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The South's Best Kept Secret - Natchez, MS

Shhh! It’s the South’s best-kept secret. Natchez, Mississippi is 40 miles from the nearest freeway so few travelers find it by accident. This elegant little city of 19,000 is 100 miles from the state capital in Jackson and 150 miles from New Orleans, both easy drives on divided four lane highways through lushly wooded countryside.

Natchez was a center of business and culture in the early 1800s and by the mid-nineteenth century was home to more millionaires per capita than any other city in America.

Having survived a devastating tornado in 1840, the Civil War, the boll weevil scourge and the Great Depression, the town began its return to prosperity in the early 1930s when ladies of a local garden club opened their beautiful pre-Civil War homes and mansions to a group of state garden clubs. Through hard work, perseverance and countless volunteer hours, the garden club members laid the foundation for what became one of the most stable and viable industries in the area – tourism. With more pre-1860 buildings than any other U.S. city of its size, thirteen National landmarks and more than 1000 buildings listed on the National Register, Natchez is a magnet for tourists.

Spring comes early to this part of the Deep South, with trees displaying their first buds as early as January. Visitors who arrive in Natchez during the annual Spring Pilgrimage (March 8 through April 12, 2008) will be greeted by the scents of narcissus, wisteria, and hyacinth and by the lovely blooms of azaleas, dogwood, tulips, and irises. For these five weeks twenty-five late colonial and pre-Civil War town houses, mansions and plantation homes open their doors to local, national and international visitors. Hosts and hostesses dressed in period costume recount the history of each house and its various owners and occupants, and what stories they can tell!

In these homes you will see:

 

  You will visit:

   While driving or walking through Natchez you may also see:

 

Evening entertainment is offered throughout Spring Pilgrimage.  At the Historic Natchez Pageant townspeople of all ages don authentic period attire to present the history of Natchez, beginning with its founding by the French in 1716.  In addition to the lovely belles in hoop-skirted ball gowns, some of the characters and scenes you will see are:

 In other evening entertainment, witness the struggle and triumph of African-Americans in the Natchez area, presented in song and first person narrative by the gospel choir of the Holy Family Church, the oldest African-American Catholic Church in Mississippi. Chuckle at the satire and light romance of Southern Exposure, a stage play produced by the Natchez Little Theatre. Hear Songs of the South, presented by the Alcorn State University Choir and the Natchez Festival of Music.

 

A new perspective in Fall 2008! The Fall Pilgrimage tour (September 27-October 11) will be comprised exclusively of privately owned homes, many not open any other time and several never before open for formal tours.  Each of these homes will open several times a week as part of a three-house tour while six additional grand houses - Auburn, The House on Ellicott Hill, Magnolia Hall, Melrose, Rosalie, and Stanton Hall - will be open for individual tours, Twenty-five houses will be open for touring during this two-week period. Sites and stories you'll discover include The Burn, which was part of the Union encampment during the Civil War and the site where freed slaves were first trained to be soldiers and later schooled; The Gardens, used as a military hospital for Union troops during the Civil War; Texada, built in 1792 during the Spanish era and meeting place of the legislature when Natchez was the state capital; and Wigwam, featuring working gasoliers and exquisite hand-painted nature scenes on the ballroom ceiling.

 

Seasonal festivals and special events abound - the Natchez Festival of Music, Great Mississippi River Balloon Race, Bluff City Blues Fest, Natchez Food and Wine Festival, Symphony of Gardens Tour and Natchez Little Theatre productions.  Specialized tours and unique presentations offered throughout the year include African-American heritage tours, cemetery tours, ghost tours, interactive living history programs, and more!