Hay House
Overview
In the mid-1800s, William Butler Johnston was the keeper of the Confederate treasury, but the mansion he built is the real treasure he left behind. Inspired by the mansions of Florence and Rome during a three-year honeymoon in Europe, Johnston and his wife, Anne, spent four years building an 18,000-square-foot Italian Renaissance Revival mansion that is now a National Historic Landmark.
Considered the most advanced antebellum building in America for its style, craftsmanship and technological innovations, the magnificent seven-level Hay House has been featured on A&E's "America's Castles." It boasts beautiful 18th-Century furnishings, Italian Carrara Marble fireplaces, some of the country's finest examples of marbleized and trompe l'oeil finishes, a music room with a 30-foot clerestory ceiling, exquisite plaster work with 24-karat gold leafing and spectacular stained glass.
The Hay House is available for functions and guided tours.
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