Natchez on the Mississippi River

The U.S. state of Mississippi is bordered by the state of Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east and west along with the state of Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico to the south. The Mississippi Delta region is considered to be the birthplace of blues music.

We begin with Natchez a city on the Mississippi River. It is known for its antebellum mansions and an old trade route known as the Natchez Trace Parkway which is now a recreational road and scenic drive.

The Auburn Museum & Historic Home is an antebellum mansion and listed as a National Historic Landmark. It is located in Duncan Park. The mansion was designed and built in 1812 in the Greek Revival style. It has an impressive two-story Greek portico and pedimented gable. Between the first and second floors is a magnificent unsupported geometrical spiral staircase. You can see antiques and period pieces on display.

The Charboneau Distillery is a microbrewery that is family-owned and operated. It produces many delicious rums. It is housed in one of the oldest buildings in Mississippi and produces both white and dark rums in small oak whiskey casks. The rum is bottled in distinctive bottles that show maps of the historic sugar cane growing territory along the lower Mississippi River. Guided tours are available.

The Emerald Mound Site is an ancient archaeological site that dates back to the Plaquemine culture Mississippi period. It is also referred to as the Selsertown site. The historic mound is on the Natchez Trace Parkway and dates back to between 1200 and 1730 AD. It has a flat top with two smaller secondary mounds at each end. It is the second-largest earthwork from the pre-Columbian period in the country. It’s open to the public and listed as a National Historic Landmark.

The Grand Village of the Natchez is a 128.1-acre site that includes an ancient indigenous village and earthwork mounds in south Natchez. It is also referred to as the Fatherland Site. This historic village dates back to about 1200 AD.. It is named after the Natchez people who used the site in the 17th and 18th centuries. It is a National Historic Landmark and one of the top tourist attractions in the city. The museum has artifacts excavated from the site. You can see a reconstructed Natchez house, and a picnic pavilion. and many nature trails.

Magnolia House is a lovely Greek Revival mansion and the last grand mansion built in downtown Natchez before the Civil War. It was established in 1858 by a wealthy merchant, planter, and cotton broker, Thomas Henderson, and therefore is also known as the Henderson-Britton House. The house contains 19th-century antiques and an impressive collection of period costumes and vintage dolls. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Guided tours are available.

Monmouth Historic Inn & Gardens is a wonderfully restored historic antebellum house. Today it is a small luxury hotel with manicured gardens and grounds. A Greek Revival mansion it is a National Historic Landmark. There are 30 rooms and suites, a restaurant, and an elegant lounge. Tour are available and there is a gift shop on the site.

The Natchez Museum of African American History and Culture highlights the history of African Americans in the southern U.S. It was established in 1991. It is located in a former U.S. Post Office building dating back to 1904. Many different displays tell the story from the incorporations of Natchez through the present including slavery, the Civil War, the Reconstruction, 20th century wars, and the Civil Rights Era.

Natchez National Historic Park is a public park that commemorates the history of the city. It comprised three different sites – Fort Rosalie, the William Johnson House, and the Melrose Estate.

Fort Rosalie is the site of a former fortification later renamed Fort Panmuer and controlled by Great Britain, Spain, and later the U.S.

Rosalie Mansion is also known as “Our Lady on the Bluff’ and offers amazing views over the Mississippi River. It sits on the former site of Fort Rosalie. During the Civil War, it served as the regional headquarters for the Union troops. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Guided tours are available.

The William Johnson House was the home of the 19th-century African-American barber and Natchez resident William Johnson.

The Melrose Estate was the estate of a lawyer, state senator, and planter named John T. McMurran.

The Old South Winery is a family-owned and operated winery. There is a tasting room for visitors. It is owned by the Galbreath Family. The wines are produced with the finest muscadine grapes in Mississippi. The wines are red, white, and rose with varying sweetness as well as one blueberry wine.

Stanton Hall also known as Belfast House is one of the largest antebellum mansions in the U.S. It was built in 1857 after cotton grower Frederick Stanton’s Irish ancestral home. The house is full of antique furniture. You can relax at the Carriage House Restaurant. This house inspired the famous Haunted Mansion at Disneyland.

Longwood is also known as “Nutt’s Folly”. It was built in 1858 with a large Byzantine-styled dome. It was built by Dr. Haller Nutt and is thought to be one of the largest octagonal houses in the U.S. The first floor is furnished with heirlooms and the second floor is said to be haunted by the ghost of Dr. Nutt.

Natchez Trace Parkway is also known as ‘The Trace” and is a tourist road that follows the line of the Natchez Trace which was an old historic route stretching for 444 miles from Natchez to Nashville, Tennessee. It was first mentioned in 1733 and was at its busiest between 1800 and 1820 when the crews of flatboats that had sailed down the Mississippi to Natchez returned home on foot or horseback. It is now designated an ‘All-American Road” for its historic and scenic significance. It runs past the Emerald Mound. Other tourist attractions along the route include Mount Locust and the Chickasaw Village Site.

A nice side trip is the small town of Port Gibson which offers many interesting attractions. There are many lovely pre-war antebellum houses.

The First Presbyterian Church in Port Gibson features a unique gold-leaf hand on the steeple which points skyward. Port Gibson is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.