106 A BICENTENNIAL HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI PHOTO COURTESY OF THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF ARCHIVES AND HISTORY, MOSBY POSTCARD COLLECTION BUILT ON THE SITE WHERE THE PLANTATION HOME ROULAND ONCE STOOD, Dunleith was given its Scottish name by Alfred Davis, who owned the home during the Civil War after buying it from the Routh family. Taking the place of Routhland, which burned to the ground after being struck by lightning, Dunleith was built in Greek Revival style surrounded by twenty-six Tuscan columns. The Carpenter family lived in and owned Dunleith from 1886-1976, when it was sold and became an inn. Dunleith remains a popular bed and breakfast and wedding venue. DUNLEITH Counties and Communities Prior to Mississippi’s statehood in 1817, the Lower River counties were home to the majority of settlers in the Mississippi Territory. On April 2, 1799, Adams and Pickering counties, named for President John Adams and Secretary of State Timothy Pickering, respectively, were established. On January 11, 1802, Pickering County was renamed Jefferson County after President Thomas Jefferson by the Democratic-Republican majority in the territorial legislature as a slight to their Federalist political rivals. The creation of Claiborne County, named for W.C.C. Claiborne, governor of the Mississippi Territory and Wilkinson County, named for Brigadier General James Wilkinson, followed that same month. All established in 1809, Amite County was named for the Amite River; Franklin County was named for Benjamin Franklin; and Warren County was named for General Joseph Warren, a Revolutionary War hero. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE MISSISSIPPI SECRETARY OF STATE’S OFFICE