In the 1830's, Colonel James Bennett and his wife, Harriet M. Grace, built "The Mansion" on this site. Tradition holds that it was the only three story antebellum home in the Chattahoochee Valley, with a ballroom on the top floor, six columns spanning the façade, and a winding staircase. Visible from the Chattahoochee River, it became known to riverboat travelers as "The Showplace of the South." James Bennett had come to Alabama in 1817 with his father, Luke Bennett, and they first settled on a ridge between what is now Clayton and Louisville along with James Arthur, Pious Chambers, and others. The house later burned to the ground, leaving only the kitchen standing. That surviving structure was built with 10"x10" beams set on concrete blocks made of sand and pebbles from the property, and cut nails and large steel spikes were used throughout the building. The cemetery here contains the graves of Colonel James Bennett; Bartlett Smith Bennett, infant son; James W. Bennett, CSA; John B. Bennett, CSA; the Bennett slaves; and Mr. Williams of New York, the construction overseer, who died of pneumonia before "The Mansion" was completed. Harriet Grace Bennett is buried in an unmarked grave in the Shorterville Baptist Church cemetery near her son Thomas.