John Wind was an architect who designed his work in southwest Georgia in the United States from approximately 1838 until his death in 1863.
William Warren Rogers writes "Some of Wind's work still exists and reveals him as one of the South's most talented but, unfortunately, least known architects.
Circa 1838, merchant and planter Jackson J. Mash brought John Wind from New York city to Duncanville, Georgia, to design a large house for his plantation.
The Southern Enterprise newspaper described it as a "fine mansion, where spacious apartments, gorgeous furniture (are housed).
The Greek Revival began waning in the United States circa 1840, but not in the South, where it remained a popular form.
Sometime c. 1899, the owner Colonel Oliver Hazard Payne, commissioned noted architect Stanford White.
White was the architect of Rosecliff and Madison Square Garden II among other notable buildings.
[6] He added two small, symmetric side wings and additional living and kitchen space in the rear.
The evening of April 2, 1993, during a celebration of a just completed $2 million restoration, Greenwood caught fire and little except the exterior brick walls and two columns were saved.
[7] Circa 1841, James Joseph Blackshear, hired John Wind to design a house for his plantation Cedar Grove in Duncanville.
The exterior of Cedar Grove is wood clapboard except under the portico where the siding is set flush to resemble stone.
The rooms on the right (north) side of the house were not as deep as on the left, and this rear area included a covered porch.
In 1891, A. Heywood Mason of Philadelphia acquired Susina and added the side porches and modified the rear kitchen wing.
Also circa 1850, Spain hired John Wind to design what later was named Eudora Plantation, east of Thomasville in what is now Brooks County.
It included a full-facade portico with entablature supported by six two-story, fluted Doric columns made of cypress.
It did have other Wind signatures, such as siding set flush under the portico to resemble stone and a cantilever balcony over the front door.
While some elements of the house comply with Greek Revival, the ogee and entablature bracket curves depart from the style.
However, Wind's talent is revealed in his ability to harmoniously blend these newer-styled features into the Greek Revival.
[9] Circa 1856, John Wind began work on Fair Oaks for Colonel Richard Mitchell, a hero of the War of 1812.
These elements and the triangular window combine to give a somewhat Oriental touch to the appearance, again illustrating Wind's ability to elegantly abandon the Greek Revival with his own unique style.
It was reconstructed with an identical exterior, except a carved acorn and oak leaves replaced the pediment window.
The flat-roofed porch has an entablature with an arched connection to the pillars, and the front window has a mitered casing, both similar to Fair Oaks.
[1] His diploma allegedly bore the signature of Queen Victoria, and since she ascended to the throne on June 20, 1837, he could not have arrived in Thomasville prior to 1838.
It is more probable that skilled slaves were bought, the timber was cut for extended drying, and brick manufacture began at Greenwood as early as 1835.