal house in ruins, with only portions of walls remaining. The original log kitchen and a dairy cooler survived at the site. Other elements were removed for preservation elsewhere: the Greek Revival apothecary was transferred to the grounds of Sturdivant Hall in Selma, and the large privy, donated to the Sturdivant Museum Association in 1979, was relocated there in 2005. Roseland Plantation was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 20, 1994, as part of the Plantation Houses of the Alabama Canebrake and Their Associated Outbuildings Multiple Property Submission. Its significance today rests primarily in the largely undisturbed archaeological setting, the surviving fragments and relocated structures, and the evidence the site provides about plantation architecture, estate organization, and enslaved labor in nineteenth-century Alabama.

Roseland Plantation was established by James Harris Fitts in the late 1820s on a 1,200-acre estate in the Canebrake region of Marengo County, Alabama. Fitts and his wife, Rebecca Emily Alston, had ten children, although several died before adulthood. The estate became the family residence and was part of the agricultural plantation system that developed in the region before the American Civil War. On July 16, 1832, James Harris Fitts was killed by a discharged overseer. His death placed his eighteen-year-old son, Samuel Alston Fitts, in charge of the plantation and of supporting his mother and younger siblings. Samuel later married Sarah Elizabeth Alston, whose family came from nearby Clarke County and, like the Fitts family, had origins in North Carolina. Under Samuel's management, Roseland became a prosperous estate. By 1860, its reported property value was $95,000, and at least 67 enslaved people were forced to work there. The site's history is consequently inseparable from the institution of slavery and the labor system that sustained antebellum plantation wealth. The main house began as a dogtrot structure in 1835. In the mid-1850s, the family added a large two-story Greek Revival frame section to the front. The earlier dogtrot porch became a cross-hall, and the breezeway was extended as a long center hall. A reverse staircase provided access to the upper floor. The estate also contained functional outbuildings and facilities associated with plantation life, including a small Greek Revival office known as the apothecary. The apothecary was used to dispense medicine to enslaved people. A large seven-seat privy, dating to the 1850s, was another surviving feature associated with the complex. The property declined through neglect. A 1993 survey found the principal house largely ruined, with only several walls remaining, and most of the outbuildings had been demolished. The original log kitchen and a dairy cooler remained at the location, while other structures had been removed for preservation. The apothecary was given to the Sturdivant Museum Association and moved to Sturdivant Hall in Selma. The seven-seat privy was donated in 1979 and eventually relocated to Sturdivant Hall in 2005. Roseland Plantation was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 20, 1994. The listing formed part of the Plantation Houses of the Alabama Canebrake and Their Associated Outbuildings Multiple Property Submission. Although the principal residence is no longer intact, the site remains important for archaeological and historical reasons because its landscape and surviving remains preserve evidence of plantation architecture, domestic organization, agricultural operations, and the lives of enslaved people who worked the estate.

• 2005

  Privy relocated to Sturdivant Hall

  [1]Roseland Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  The donated seven-seat privy was moved to the grounds of Sturdivant Hall in Selma.

• 1994

  National Register listing

  [1]Roseland Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  Roseland Plantation was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 20, 1994, through a multiple-property submission for Alabama Canebrake plantation houses and associated outbuildings.

• 1993

  Historic-site survey completed

  [1]Roseland Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  A survey conducted before National Register nomination documented the main house as being in ruins, with only a few walls remaining.

• 1979

  Historic privy donated for preservation

  [1]Roseland Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  The plantation's large seven-seat privy was donated to the Sturdivant Museum Association for preservation.

• 1850

  Greek Revival addition built

  [1]Roseland Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  A two-story Greek Revival frame addition was added to the front of the original dwelling during the mid-1850s.

• 1835

  Dogtrot house constructed

  [1]Roseland Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  The earliest portion of the plantation house was built as a dogtrot house.

• 1832

  Death of James Harris Fitts

  [1]Roseland Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  James Harris Fitts was killed by a discharged overseer on July 16, 1832, leaving his eighteen-year-old son Samuel responsible for the family and estate.

• 1820

  Plantation established

  [1]Roseland Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  James Harris Fitts established Roseland Plantation on approximately 1,200 acres in the Alabama Canebrake during the late 1820s.

A historic plantation and archaeological site rather than a commercial brand, interpreted through its architecture, landscape, surviving outbuildings, and documented connection to antebellum slavery and agriculture.

• 1994

  Roseland Plantation added to the National Register of Historic Places[1]Roseland Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  Roseland Plantation was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of a multiple-property submission covering plantation houses and associated outbuildings in the Alabama Canebrake.

1. 1Roseland Plantationen.wikipedia.org