Tourism: Ruins of Windsor

The remains of the Greek Revival home are an iconic landmark.

When it was built, just before the outbreak of the Civil War, Windsor was the largest and most magnificent Greek Revival home in the state—no small achievement in the Cotton Kingdom.

Legend has it that Windsor’s massive size allowed Mark Twain to use it as guide when he was piloting steamboats on the Mississippi. During the Battle of Port Gibson, the house was turned into a hospital, and although it was spared destruction by Union torches, in 1890, a carelessly tossed cigarette did what war had not. Still, what’s left, 23 columns, stretching 45 feet in the air, plus balustrades and iron stairs (the so-called “Ruins of Windsor”) are still so beautiful they draw admiring visitors from all over the country. Even Hollywood has been seduced by the glamour of the place.

Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift carried out their ill-starred romance against the magnificence of Windsor in the film, Raintree County. And by the way, cameras of any sort are still welcome—this is one movie star that doesn’t have a bad angle.