From a distance, this magnificent octagonal "Oriental villa" as its architect, Samuel Sloan, described it, resembles an elegant shell. However, only the nine-room basement floor was ever finished; work on the upper floors was halted in 1861 when Yankee workmen fled. However, the house is remarkable for its 120 Corinthian columns, its 26 chimneys, and, on the top floor, its extraordinary circular observatory with its panoramic view of Natchez and the Mississippi.