Selma Hall - Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Selma Hall - Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Selma Hall also known as Selma Farm and Kennett Castle is a historic mansion and estate located in Jefferson County, Missouri along the Mississippi River. The mansion was designed in the style of Castello di Vezio by George I. Barnett and constructed in 1854 at a cost of $125,000 for Ferdinand Kennett.Selma Hall (Kennett Castle), Historic American Buildings Survey. 1940. HABS No. MO-1493. https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/pnp/habshaer/mo/mo0700/mo0766/data/mo0766data.pdf The mansion features a four-story tower constructed from locally quarried limestone by slave labor. Kennett and his brother Luther Kennett owned nearby lead mines, shot towers for the manufacture of bullets, steamboats, and slaves. The land was given to Ferdinand’s wife, Julia (née Deaderick), by her grandfather John Smith T,Smith added 'T' to his name to differentiate himself and signify his home state Tennessee. a wealthy lead miner and famous duelist. Ferdinand died in the mansion in 1861 before it was nearly destroyed during the Civil War by gun boats that fired upon the easy target from the Mississippi River below. The mansion was restored to its original appearance only to be destroyed again by fire in 1939, leading to a second restoration by then owner William O. Schock. Read more on Wikipedia
Source: en.wikipedia.org