The Old Town Still Stands

October 22-27, 2013

From a relatively young town (Vicksburg) to the oldest town on the Mississippi River was to be our next stop. Natchez Mississippi was established in 1716 and is the oldest continuous settlement on the Mississippi River. They have more than 500 Pre-Civil War structures. As you wander around you get to see them and how they have been restored.

We set up camp at the Natchez State Park for a couple of days. The view from our park spot was trees, birds, deer and water. Pretty peaceful spot!

 

We ventured into town looking for the visitor center. Along the way we found a few older structures.

 

Steve and Izzy at Texada

 

Restored

 

Waiting for Love

Once we left the visitor center we drove to the Under the Hill location of Natchez. This is where most of the town was established back in the 1700’s but today only a few businesses are there. But you have a view of the river.

Mississippi River View from Under the Hill

 



We also found both golf courses in the area and we decided to play the oldest one first. This course was established in 1916 and the land it sits on was part of the Auburn House Plantation which was owned by Dr. Duncan beginning in the mid-1820’s.

The 1916 Circa Course

Getting Ready

The other golf course is fairly new and is nestled south of the town with some large new properties surrounding the fairways. I think the 1916 course was kinder to us!

 

The Beauty of the Newer Course

We toured the Auburn House one morning. The tour guide was great and the information he gave you about the house, contents, and owners was great. One of the phenomenal architectural items in the house is the suspended spiral staircase. Now remember this house was built in 1812 and to design a staircase that is not anchored is pretty amazing.

Auburn 1812 

The Guardian in the yard

The Suspended Spiral Staircase

The View from the Top

The Library

Is Dinner Ready?

The Master Bedroom

 

 Elegant

 

Tea and Cake Time

Where their Servants Once Lived

 

The tour guide suggested a couple of other things we should check out so we took his advice. One was seeing a photo gallery display with 100 year span of photographs of Natchez and the people. This was pretty interesting to see. The other was to take a carriage tour of the downtown historic area. This way you get a tour guide, a nice ride in a carriage, and a horse named Mal!  We couldn’t resist.

Meet Mal

Scooby Snack

Our tour guide’s name was Vicki and she was great. The knowledge of the buildings and the families she shares is well worth taking the tour. One of the places she said we should go see was St. Mary’s Cathedral.

 

Vicki and Mal

Simple but Wonderful

Framed

Inviting

Living in History

The Intricate Fence

The Natchez Jail

The William Johnson House

National Park Service Landmark

 

After the tour we headed to St. Mary’s Cathedral. In 1837 Natchez was designated the See of the Roman Catholic Church in Mississippi. In 1842 Bishop J.M. Chanche began construction of this structure, the only church built as a Cathedral in Mississippi. We took quite a few pictures due to the beauty and peace inside the Cathedral and wanted to share a few with you.

 

St. Mary's Cathedral



 

Another place they advise you to go see when you are in this area is the Emerald Mound. The history of Natchez includes Native Americans as well as a long history of slave trading. The community has done a wonderful job capturing the history along with the National Park Service.

The Emerald Mound is the second largest ceremonial mound in the United States. It was used from 1300-1600 by the Mississippians, ancestors of the Natchez Indians.

 

The Emerald Mound

The Mound

 



After the state park we stayed along the river for the rest of the time while in Natchez. The view is always wonderful along the water and the walks in the morning with Izzy are refreshing. We also happened upon this ship passing by one day when we got back from touring. It is the Delta Mariner and is an interesting shaped vessel. Steve had to find out about this ship so he went to his trusty friend Google. He discovered that it transports aeronautical parts along the Mississippi and Ohio rivers and probably has carried some of the parts used in the shuttle missions. The interesting thing about this ship is that to see it on the river was extremely rare as it only comes by twice per year.

Our View

The Delta Mariner

 

Our time in Natchez was wonderful but Izzy was ready to move on since she didn’t get to go swimming. She did however get to chase the squirrels. That put a smile on her face!

Getting Ready to Roll

See you in a few days from New Orleans!