Mimosa Hall
Why it's listed
Mimosa Hall is a brick plantation house near Leigh in eastern Harrison County, Texas. Planter and builder John Johnston Webster designed it, and slave-masons he had trained built it, beginning in 1840. Work paused while Webster's crew built another planter's house, and Mimosa Hall was finished in 1844. Its north front has a symmetrical five-bay facade and a pedimented two-story portico with two large cypress columns. The house was first one room deep with a central hall, and later additions at the rear came in 1905, 1932, about 1941 and 1954. In 1932 the original balcony was replaced with one brought from the Porterfield house in Vicksburg, Mississippi, later called the Jefferson Davis Balcony. The plantation has shrunk from 3000 to 300 acres, and the listing covers about 6 acres around the house. It was listed as one of the county's earliest brick buildings, a fine Greek Revival plantation house, and a long-standing social center that has stayed in Webster's family.
Significance in brief: It is described as one of Harrison County's earliest brick structures and a fine example of a 19th-century Texas Greek Revival plantation house. It was built by Webster's trained slave-masons and has stayed with his descendants. It has also served as a social center, and its front facade is little altered, with a relocated balcony tied to Jefferson Davis.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 78002949, listed November 2, 1978. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | S of Leigh off SR 134, Leigh |
|---|---|
| County | Harrison County |
| Listed | November 2, 1978 |
| Reference number | 78002949 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1800-1899 |
| Architect / builder | John Johnston Webster |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival |
| Areas of significance | Agriculture, Architecture, Social History |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition marked good and altered, on its original site; the house has had additions from 1905 to 1954. |
| Acreage | 6 |
| Coordinates | 32.58888, -94.14370 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 78002949.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q6862327
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.