Skipwith Hall

The land was granted by George Washington to Nathanael Greene in 1807.[3] However, Greene let his brother-in-law, Captain William Littlefield, settle the land.[3] When Littlefield's son, Newport, Rhode Island, native Edward B. Littlefield, married Greene's daughter, Cornelia Lott Greene,[4] recently widow of Peyton Skipwith (c.1779-1808, third child of Sir Peyton Skipwith, 7th Baronet), the new couple decided to build a mansion for their plantation.[3][5]

The mansion was built with timber in 1815-1816.[3] It was the residence of Edward Littlefield and his wife Cornelia.[3] It was home to the first piano in Maury County.[5] When he won Lucius J. Polk's seat in the Tennessee Senate, Littlefield moved to Nashville and left the mansion to his stepsons, George Greene Skipwith and Peyton Horatio Skipwith.[6][3] They formally inherited it in 1836.[3] By 1849, George passed it on to the Planters Bank through a deed of trust.[3] Shortly after, the bank sold it to Benjamin Harlan.[3]

Harlan renamed it Oakwood Farm and turned it into a stock farm, importing stock from Spain and selling it in the South.[3] Meanwhile, Harlan hired architect Nathan Vaught to redesign the mansion.[3] Vaught added "six white pillars and a grand veranda."[5] According to local historian Reid Smith, Harlan added his "own special trademark of hospitality" with "A little Negro slave boy [who], stationed in the shade of a mighty oak along the pike, stood ever ready with a drink of spring water for each and every passerby."[5]

The property was later inherited by Harlan's descendants, who were still the owners of the mansion in the 1970s.[3]

It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since November 23, 1978.[2]

• Prestwould, Skipwith family mansion in Virginia