Umbria Plantation
Umbria Plantation, also known as the Samuel Pickens Plantation, was a historic cotton plantation and Greek Revival plantation house near present-day Sawyerville, Alabama.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Umbria Plantation was a historic cotton plantation and residence in Alabama's western Black Belt, near what is now Sawyerville. It was also known as the Samuel Pickens Plantation after its founder and principal owner, Samuel Pickens, a North Carolina-born member of the Pickens family. The site was associated with a large antebellum agricultural estate and a substantial Greek Revival-style house constructed during the 1830s and expanded around the middle of the nineteenth century. Samuel Pickens was born in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, in 1791. By the 1820s, he and several brothers had relocated to western Alabama, where members of the family established plantations near Umbria in what was then Greene County and is now part of Hale County. Construction of the principal residence began around 1830. Pickens's first wife, Mary Everard Meade, died in 1831 while the house was still being built. He subsequently married Selina Louisa Lenoir in 1832; their son Thomas Lenoir Pickens was born the following year, around the time the house was completed. After Selina's death in 1839, Pickens married Mary Gaillard Thomas of Charleston, South Carolina, in 1840, and they had several children. The property grew as Pickens acquired additional plantations. By approximately 1850, the original residence had been enlarged with two substantial rear wings, producing an unusual U-shaped plan. The house combined features of a raised Carolina-type cottage with Greek Revival detailing. Its principal floor stood above a full brick basement, while the front elevation featured a full-width porch supported by six Ionic columns. A sunken loggia extended across the basement level. The later wings were built on piers and were connected by a gallery surrounding the rear courtyard, with twelve Doric columns. The grounds also included agricultural and support buildings, including a barn, plantation office, schoolhouse, and other outbuildings. Pickens died on June 23, 1855. Contemporary historical accounts describe an estate valued at nearly half a million dollars by 1860 and involving more than 200 enslaved people. His sons assumed responsibility for plantation operations until military service during the Civil War disrupted the family's management. The house remained in the Pickens family for several generations before being sold outside the family and substantially renovated during the twentieth century. The property was documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey in the 1930s, preserving architectural and historical information about the house and its associated buildings. Umbria Plantation was destroyed by fire on December 29 or 30, 1971. The plantation schoolhouse survived and was later moved for preservation, first in connection with the former Gulf States Paper Company in Tuscaloosa and subsequently with the Tuscaloosa County Preservation Society. The former plantation site is now represented chiefly by a fence and deteriorating brick foundations. Because it was a historic agricultural estate rather than a contemporary commercial brand, product, or operating company, conventional brand attributes such as markets, executives, website, and financial performance do not apply.
History
Umbria Plantation developed as one of the antebellum plantation estates established by members of the Pickens family in Alabama's western Black Belt. Samuel Pickens, born in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, in 1791, moved to Alabama with several brothers during the 1820s. The family established plantations near Umbria, in an area historically identified with Greene County and later incorporated into Hale County. Pickens began building the main residence around 1830. The work continued through the death of his first wife, Mary Everard Meade, in 1831. After marrying Selina Louisa Lenoir in 1832, Pickens completed the house around 1833. Selina died in 1839, and Pickens married a third time in 1840 to Mary Gaillard Thomas of Charleston, South Carolina. Their family included several children, and the household remained connected to the estate as it expanded. The original house was a raised Carolina-type cottage with a principal living floor over a full brick basement. Its architectural character was shaped by Greek Revival conventions. The front porch extended across the main elevation and was carried by six Ionic columns under the principal roof. The basement front included a sunken loggia, while the interior was organized around a central hall with rooms and fireplaces on either side. A carefully detailed central entrance incorporated a fanlight and sidelights. As Pickens acquired more agricultural land, the estate grew in scale and wealth. Around 1850, two large wings were added to the rear corners of the original house. The additions created a distinctive U-shaped arrangement and were designed to harmonize with the earlier structure. Unlike the original central block, the wings rested on piers rather than an enclosed basement. A three-sided gallery with twelve Doric columns surrounded the rear courtyard and linked the expanded components. The plantation complex included more than the main residence. A barn, plantation office, schoolhouse, and several other outbuildings were documented in the twentieth-century survey record. These structures reflected the domestic, administrative, educational, and agricultural functions of a large plantation estate. Samuel Pickens died on June 23, 1855. Historical descriptions place the value of his estate at nearly half a million dollars by 1860 and identify more than 200 enslaved people as part of the plantation's labor system. After Pickens's death, his sons managed the plantations until their service during the Civil War affected the continuity of operations. The Pickens family retained the house for several generations. It was later sold outside the family and underwent extensive renovation during the mid-twentieth century. The Historic American Buildings Survey recorded Umbria Plantation during the 1930s, providing important architectural documentation before the property was lost. The principal house was destroyed by fire on December 29 or 30, 1971. The plantation schoolhouse survived and was donated for relocation and preservation. It was associated first with the former Gulf States Paper Company in Tuscaloosa and later with the Tuscaloosa County Preservation Society. At the original site, a fence and crumbling brick foundations remain as limited physical traces of the plantation complex.
- 1971
Main house destroyed by fire
[1]The principal house was destroyed by fire on December 29 or 30, ending the survival of the main architectural landmark.
- 1930
Historic American Buildings Survey documentation
[1]The plantation was recorded by the Historic American Buildings Survey during the 1930s.
- 1855
Death of Samuel Pickens
[1]Samuel Pickens died on June 23, after which his sons assumed responsibility for the plantation operations.
- 1850
Rear wings added
[1]Two large rear wings and a surrounding gallery expanded the original house into an unusual U-shaped Greek Revival complex.
- 1833
Main house completed
[1]The original raised-basement residence was completed around the time Samuel and Selina Pickens's son Thomas Lenoir Pickens was born.
- 1830
Construction of the main house begins
[1]Construction began on the principal residence at Umbria Plantation.
- 1820
Pickens family relocates to western Alabama
[1]Samuel Pickens and several of his brothers moved to western Alabama and established plantations in the area near Umbria.
- 1791
Birth of Samuel Pickens
[1]Samuel Pickens, later associated with Umbria Plantation, was born in Cabarrus County, North Carolina.
Products and positioning
Historic plantation estate and Greek Revival architectural landmark; not an active commercial brand.
Recent events
- 1971
Umbria Plantation destroyed by fire[1]
Other
The historic plantation house was destroyed in a fire on December 29 or 30, 1971. The schoolhouse survived, while the principal remaining evidence at the site consisted of foundations and a fence.
- 1971
Plantation schoolhouse moved for preservation[1]
Other
After the fire, the surviving plantation schoolhouse was donated for relocation and preservation and later came under the stewardship of the Tuscaloosa County Preservation Society.
- 1930
Umbria Plantation documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey[1]
Other
The plantation house and associated property were recorded by the Historic American Buildings Survey, creating a documentary record of the site's architecture and historical setting.
Sources1 sources
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