Mississippi Day 4: Natchez

Gulfport was just what we needed to have a little breather (and the only time on our trip where we stayed two nights in the same place). But we packed up on Day 4 and began to make our way to Natchez. We ended up driving back into Louisiana and then up to Natchez and the drive was really beautiful. And after the last couple of days, a three hour drive felt like nothing. We were on small country roads a lot of the time and loved the big trees on both sides of the road but we did get our first taste of the regular “towns” of Mississippi. Lots of poverty and very humble living.

Natchez

Natchez is really such a pretty little town right on the Mississippi River. We got everything packed up from the AirBNB but I completely forgot to get our lunch food out of the fridge – I got things out of the freezer but not the fridge – who does that?! So we had to make a quick stop at Walmart to reload our supplies.

Fun Fact – Natchez is a National Historical Park. There are four different sites and we made our way to three of them. Our first stop was Melrose!

Melrose

Our lunch spot was pretty idyllic. We ate on some picnic tables next to the stables and carriage house of the estate and it was one of those moments where I was just wanted to freeze time for a moment. Life is so very good.

After lunch we started exploring the estate. Some call this the “Cotton Kingdom Estate”. A man named John McMurran moved from Pennsylvania to Natchez in the 1820s. He established s profitable law practice, won a seat on the Mississippi legislature, married into a respected local family, and eventually acquired five cotton plantations. He purchased 132 acres on the outskirts of Natchez and for eight years many slaves and free whites built the buildings on the estate. His family moved into the home in 1849.

Mansion

The mansion is considered by many to be the finest in the region. And it really is beautiful. I love the shutters and mossy trees. You can take tours of the inside but we decided not to.

Dairy, Laundry and Kitchen

Behind the “Big House” were all the other parts that made the plantation what it was. There was the “dairy” behind the home. Cows were raised on the plantation and the milk was processed and preserved here. Upstairs was the living quarters for five house slaves.

Across from there was the kitchen. And above the kitchen was the living quarters for the other five house slaves. It had to be SO hot above there.

Slave Cabins

During the height of Melrose, there were twenty-five slaves on the estate. Many cared for the family while others tended gardens and yards, cared for the livestock, drove the carriage, and just kept everything in working order.

One of the first things I noticed is that the slave quarters actually looked pretty big and relatively nice compared to others we’ve seen. But we learned that they were very crowded and unbearably hot in the summer. They were also very cold in the winter because the walls were not insulated like they were in the big house.

Fort Rosalie

Honestly, I would probably just skip this stop if you are ever making your way to Natchez. I just stayed in the car with Lydie and Ben while the others went out. There are a couple signs but nothing else. They say you can see the remnants of the fort but they said they couldn’t really see anything.

Forks of the Road

This was an emotional site for me. There is hardly anything here and it feels forgotten in a disrespectful kind of way. It is just a blimp on a fork in the road and across from a dingy car repair shop. And all I could think about was how many lives were shattered there in a place that feels so forgotten.

Fork of the Road was the second largest domestic slave market in the Deep South. Tens of thousands of men, women, and children were brought here in chains to be sold. It is a sad and humbling place to be.

This quote by Frederick Douglas was there: “The slave has no rights; he is a being with all the capacities of a man in the conditions of the brute. Such is the slave in the American plantations. He can decide no question relative to his own actions; the slave-holder decides what he shall eat or drink, when and to whom he shall speak, when he shall work, and how long he shall work; when he shall marry…what is right and wrong, virtue and vice. The slave-holder becomes the sole disposer of the mind, soul and body of his slave.”

Natchez Trace Parkway

Once we left Natchez, we made our way onto the Natchez Trace Parkway. This is a 444 mile road that starts in Natchez and cuts across the state and ends just south of Nashville. I will write more about this later in the trip.

There are a gazillion stops you can make along the parkway! We were going to make two stops but one ended up closing right before we got there so Emerald Mound is the only one we got to.

Emerald Mound

Emerald Mound is the second-largest Mississippian Period ceremonial mound in the United States. It was built by Native Americans and used between 1200 and 1730 AD. It is 35 feet high and covers eight acres! That is incredible! There are additional mounds up on top. There used to be six but only two are still visible. And these pictures do not do the mound justice – it was steep!

Building these mounds is truly amazing when you stop and think about it. They would use digging sticks or even their bare hands to load up baskets, walk the baskets to the site, empty them and stomp down the soil, and repeat it over and over and over again.

There are more questions than answers it seems about these mounds. But archaeologists believe they were used for burials, temples, and ceremonial structures.

Vicksburg

We continued our drive along the parkway and made our way into Vicksburg for the night. We ate dinner at the Walnut Hills Restaurant and it was such a fun experience. It serves “Southern Plantation Cuisine” which was very tasty AND they had live music playing which really brought a great ambiance. But the best part was definitely our waitress who was truly a Southern mamma and took such great care of us and treated our kids just how she would her own. At one point Ben was getting a little squirrely with his drink and she said “Oh, we aren’t going to do that” in the best way.

Mississippi is the biggest producer of catfish in the country so we knew we had to have some. Mark got “Blackened Catfish” and really liked how it was prepared. Jacob got fried catfish and said it was okay.

After dinner we had to pick up a prescription for Lydie and then made our way to the hotel for the night. Another great day in Mississippi!

Mississippi Family Vacation 2024 Itinerary:

• Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument
• Lake Meredith National Recreation Area
• Cane River Creole National Historical Park
• Ship Island
• Fort Massachusetts
• Natchez National Historical Park
• Emerald Mound
• Vicksburg National Military Park
• Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument
• Rowan Oak Estate
• Natchez Trace Parkway
• Brices Cross Roads National Battlefield Site
• Tupelo National Battlefield Site
• Elvis Presley’s Birthplace
• Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield