Historic HousesThe most intact antebellum estate in the United States
is the magnificent Melrose, owned and operated by the National Park
Service in its grounds in the Natchez National Historical Park.
Melrose was built in 1849 and still features its original
hand-painted canvas flooring. The house is open daily with tours on
the hour. The gracious Monmouth, built in 1818 at 36 Melrose
Avenue, was the home of John Quitman, twice governor of Mississippi
as well as US senator and congressman. The house and its striking
formal garden is open daily. Longwood in Lower Woodville Road was
built around 1860 and is the largest and most elaborate octagonal
house in the United States. Dunleith, dating from 1856, is the only
house in Mississippi completely encircled by a colossal colonnade.
It is sited at 84 Homochitto Street, on top of a rise on the edge
of a 40-acre park. Numerous other houses are open to the public,
and make popular venues for weddings.Grand Village of the Natchez IndiansThe Grand Village was the main ceremonial centre of
the Natchez Indians, who inhabited southwest Mississippi between
AD700 and 1730. Their culture reached a peak in the mid-1500s, when
French explorers found the Grand Village and began to settle in the
area. Eventually the Natchez were forced to abandon their land. The
128-acre site of the Grand Village is today managed by the
Mississippi Department of Archives and History, who have excavated
and rebuilt two of the ceremonial mounds at the site. Entry to the
village is gained through Jefferson Davis Boulevard within the
Natchez city limits. The site features a museum, a reconstructed
Natchez Indian house, three ceremonial mounds (Great Sun's Mound,
Temple Mound and the Abandoned Mound), a nature trail and a
visitor's centre.ChurchesNatchez features a collection of architecturally
valuable historic churches of various denominations, all located in
the central city area. Among them is St Mary's in South Union
Street, the oldest Catholic building in Mississippi, built in
Gothic Revival style back in 1840. The Trinity Episcopal Church in
South Commerce Street is the oldest church in Natchez, having been
built in 1822 but remodelled in 1838. The interior of this church
features two rare stained-glass windows designed and installed by
the renowned Louis Comfort Tiffany. Also notable is the First
Presbyterian church in South Pearl Street, built in the Federal
Style in 1828. A Romanesque chapel was added to the rear in 1901.
The chapel now houses an unusual collection of historic photographs
telling the story of Natchez.Natchez Under-the-HillThe city's original waterfront area,
Natchez-Under-the-Hill, reached by descending the bluff via Silver
Street, was once the notorious haunt of pirates, riverboat gamblers
and outlaws, known as the 'Barbary Coast of the Mississippi'. As
the use of riverboats dwindled, so did its bad reputation and today
the quaint river dockside attracts tourists with restaurants, bars,
gift stores and the floating Isle of Capri riverboat casino. Three
passenger paddle-wheel steamers dock at the waterfront: the
Mississippi Queen, the Delta Queen and the American
Queen.Natchez Trace ParkwayThe Natchez Trace Parkway starts out in Natchez,
southern Mississippi, and runs for 444 miles (715km) to Nashville,
Tennessee, cutting across a corner of Alabama. The parkway follows
ancient Native American paths that connected the Mississippi River
to salt licks in central Tennessee, originally worn by the Choctaw,
Chickasaw and other tribes. Later white settlers used the ancient
trails to extend their commerce and trade. The route is now served
by a scenic road, built and maintained by the National Park
Service, which has equipped the popular tourist drive with marked
interpretive locations, historic sites, camping and picnicking
facilities. Travellers can take time to enjoy nature trails, see
portions of the original trace, relax on scenic overlooks, explore
historic monuments and bridges, and find out about it all at
visitor centres. The parkway is particularly popular with touring
cyclists.
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