Haller Nutt

Haller Nutt (1816–1864) was a cotton plantation owner and agronomist in Mississippi. He developed a strain of cotton that became important commercially for the Deep South.

Early life Haller Nutt was born on February 17, 1816, on Laurel Hill Plantation in Jefferson County, Mississippi. His father was Dr. Rush Nutt, son of Richard Nutt of Northumberland County, Virginia. His maternal grandfather was David Ker, the first presiding professor (later known as university president) of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and later a Judge of the Mississippi Supreme Court.

Nutt was educated at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia from 1832 to 1835.

He owned several plantations, including: the Araby Plantation in Louisiana. the Cloverdale Plantation in Mississippi.

Personal life

Nutt married Julia Augusta Williams, the daughter of Austin Williams and Caroline Routh Williams (of the Routh family), in 1840. She was eighteen at the time. They had eleven children: Caroline Routh Nutt (c. 1841–1842) Mary Ella Nutt (1844). Fanny Smith Nutt (1846). Haller Nutt Jr. (1848). John Ker Nutt (1850). Austin Nutt (1852). Sargeant Prentiss Nutt (1855). Julia Nutt (1857). Calvin Routh Nutt (1858). Lillie Nutt (1861). Rushworth Nutt (1863).

They decided to begin construction on Longwood in the spring of 1860. They hired Philadelphia architect Samuel Sloan to design the multistory octagonal in the Oriental Revival style. Construction of the exterior was completed by the beginning of the Civil War. With the threat of the Civil War looming, Sloan's artisans soon halted their construction, fearing for their safety, and fled back to the North. The basement story was completed by slave labor and was ready for occupancy by 1862. Longwood is the largest octagonal house in the United States.

Death Nutt died on June 15, 1864, of pneumonia. His family continued living at Longwood plantation after his death.