Pictures of Natchez, Mississippi, and the Natchez Trace

Mississippi is a beautiful state and there is no better time to visit than in the spring with the rich emerald of Southern Magnolia and Yellow Pine against new spring foliage accented with the bright blossoms of azaleas and wisteria.

Azalea on grounds of Stanton Hall	Mississippi Atlas & Gazetteer	Mississippi Blues Audio CD
	Perfect for trip planning and backcountry access.	A wide collection of Blues

Natchez

Antebellum Natchez was home to wealthy cotton plantation owners who lived in mansions on large estates. It is believed that a third of all millionaires living in the United States during this period had homes in the area between Natchez and New Orleans. Their lifestyle was supported by huge cotton plantations in Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi, worked by thousands of slaves. Natchez was the second largest slave market in the region. Step back in time with us.

Stanton Hall: 1857. Designed by Natchez architect, Thomas Rose. Classic Greek Revival architecture with Victorian and Italianate details. The house boasts original Italian marble mantles, bronze Cornelius chandeliers, and many pieces of furniture with reproduced Stanton fabrics.

Longwood, a National Historic Landmark, is the largest and finest octagonal house in America. It was designed by Philadelphia architect, Samuel Sloan, for cotton grower Haller and Julia Nutt in a mid-19th century Oriental style. With the outbreak of the War Between the States in 1861, construction stopped as workers left for their homes in the north. Tools and packing crates remain as they were. Original furnishings remain on the lower level. The upper floors have been left as they were. It was designed to have 4 main floors, a solarium and observatory, with a total of 32 rooms each with an entrance to a balcony. At the center was a rotunda open to all 6 floors and topped with a Byzantine-Moorish dome and finial.

Longwood: 1860-1861	Longwood side elevation	Niche in rotunda originally planned to be finished in stucco and showcase a statue.	Tools left as workers headed north.	Original piano packing crate.

Grounds of Longwood.	Grounds of Longwood.	Live Oak with Spanish moss	Grounds of Longwood.

Melrose Plantation is owned by the National Park Service and provides a glimpse into the lifestyles of the privileged and those who supported them: summer months spent traveling in the Northeast or Europe, winters in Natchez running the plantation business and entertaining.

Melrose Plantation: 1845. Greek Revival Mansion.	Melrose Plantation side elevation showing shuttered stairways which concealed slave movements from guests.	Melrose Plantation rear elevation	Recreated slave quarters.	Melrose Plantation grounds.

Hawthorne: 1814. Federal style with a broad central hall featuring 4 doorways with identical elliptical fanlights.	Mrs. Hyde Dunbar Jenkins extends a personal welcome to her home.	Elms Court: 1835-1840. Elms Court has a terraced garden and an excavated pit used in the 1850's to make gas for lighting the house.	Grounds of Elms Court	Wisteria

Outbuilding at Elms Court	Elms Court back elevation	Carriage house at Elms Court	Downtown Natchez	Dunleith: 1856. Greek Revival with 26 Tuscan columns supporting a double gallery with wrought iron railings. This is the only remaining fully colonnaded house still standing in MS.

Mississippi River boat	Mississippi River	Bridge over Mississippi River connecting Mississippi to Louisiana	The Parsonage: 1852	Rosalie:1820. Headquarters of the Union Army during the War Between the States.

The House on Ellicott's Hill:1798. Views the end of the Natchez Trace.	The Banker's House: 1833. Greek Revival with fine carved woodwork.	Bontura: 1851. Built by Robert Smith, a free African-American who ran a carriage service.	Governor Holmes House: 1794	Greenlea: 1795-1853

Griffith McConas House: 1793	Holly Hedges: 1796	The Briars: 1818 site of Jefferson Davis Wedding	Texada: 1792. Located in the old Spanish Quarter, it has been a tavern, hotel and Territorial Legislative Hall.	Historic Jefferson College (1802), Washington, MS. First educational institution in MS Territory.

Natchez Trace

The Trace is believed to have first been used by prehistoric hunters more than 8,000 years ago. It was then used by the Natchez, Chickasaw and Choctaw Indians, and the Spanish conquistadors. In 1733 the French mapped a trail running from Natchez to the northeast. By 1810 it was a well traveled wilderness road which by 1820 had more than 20 stands (inns) offering food and shelter. The modern Natchez Trace Parkway now runs along it from Natchez to Nashville. The Emerald Mound, located along the Trace, is the second largest Indian mound known in the U.S. It dates to the 13th century and was used by ancestors of the Natchez Indians.

Natchez Trace	Emerald Mound approach	Emerald Mound Temple Mound ca 1200 AD.	View from Temple Mound	Springfield: 1786-1791. Andrew Jackson and Rachel Robards Plantation. First mansion in MS

Church Hill, one of the oldest settlements in MS.  Christ Church ca. 1790. Current building erected in 1857.	The Cedars Plantation: 1830	The Cedars Plantation: 1830	Natchez Trace	Loess Bluff formed during the Ice Ages (approximately 50' high).

Grand Village of the Natchez Indians

The Natchez were farmers. The reconstructed house and granary  are based on historical descriptions by European settlers arriving in the early 1700s and archaeological remains. The plazas between the mounds were used for ceremonies. The house of the Great Sun or chief was built on the Great Sun's Mound. On his death, all his wives and retainers were strangled to go with him into the next life. His house was then burned and the mound raised to support the house of his successor. The Temple housed the remains of previous Suns. A sacred, perpetual fire was kept as a symbol of the sun.

Great Sun's Mound	Reconstructed Natchez house and granary	Temple Mound	Abandoned Mound

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