Truly Experience Natchez, Like a Local

Four couples spending a long weekend in the charming, and oh so historical, town of Natchez, Mississippi. Could it get any better? Well, yes it could! My friend spent a large portion of her school years growing up in Natchez and planned the entire fun packed weekend for us. 

We were able to really experience Natchez on a much deeper level with our local connection. She knew all the things and places that we may not have discovered on our own, in even several visits. First, we were introduced to antebellum mansions. 

Antebellum Mansions

Because there were so many Union sympathizers in Natchez during the war, the antebellum mansions here were spared from the fiery destruction that became the fate of many others. (The term antebellum means before the war. In this case, before the Civil War.) The Union troops setting up headquarters at Rosalie Mansion and occupying other homes and properties in Natchez also resulted in the preservation of Natchez. 

Linden Bed & Breakfast

We stayed at Linden Bed & Breakfast, one of the oldest antebellum homes in Natchez. Built circa 1790 and now owned by the Conner family for the last 6 generations, Linden is quite the charming place to stay. 

The Porches at Linden

Attached to the main house are two wings of bedrooms that have been updated to be modernly comfortable, without losing their original character and architectural features. The design provides for a center courtyard and extremely long and inviting porches. I feel like summer would be an incredible time to stay here. I can envision spending hours out on these covered porches. 

Gone With The Wind Door

Another cool feature is the front door. We learned, during our private home tour, that this front door was the inspiration for the door of Tara Plantation in Gone With The Wind. The rescued and restored Tara door was sold at auction for 120k in 2017.  Good choice!

Formal Dining Breakfast

One of the most enjoyable parts of our stay at Linden was the breakfast. We were served breakfast each morning in the beautiful dining room. There was another couple staying at Linden that weekend, so all 10 of us sat around the formal dining table together and traded Natchez stories over breakfast each morning.  I didn’t realize I was a fan, but the grits were fabulous. Really, all of the food was. The dining room itself had so many great features and furnishings. 

Punkah and Jib

The most noticeable feature when you walk into the dining room is the punkah above the table. This was actually a functional fan back in the day. There would’ve been a rope attached and someone pulling it back and forth to keep diners cool. Another feature was the jib windows. These consisted of hinged openings under the windows, allowing guests to walk out onto the front porch from the dining room when both were open. 

Syllabub and Such

Looking around the dining room at breakfast, I was curious about the items in the room. Fortunately, we learned about many of them including the plate warmer that would have been set in front of the fireplace to warm the plates. We also found out that if a guest received a cold plate, that it served as a hint to wrap up their stay. The unique old percolator and syllabub set were other glimpses into how people lived. This syllabub set had lids in order to keep the flies out of the sweet creations. In our rooms, we were even gifted one of the late Mrs. Conner’s favorite syllabub recipes that could be a drink or dessert. 

Linden House Tour 

The tour of Linden, by Mark the property manager, was filled with lots of history and anecdotes as we went from room to room. I was intrigued by his explanation of the bed features. If you’ve noticed the rolling pins on top of some antique headboards, just know that they are removable and were used to roll out the lumps in feather beds. Also, if you are familiar with the phrase, ‘sleep tight don’t let the bedbugs bite’, he shared some possible origins from two common activities of the day. ‘Sleep tight’ would refer to the tightening up of the rope grid of the bed frame under the mattress. ‘Don’t let the bedbugs bite’ could be a warning due to some stuffing their mattresses with the Spanish Moss hanging in the trees that contained chiggers. We definitely noticed that the Spanish Moss was plentiful in the trees here in the south. 

Stanton Hall

Another home that we toured was Stanton Hall. This Greek Revival style home, circa 1857, was constructed by Irishman Frederick Stanton of Belfast and originally called Belfast. Some of the most spectacular features of this beautiful mansion were the entry hall and parlor. I loved that the arch in the oversized entry hall was carved out of one cypress tree. The parlor was extraordinary with replicated draperies and upholstery recreated with original fabric pattern and colors. Also, the massive mirrors that were finally acquired in tact, after several previous ones didn’t survive shipping, were impressive and beautiful. One of the most ingenious pieces of furniture was found in the formal dining room. It was a buffet that actually had a divided space underneath to store the table leaves by sliding them into one end of the base. 

Longwood

The largest home we toured, Longwood, is undoubtedly the most recognizable. It’s an octagonal antebellum mansion that was never completed. Haller Nutt began construction in 1860, but that was halted by the war and the subsequent fleeing of the northeastern craftsman in 1861. Haller died in 1864. His wife Julia and and children lived in the 9 room finished basement floor, but were never able to complete the five upper floors. 

The tour is fascinating with the 10,000 sf basement still furnished with the Nutt’s period belongings and the upstair interiors forever incomplete. This was actually a stipulation, according to the tour guide, when the home changed hands to the current owner, Pilgrimage Garden Club of Natchez. It remains a symbol of the quick rise and fall of wealth in Natchez. 

There have been some exterior items taken care of though, through the Pilgrimage Garden Club.  A fiberglass replica, of the original oak finial, was created and installed to replace the original spire, which fell off from deterioration in 1900. The front porch was completed in order to safely access the home. They used some of the original one million plus, handmade onsite, bricks for the steps and walkway. You can even see fingerprints in some of the bricks. 

I snuck one picture of the formal dining room before the ‘no photos’ announcement. You can see the rope attached to this punkah above the dining table. 

There was no problem with pictures in the unfinished upstairs. We were able to see tools the workers left, as they dropped them and took off back northeast, and other stored construction items. The original spire that was replaced is also stored in one of the unfinished rooms. 

The design of Longwood was unique with light coming in from above down through the center of the house on all floors. On the first floor there is a huge rotunda and there are diagrams of what the rooms were to be when completed. This is also the location in Longwood that part of the Hallmark movie ‘Every Time a Bell Rings’ was filmed.

More Antebellum Homes

There are many other antebellum homes to tour in Natchez, as this was a very rich area of the country from cotton farming just before the Civil War, and because the homes were fortunately spared for the most part. The tour guides have so much knowledge of the architecture, furnishings and of the antebellum (pre Civil War) lifestyle. 

Downtown Karla Brown Tour

Speaking of tours, we took an incredible tour by Downtown Karla Brown. She picked all 8 of us up at Linden and took us on the most interesting and informative tour all over town, including the cemetery. 

The Natchez City Cemetery is by far the most awesome cemetery I’ve visited. There are beautiful ornate iron fences and gates amidst the old headstones. The hilly setting is very pretty with the grass and trees very well manicured. 

Karla Brown, a very interesting person herself, told us many stories of the people who were buried in Natchez City Cemetery. A sweet story was told about a man daily tending his wife’s grave for 20 years and sitting on a bench by her grave. When he died (sitting on the bench) and was buried, they placed his toolbox under the bench right beside them. 

All around town Karla would point out significant points of interest and tell us captivating stories. We learned about  Nellie Jackson’s House, Forks in the Road, Under the Hill, churches, homes, people, events, and so much more. Highly recommend spending some time with Karla on one of her tours.

Walk Natchez

There are also several walking tours that take you to many historic sites and you’ll see information boards all along the way. I would love to walk some of the trails next time. Walk Natchez includes over 5 miles of trails covering the Natchez Bluff, Mississippi Riverfront, downtown and beyond. 

Other Tours

There are Spring and Fall Pilgrimage Tours with 14 antebellum homes open for a month with hostesses in time period dress.  Miss Lou Heritage Group Tours offers several options. Southern Carriage Tours, Hop On Hop Off and Open Air Tours Natchez also offer narrated tours where you are able to ride, look and listen to all of the interesting information about each site. Many of the properties have their own tours so check their websites. These are some of the options to get you started in Natchez and I’m sure there are plenty more. A good place to start is the Visitor’s Center.

Natchez National Historical Park 

The National Park Service maintains three properties that make up the Natchez National Historical Park which include the William Johnson House Museum, Ft Rosalie Site and Melrose. They all have a rich history as William Johnson was a freed slave who became a barber and business owner. He also kept a diary for 16 years before he died, so he left a wealth of historic information. Melrose was taken care of by two of the previous owner’s slave ladies for a period after their deaths. The young Melrose heir was living in NY with his grandmother until he married in 1900 and moved back to Melrose. He died in 1946 as did one of the ladies. And Ft Rosalie is basically where it all started for Natchez. The fort is gone but the grassy area with benches is protected and maintained by the National Park Service. 

Natchez Fine Dining

The Castle

Our weekend was full of fine dining too. The 1st nite we had dinner at The Castle at Dunleith. This is another amazing antebellum property that is now a historic inn where you can stay. The Castle is in the former carriage house on the property.  Expect mouthwatering filets, lamb lollipops, wine glasses as big as your face, and outstanding service! 

We came back the next day to take some pics at the property in the daylight. The pics of The Castle, on the steps of Dunleith and also at the Dairy Barn give you an idea of how grand this property is. We also came back to The Castle the 2nd nite to visit The Pub downstairs. The bartender is a sharp guy with a very quick wit!

Restaurant 1818

Another incredible dining experience was at Monmouth Historic Inn. Their restaurant is called 1818 (the year Monmouth was built) and we were in a private room, served fabulous food and wine by a wonderful waiter. We had such a great time here at dinner alternating between laughter and deep meaningful convo. 

The Carriage House

My friend had all of the best places lined out to eat and The Carriage House was no exception. This restaurant is part of the Stanton Hall property and is known for their delicious fried chicken, biscuits and mint juleps. We had a tasty southern lunch here just before touring Stanton Hall. 

Fat Mama’s Tamales

We stopped in Fat Mama’s Tamales because we were intrigued by the Knock You Naked Margaritas. We had already eaten lunch and had dinner reservations, so we didn’t get tamales, just margs and chips. The salsa was great tho. And we definitely left with our clothes on! 

Downtown Natchez

Natchez has a very historic and charming downtown area that we explored too. One place you do not want to miss here is Darby’s. Not only will you find all kinds of treasures in this store, but they have the most amazing fudge! 

Around Christmas time, you won’t be able to miss the Christmas Tree in downtown. And probably in off season, you’ll be able to notice where it placed every year in the middle of the street. 

Because of the Hallmark movie that had recently been filmed here in Natchez, the tree was already up as were some other decorations around town. The funny thing is that they put this huge tree in the middle of this busy downtown intersection each year.  So, cars are driving all around us as we are standing out in the street trying to get pictures with the Christmas tree one nite. 

Natchez Under the Hill

Under-the-Hill Saloon is right where the name suggests. It sits in a strip of old buildings underneath the bluff in Natchez and right on the Mississippi River.  It has that old pub feeling and reasonably priced drinks. The saloon is probably the busiest spot and the reason most visit Natchez Under the Hill, but there are several other businesses here too. For shopping, check out Silver street Gallery & Gifts. For dining you have a couple of options, Magnolia Grill and The Camp Restaurant. 

We actually walked down here from the gazebo on the walking path along Silver Street. Not bad going down, just a little challenging going back up! 

With Natchez being 100 years older than Mississippi, beginning as the French Ft Rosalie in 1716 and Mississippi actually becoming a state in 1817, there is more history here than we could absorb in a weekend. I can’t wait to revisit! If you don’t have a local connection, hopefully this information will be helpful for you to truly experience Natchez too.