Latta Plantation House

Sitting in the Huntersville area of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Latta Plantation is an unusual plantation house for the South. In fact, the large home looks more like a Philadelphia town house. Maybe that's because James Latta had moved from Pennsylvania to North Carolina, and he establish this cotton plantation around 1800. He bought a tract of 100 acres near the Catawba River from Moses Hays for $600. This is the only Catawba River plantation still standing and open to the public.

The unique, rectangular two-story house has entrances on the two sides and not in the front or back. It's covered in beaded boards and sits on a stone foundation. Two rows of five windows dot the west side with the bottom being larger than the top ones. The east side of the house has only six windows in all. The Federal structure has fine Georgian elements and impressive details.

James Latta had immigrated from Ireland around 1785 and landed in Philadelphia. After leaving Pennsylvania, he'd settled in Lincoln County, North Carolina, prior to building Latta Plantation. He and his wife, Jane, had three daughters. Each one of them attended Salem Academy in Salem (now Winston-Salem) and became the mistress of a fine North Carolina plantation - Oak Lawn, Cedar Grove, and Mount Mourne. The son, Ezekiel, died in 1820, long before his father.

Today the Latta property is a living history museum that's toured by over 40,000 visitors a year. The site also hosts special events throughout the year. There is an admission fee, and, regrettably, no photos are allowed inside the home for me to share here, but you can tour the outside without cost.

_________________________________________