The Jemison Mansion, which is located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, was constructed over the years of 1859 to 1862 by Senator Robert Jemison Jr. Jemison was said to be a shrewd man when spending money on his home so it explains why the house was constructed by the work of slaves and materials from his many slave plantations. Jemison was a very wealthy business man and owned many sawmills and coal mines. The Jemison household was very advanced for its time having a plumbing system, indoor lighting, a relatively modern refrigerator, a gas stove, and indoor lighting. Jemison owned six plantation homes and over 500 slaves and started becoming involved in Alabama politics in the 1830s. Although the Jemison mansion was created pre-civil war, Jemison worked with the Confederate army as a defendant of the south. Jemison was a large advocate for the building of an institution for the mentally insane (Bryce Hospital) in the city of Tuscaloosa. The architectural firm Sloan & Stewart was brought from Philadelphia to build both the original hospital and the Jemison home. Although the house looks to be finished, while it was in the hands of Jemison and his family the house was never completed, partly due to the timing of the eruption of the Civil War. A notable fact is that after the end of the Civil War, Jemison was a large part in the rebuilding of the University of Alabama due to the fires on campus and destruction. After Jemison's death in 1871 and post-Civil War, the Jemison house changed hands many times to a distant relative Jemison-Van de Graaf who has restored the house to its relative state. The house was previously used for a public library until the late 1970s, to now being a space for tours and large celebrations.