natchez national historical park

This was one of the most beautiful roads, parks, and historic sites I have ever been!We are from the Rocky Mountains and so we wanted to experience the history of this area. I was surprised at how little this road and the Natchez Trace is advertised/promoted. Better for us I guess! We drive a 40 ft. Motor home and pull a car and were worried that we might have problems with our rig on this 2 lane road. Absolutely no problems! Just make sure there is a turned around at the places you choose to pull off! There are several camping areas along the 440 miles. There are some big enough for big rigs however because of the cold weather, we chose to exit the parkway to stay in rv parks along the way. Easy on and off places that put you right back to the real world! Such a peaceful, quiet, great road! Great historic stops! We will be back to drive this road in the fall. It must be breathtaking then!

Have never seen so many historic homes in one place. For blocks almost every home is pre civil war (antebellum). From what I understand the Union army did not burn Natchez since they already controlled the Mississippi River with the siege of Vicksburg. If you are a "Old South" lover you need to spend at least a couple of days here. Walking tour is worthwhile also.

I am a writer and photographer for National Park Planner (npplan.com) and I visited the Natchez National Historical Park in November 2014. The park was created to preserve the history of Natchez, Mississippi. Natchez served as Mississippi’s first capital and is more than one hundred years older than Jackson, the state’s current capital city. Natchez was one of the busiest slave trading hubs in the south, second only to New Orleans, and was home to more millionaires than any other city in the country. Many of these men built their mansions in Natchez, taking advantage of the high ground above the Mississippi River that was immune to flooding. Its antebellum homes were spared from destruction when the Union army decided to occupy the town after the battle at Vicksburg instead of burning it to the ground. General Grant even made his headquarters in one of the mansions. Natchez now claims to have more antebellum homes than any other city. Two of these homes, both in stark contrast to one another, now make up the Natchez National Historical Park.The Melrose Mansion is the park’s main draw. An ornate palace built in the Greek Revival architectural style, it originally sat in the countryside that surrounded Natchez, but today it resides in what would be the suburbs. The mansion was built in the 1840s and served as the home of plantation owner John McMurran (being a home, this is not the site of a farming plantation). Visitors can tour the mansion with a park Ranger and walk around the grounds, which include “out buildings” such as slave quarters, a stable, and a carriage house. A garden is also on the property. Melrose is one of many antebellum mansions open to the public in Natchez.Unlike the glamorous home of John McMurran, the William Johnson house can easily be mistaken for a brick office building in downtown Natchez. Johnson was born into slavery, being the child of his white master and black slave mother. However, it appears that he was raised as part of the family. He was freed by his father when he was eleven. Johnson’s claim to fame is that he wrote a daily diary for sixteen years, from 1835 until he was murdered in 1851. This was during a time when it was illegal for blacks to read or write. Packed away for years, the diaries were discovered and published in 1951 and are considered among the finest written accounts of daily life in a small, antebellum town. Johnson went on to become quite wealthy as a barber, operating three shops in Natchez and the surrounding area. He was also a slave owner. His home is now open to the pubic, with a museum about his life on the lower floor and his living quarters on the upper floor. Visitors are allowed to tour the living quarters on their own. A park Ranger is on duty to answer any questions.A third property, the site of Fort Rosalie, is not yet open to the public but should be ready by 2016. However, there are no remains of the fort, so the area will serve more as a park.For complete information on the park and plenty of quality photos, please visit the National Park Planner web site.

Compared to other Natchez Mansions this was not as well presented as the private mansions. It was good, but the Mansion was under construction at the time and the tour was limited. We walked the grounds and seems like the lawn need to be mowed or maybe they wanted it to look like a pasture, which it did.

A look back into the 1800's. There's a gorgeous antibellum mansion with an hourly tour, slave quarters, fantastic gardens that make you wish you had been around at the time.

Great place to visit to learn about history in the south. Location is near othr attractions. Great place to visit.

While the mansion is undergoing exterior renovations, don't let that deter you from going and taking the tour inside. It is very well furnished and impressive to say the least, worth the cost of taking it. The tour guide we had was knowledgeable and interesting and it did take about 45 minutes for the tour. The grounds have some interesting outbuildings on it but compared to many of the plantations tours in the area and south to Baton Rouge, the grounds were rather plain.

Interesting property but the tour guide liked to put his arms around people and whack them on the shoulder to make a point. Doing it once was a surprise but he kept doing it until it distracted from what he said. He knew his facts for the most part and was enthusiastic but people who don't want anyone invading their personal space were feeling uncomfortable. The old home, Melrose, is undergoing a rehab right now. It's not as grand as some of the other homes we toured, but the setting is lovely and tour prices were less than those charged by other properties. Senior citizen discount was nice.

Lovely old mansions under severe renovation during our visit. The gardens and location is excellent. There is also a wonderful old train engine on display. Loved all the history provided.

Make sure you take the Ranger Tour of the Melrose Mansion. It's worth a trip to Natchez all by itself. The self-guided Johnson House was interesting, too. Parking is tight. The Fort Rosalie site is no longer available for viewing. This is a wonderful stop before starting out on the Natchez Trace Parkway.

The National Park service has two properties to visit in Nachez. Melrose mansion and the Johnson house. I wish we had more time to visit and take a full tour of both. The Melrose house is one of the most historically accurate furnished mansions in the south. The self guide tour of the slave quarters is worth seeing because it provides a good insight on what life must have been like in the old south. Spend a few days in this old city and enjoy the history.

After seeing the grand homes of the wealthy, its nice to see the home of a black barber in town. His story is told well in the lower level and the upstairs living quarters show how the family lived. At the larger homes we heard about the rich people and their slaves, here we hear about a black man and his customers all told and illustrated in his journals.

We only toured the Melrose Estate and found it very interesting and educational. The slavery display was simple but well done. The exterior of the house was under renovation, but it didn't diminish the experience. The fee to tour was minimal at $10 per adult and $5 per child. Credit cards are not accepted so bring cash. The Park Ranger who led our tour was as entertaining as he was informational. He enlivened the tour for our kids and was excellent at explaining the various aspects of the house along with telling the story of the history of the home and its owners.We enjoyed the grounds, but they would certainly be more exquisite in spring. There were some flowering trees in bloom. The recent ice storm did cause some damage to some trees.

First of all there is the William Johnson House which is worth a stop. Many grand homes to view and of couse the Mississippi River bridges. The tourism center is also worth the time, as is the Natchez Indian Cultural Center.

Great piece of history at the William Johnson house. It was a free, self-guided tour. We spent about 45 minutes in there, but you could probably spend an hour if you read every little thing. The worker was very friendly, and started us off on our way.William's life was interesting. I was completely shocked how he was a slave and then owned slaves and was thought of a prominent business person in Natchez.Really enjoyed this!