Elegant and exceptionally well preserved, Natchez, Mississippi offers visitors a journey into the past with grand Antebellum homes and sweeping plantations. But there is more to this beautiful river city. World renowned festivals offer a deeper look into Natchez's rich and varied cultures, and parks like the Natchez Trace Parkway provide enough lush beauty to keep any nature lover happy.Because of its flat terrain, downtown Natchez is easy to explore by foot. You might want to begin your journey at Bluff Park, an appealing riverside greenbelt with historical markers and benches providing excellent views of the Mississippi. A monthly paper called 'On the River' contains a fascinating walking tour that offers an intriguing lesson on Natchez's rich and varied architecture.
Many of Natchez's historic mansions are open to the public, and some that you might not want to miss include Monmouth, which is situated on twenty-six exquisite acres, boasting scent-laden flowers, ponds, songbirds and ancient oak trees; Rosalie, constructed of cypress, handmade brick and bousillage (deerhair and mud) on cypress laths; Dunleith, a stately white colonnade Greek Revival temple standing on a terraced rise surrounded by forty acres of landscaped gardens and wooded bayous; and the stately Stanton Hall, which occupies an entire city block. If you'd like to travel back to before the 19th century, there's the House on Ellicott's Hill and the Governor Holmes House, one of several Colonial treasures in Natchez' Spanish Quarter. Tickets are available at each individual house or through Natchez Pilgrimage Tours (601) 446-6631 or (800) 647-6742.
Melrose Plantation is an 1847 mansion owned by the National Park Service and part of the Natchez National Historical Park. After the death of Melrose's owner in 1883, the house was left in the care of former slaves, Jane Johnson and Alice Sims. Johnson died at the age of 103 in the 1940's and Sims at age 96 in the 1930's. The property includes numerous outbuildings, cisterns, a slavery exhibit, formal gardens, and the Big House, where the TV miniseries North & South was filmed. Admission is $6.00. (601) 442-7047.
For a visual exegesis of Natchez's colorful history, visit the Stratton Chapel Gallery, which features a priceless exhibit of 1850s-1940s photographs. The photographs were printed from original negatives of famous photographers such as J.M. White, Henry d. Gurney and Henry C. Norman. (601) 442-4741. |
