What is the historic mansion in St. Francisville, Louisiana, and who built it?

Rosedown Plantation State Historic Site is a 19th-century historic mansion located in St. Francisville, Louisiana. The mansion was built by Daniel and Martha Turnbull in 1835, and is considered one of the best-preserved examples of plantation architecture in the United States.

The mansion and its surrounding gardens cover 374 acres, and the property has been a state historic site since 2000. The house has 28 rooms, most of which are open to the public. Visitors can explore the rooms and view original furnishings, including a collection of 19th-century art and antiques. The site also includes several outbuildings, including a schoolhouse, a kitchen, and a carriage house.

Daniel and Martha Turnbull were wealthy cotton planters who moved to Louisiana from Scotland. They named the plantation Rosedown after their family's ancestral home in Scotland. The Turnbulls built the mansion in the Greek Revival style and filled it with furniture and art from around the world. The property remained in the Turnbull family until 1956 when it was sold to a couple who began to restore the property. The property was later sold to the state of Louisiana, which opened it to the public in 1964.