The Country Squire Tobacconist Ruins of Windsor

Notes: Ruins of Windsor derives its name from the well-known Mississippi landmark located near the Mississippi River and the town of Port Gibson. Once the site of a beautiful plantation home, named Windsor, that was commissioned by Smith Coffee Daniell II in 1859 and completed in 1861, now only 23 Corinthian columns remain. When the four-story home was built, no expense was spared in its crafting and furnishing by Daniell, who unfortunately only lived in the home for a few weeks before his untimely death. During The Civil War, the roof-top observatory was used by Confederate soldiers as a lookout, and during Grant’s campaign against Port Gibson, the home was used as a hospital for Union soldiers. As the story goes, a Union soldier was shot and killed in the doorway of the magnificent mansion and in retaliation, the soldiers were instructed to burn Windsor. However, the widow Catherine Daniell pleaded for the home and reminded the soldiers of the care she had granted to their wounded and sick. The plantation home was saved that day, but Windsor met its fate on February 17, 1890, when a fire was accidentally started by a cigarette. Today only the ghostly columns and portions of the balustrade remain, an eerie reminder of the past. Some say you can see the ghost of Mr. Daniell walking in midst of the columns longing for his final rest or the phantom of the Union soldier looming where the door once stood. Do you dare take a journey to the Ruins of Windsor?