Natchez

Sunday was a glorious day and was especially lovely given the tornado driven day prior. The devastation is again played out in our Clarion-Ledger. Natchez is a city I would go visit another time...my few hours there did not do the city justice. I did walk around and enjoyed the 101 mile drive down the Natchez Trace Highway which allows 50mph and no more. I thought as I drove, that if this scenic road were found in Rwanda, thousands would have been on the road, walking and running. I did see some bikers and runners, but not many.

I toured this large house called Stanton Hall., a Greek Revival Mansion named for its previous owner, Frederick Stanton, a cotton magnate. The Pilgrimage Garden Club owns it and the tour guide told us of the "hoop wars" when two garden clubs divided in the early 1900's and began fighting about civic preservation, garden tours and more. The "pilgrimage" is a term used here for tourists who visit many homes under one ticket each spring. Kinda like the pilgrimage to Mecca, don't you think??

The Bailey House is the large white one below, which was not open and not sure if one can even tour it. Many of the older homes had name plates and dates out front. The house to the left was interesting and somewhat unusual.

This is a scene from the Natchez Trace. Quite often, the trees would touch across the "highway," a very narrow two lane highway which was twisty with no shoulder. Bikers and runner would be found mid-lane as one drove around a bend. I enjoyed these scenic bridges which appeared fairly frequently...bridges to nowhere, best I could tell.

Along the Natchez one finds historic sites and signage. I visited the Locust Plantation and Inn, a place travellers could stay on their way north or south along the Natchez, an early trade route. The slave cemetary was in back of the plantation in a shaded area that was, of course, separate from the rest of the plantation, but in a very quiet, gorgeous area. There was only one headstone obvious but here lie ten former slaves.

This is an example of the room one might have stayed in during the trek north or south in the late 1800s or early 1900s at the Locust Inn.

The dining hall with requisite spinning wheel.

A sign along the Natchez. At one point, at an Indian mound, there was an indication that the Plaquemine culture was adopted by a group of Choctaw. My dad came from Palquemine Parrish outside of New Orleans and I just figured Plaquemine was a name...so, I need to look this up. Was telling Heidi last night, that we know so little about my father's side of the family. He left his family with good reason, but that he didn't share and that we didn't ask him more about his roots is sad. We know he was partly black and Indian...that was obvious to all who saw him, but who were his family and where did they come from, we shall never know.

Lots of history here in this region and I want to know more about the area. I spent only 8 hours on the Trace and in Natchez yesterday and barely scraped the surface. Coming back.