Dicksonia Plantation

Dicksonia
Dicksonia in 1934.
Location	Lowndes County, Alabama
Coordinates	32°15′29″N 86°36′31″W / 32.25798°N 86.60869°W / 32.25798; -86.60869Coordinates: 32°15′29″N 86°36′31″W / 32.25798°N 86.60869°W / 32.25798; -86.60869
Built	1830-1856, 1940
Built for	David White, Wiley Turner, Robert Dickson
Architectural style(s)	Greek Revival with Italianate influences
Governing body	Private
Location of Dicksonia in Alabama

Dicksonia, also known as the Turner-Dickson House, was a historic plantation house just south of Lowndesboro, Alabama, United States. Dating back to 1830, it was destroyed by fire twice. The house was recorded by the Historic American Buildings Survey in 1934 and the ruins were later featured in the 1993 book Silent in the Land. For the May 1999 issue of Vanity Fair magazine, Annie Leibovitz did a photo shoot of Natalie Portman at the ruins on February 7, 1999.

Dicksonia was originally a two-story house with a small one-story portico in front, built in 1830 by David White. But, in 1856, the house was purchased by Wiley Turner, who hired an architect to remodel the house into a Greek Revival mansion, very similar in appearance to nearby Meadowlawn. The front porch was removed and a monumental two-story portico extending around two sides of the house was added, supported by twelve fluted Doric columns. Elaborate cornice brackets, reflecting an Italianate influence, met at the roof line. The architecture of the house was also noted to show a Mississippi influence.Banisters of intricate design framed the porticoes. The front door had sidelights and an overhead transom. The door upstairs, also with sidelights, opened onto a wrought iron balcony directly over the front door. A side balcony of wooden banisters adorned the upstairs on the west side of the house. A central hall ran the length of the house, with a staircase leading to the second floor. Sometime before 1900, the separate kitchen was added to the house proper. Water was supplied by a windmill at this time.