Clifton Place
National Register of Historic Places

Clifton Place

Columbia, Maury County, Tennessee
Listed
July 7, 1970
Type
Building
Period
Early Republic
Ref No.
70000613

About this property

Clifton Place is an historic plantation mansion located southwest of the city of Columbia, Maury County, Tennessee on the Mt. Pleasant Pike (Columbia highway). Master builder Nathan Vaught started construction in 1838, and the mansion and other buildings were completed in 1839, for Gideon Johnson Pillow (1806-1877) on land inherited from Gideon Pillow. Clifton Place was the first of three mansions built for the Pillow brothers by Vaught. Pillow-Bethel House (Bethel House) was built for Jerome Bonaparte Pillow and Pillow Place (Pillow-Haliday) for Major Granville A. Pillow. The two story mansion had a two-room attic, a two-room basement and a supply cellar. Single story side-wings were added in 1846. There was an office and separated kitchen. Other service buildings such as a smokehouse, carriage house, more than one barn, farm buildings, and slave quarters were built away from the main house. In 1852 the roof was raised and a pedimented portico supported by columns was added to the facade. Son-in-law Melville Williams took over the plantation in 1872, and another relative Colonel J. W. S. Ridley, purchased the property in 1877, and Ridley family members owned the plantation until 1972. The mansion was placed on the National Register of Historic Places listings in Maury County, Tennessee on July 8, 1970.

Location

Columbia, Maury County, Tennessee
35.57840, -87.11518

Categories

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTUREMILITARYPOLITICS/GOVERNMENTARCHITECTURE
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Overview
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The Land
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Geology
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Conflict & War
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The Civil War
The Civil War on this ground, 1861 to 1865: who held it, and the battles, camps and regiments nearby.
The Soldiers
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Native Heritage
The Native nations who held this land, mapped across time from before European contact to today.
Settlement
Who claimed and held this ground, from Indigenous homelands through the colonial powers to the United States.
The Community
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Rivers & Rail
The rivers, canals and railroads that connected this place between 1830 and 1911.
Notable People
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Finds & Access
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Literature
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Spotlight
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Nearby Historic Sites

Pillow-Bethel House
Industrial
0.7 mi
Pine Hill
Early Republic
0.9 mi
Ashwood Rural Historic District
Listed
1.3 mi
St. John's Episcopal Church (Additional Documentation)
Early Republic
1.4 mi
Pillow Place
Industrial
2 mi

Nearby Battles

Battle of Duck River (Tennessee 1863)
1863Civil War
3.1 mi
Battle of Duck River Crossing Nov 1864
1864Civil War
5.1 mi
Skirmish at Columbia, Tennessee (1862)
1862Civil War
5.2 mi

Questions about this property

When was Clifton Place listed on the National Register?

Clifton Place was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 7, 1970.

What type of historic resource is Clifton Place?

Clifton Place is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Clifton Place?

The period of significance for Clifton Place is recorded as the early_republic era, specifically around 1806.

Can I research the history near Clifton Place?

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