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WHAT IS IT?The National Park Service entry into the Natchez, Mississippi antebellum (pre-Civil War) home tourism industry. The Natchez NHP two tour-able Units are Melrose, an attorney’s lavish estate, and the William Johnson House. Johnson was a freed black man who worked as a barber.
BEAUTY (6/10)
The Melrose Estate is the Park’s centerpiece. The complex consists of nine buildings, the most impressive being the two-story Greek Revival mansion. Its four white pillars, red-bricked façade, green shutters and perfect symmetry are typical if not breathtaking. Most of the other Natchez mansions are more lavish and decidedly excessive.
Melrose’s interior is decorated primarily with original furniture, wall coverings and carpets. The Ranger informed us that the NPS bought the estate because its furnishings were authentic, in good condition and indicative of the time. The estate grounds are pleasant especially when the flowers are in bloom. Melrose was a large house and not a working plantation.
The William Johnson House had not yet opened when we visited. We tried to peek in the windows, but they were covered with newspaper; the buildings grand opening was in just a few days and nobody was allowed a sneak preview. The House occupies a half a block in downtown Natchez. Its two-story red brick exterior distinguishes it none from the town’s other constructions.
HISTORICAL INTEREST (5/10)
Natchez, Miss. was spared U.S. Grant’s rage as he bypassed it on his way to the integral town of Vicksburg. As a result, the town has become an intact example of the glorious and elegant mansions and city centers of the old South. Natchez is the western equivalent to Savannah, Georgia. Natchez holds a “pilgrimage” every year where tourists come back to old Natchez and tour the antebellum homes.
At Natchez NHP, the life and small circle of friends of Melrose owner, John T. McMurran, takes precedent. The Park aims to show a normal monied lifestyle in pre-war Mississippi. Even though the Site purports to be the first NPS to deal with slavery, the retelling of the lives of those who worked here is a low priority.
The most interesting part of the Natchez NHP was McMurran’s background. He was a northern attorney, born in Pennsylvania. In fact, the Park Ranger insisted, most of the rich land owners, lawyers and politicians in Natchez (and thus, the South) were recently transplanted from the North, hoping to make an easy dollar. Michael was blown away by this revelation and pestered the Ranger with slavery/Civil War related philosophical questions during the entire tour.
CROWDS (7/10)
We took the Melrose tour with six other tourists. We were the only ones under the age of 60. They all peppered the Ranger with furnishing and construction related questions. They had all either been on privately-run Natchez house tours or had stayed in a refurbished bed and breakfast. The Ranger clarified a few of the misconceptions perpetrated by the other tour guides. Their questions were not things we would have thought to ask.
EASE OF USE/ACCESS (2/5)Natchez, Mississippi is located along the southern portion of the Mississippi River and is not particularly close to anything. Alexandria, La. is about 75 miles due west, Baton Rouge, La. is 90 miles to the south, Vicksburg, Miss. is 75 miles due north and Jackson, Miss. is 115 to the northeast along a scenic portion the Natchez Trace Parkway. The closest the Interstates get to Natchez is through the aforementioned cities. If you want to get here, you need to make your own personal pilgrimage. No heavily trafficked roads run through the old town, thus ensuring its historical essence and charm.
CONCESSIONS/BOOKSTORE (3/5)
The Site’s bookstore is located on the first floor of the building that was once served as the Mansion’s kitchen. The selection includes a number of books about William Johnson, the freed black barber of Natchez. Nonetheless, there are just as many Natchez Historic Homes coffee table books for sale than total titles regarding slavery and African-American history.
COSTS (2/5)
Tours of Melrose leave hourly and cost $8 per person. Cash only. The National Parks Pass provides no discount.
RANGER/GUIDE TO TOURIST RATIO (4/5)
Natchez NHP offers Ranger-led tours of Melrose every hour on the hour. Our Ranger answered a wealth of questions from all eight people on her tour.
TOURS/CLASSES (6/10)
We enjoyed our tour of Melrose. The Ranger had an extensive knowledge on a wealth of the Park’s wide range of subjects. In successive questions, she discussed the in-depth roots of the Civil War, Melrose owner John T. McMurran’s confusing genealogy and the methods for restoring antebellum floorings.
We wished that her script would have included more discussion of slavery at Melrose. She told us a few times that the gentile estate owners sequestered the slaves in specific parts of the house. The result was that both guests and the McMurran family often forgot that slaves lived and labored in their midst. We fear that slavery’s memory enjoys the same fate on the NPS tour, out of sight, out of mind.
FUN (5/10)
If slavery were the tour’s focus, who would want to come? It is easy to choose to forget about the ugly past, especially when there are dozens of other splendorous Natchez houses offering guilt-free tours. But the reality of slavery persists even while learning ad nauseum about where the beds were purchased and which type of wood and gold leaf was used in the construction.
At least on the NPS tour you know you are going to get an informed and educated answer when you venture into the slavery questions.
It was always easy for us two Northerners to dismiss slavery as a Southern scourge. Melrose makes this distinction impossible. The owner was from Pennsylvania, of all places. Most of Natchez was from the North. The town and its Northerner slave owners even supported the Union Civil War effort. That is the material reason that Grant did not destroy Natchez, the town was friendly to him. Ironically, Natchez exists today as an idealized antebellum Southern town because was at its essence a Northern enclave.
And yes, the Natchez residents continued to own slaves while simultaneously supporting the Union.
The more you learn about the Civil War and slavery, the more complicated they get. Natchez NHP was an eye-opener, but it was not exactly fun.
WOULD WE RECOMMEND? (5/10)If you enjoy tours of antebellum Southern mansions, then Natchez is the place to be. Melrose is among the town’s cheaper tours, the Rangers are extremely knowledgeable and the house is in terrific condition. However, if we do not ever see another antebellum Southern home interior, we think we will be fine.
TOTAL 45/80
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