Part 8/12:
By 1861, Jianzo Wood was a consummate symbol of Southern aristocratic life—an architectural marvel representing wealth accumulated through cotton plantations worked by enslaved labor. Yet, the tumult of the Civil War cast a shadow over this idyllic estate. As the war loomed, Nathan Wetfield, then in his early sixties, saw his grand plans curtailed; resources shifted toward war efforts, and the economy was fundamentally altered.
With the abolition of slavery in 1865, the economic base of the plantation evaporated. The vast cotton fields, once the source of immense wealth, now lay fallow. Wetfield’s fortunes declined rapidly—by 1868, he passed away at age 69, leaving behind a family estate in financial and structural disarray.