Natchez

Historic Homes & Buildings

Longwood

Longwood, also known as Nutt's Folly, is a historic antebellum octagonal mansion located at 140 Lower Woodville Road in Natchez. The mansion is on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, and is a National Historic Landmark. Longwood is the largest octagonal house in the United States.

The mansion is known for its octagonal plan, byzantine onion-shaped dome,[6] and the contrast between its ornately finished first floor and the unfinished upper floors. The inspiration for Longwood: Sloan's "Oriental Villa" as it appeared in his 1852 book, The Model Architect. Samuel Sloan, a Philadelphia architect, designed the home in 1859 for cotton planter Haller Nutt. Work was halted in 1861 at the start of the American Civil War. Nutt died of pneumonia in 1864, leaving the work incomplete. Of the thirty-two rooms planned for the house, only nine rooms on the basement floor were completed.

Haller Nutt's never-finished Natchez home, Longwood, was the last burst of Southern opulence before war brought the cotton barons' dominance to an end. Longwood survived decades of neglect and near-abandonment to become one of Natchez' most popular attractions. Longwood is owned and operated as a historic house museum by the Pilgrimage Garden Club.

Kid-friendly features: No elevator, limited handicapped-accessibility (only first floor), limited stroller-accessibility (only first floor), restrooms, gift shop, large grounds

Admission: Adult- Ages 18+: $25
Youth- Ages 12-17: $25
Child- Ages 11 & Under: Free

Hours: Monday - Wednesday: 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Thursday - Sunday: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tour lasts approximately 45 minutes

Address: 140 Lower Woodville Rd, Natchez, MS 39120

Phone: (601) 446-6631

photo courtesy of Allan Innman

STANTON HALL

Stanton Hall, also known as Belfast, is an Antebellum Classical Revival mansion at 401 High Street in Natchez. Built in the 1850s, it is one of the most opulent antebellum mansions to survive in the southeastern United States. It is now operated as a historic house museum by the Pilgrimage Garden Club. The house was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1974 and a Mississippi Landmark in 1995.

Stanton Hall was built during 1851–57 for Frederick Stanton, a cotton broker, as a replica of his ancestral home in Ireland. Stanton named it "Belfast", but only lived in it a short time before he died. The house's scale and opulence made it a great financial burden on his heirs, but it survived the American Civil War, and in 1890 was made home to the Stanton College for Young Ladies. In 1940 it was acquired by the Pilgrimage Garden Club, which uses it as its headquarters and operates it as a museum and event venue.

Kid-friendly Features: Restaurant on-site (Carriage House restaurant), no elevator, limited handicapped-accessibility (only first floor), limited stroller-accessibility (only first floor), gift shop, restrooms

Admission: Adult Ages 18+: $25
Youth: Ages 12-17: $25
Child: Ages 11 & Under: Free

Hours: Open daily for tours every half hour from 9:00 AM-4:30 PM with the last tour beginning at 4:30 PM.
Tour lasts approximately 45 minutes

Address: 401 High St, Natchez, MS 39120

Phone: (601) 445-5151

photo courtesy of Chris M. Morris

Rosalie Mansion

Rosalie Mansion is a historic pre-Civil War mansion and historic house museum in Natchez, Mississippi. Built in 1823, it served as the architectural inspiration for a large number of Natchez's grand Greek Revival mansions, and was a major influence on Antebellum architecture in the greater region. During the American Civil War, it served as Union headquarters for the Natchez area from July 1863 on. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989.

photo courtesy of Elisa Rolle

National Parks

Natchez National Historical Park

Natchez National Historical Park tells the story of Natchez in the American South. The park protects the sites and structures associated with the peoples of Natchez and its surrounding area from earliest inhabitants to the modern era. The name Natchez is derived from the "Natchez" American Indians who inhabited the area at the time of European exploration. The historic sites maintained by the park, and the surrounding preservation district, give visitors an opportunity to understand the region's social political, and economic development, particularly in the pre-and-post Civil War era's. They also provide insights into the region's commercial and agricultural history, especially in relation to the Mississippi River, slavery, and cotton. Cotton planters in Natchez and the surrounding area relied on slave labor to make their business highly profitable. With those profits they built palatial columned mansions on the area, many which remain today.

The park is composed of three NPS owned properties: Melrose, the William Johnson House, and the Fort Rosalie site, and a larger area known as the preservation district.

Admission:
The William Johnson House: Admission: Free

Melrose Estate:
Melrose Estate's grounds, outbuildings, and formal gardens are free.
Guided House Tour Fee: (cash or check only)
Tickets can be purchased in the Visitor Center at Melrose Estate.
Adults (ages 18 to 61): $10.00
Senior Citizens (ages 62 or older, U.S. Citizens Only): $5.00
Students (ages 6 to 17): $5.00
Children (ages 0-5): Free

Hours:
Melrose Estate
Melrose Estate is open every day except for Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day.
The estate's grounds and gardens are open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Guided tours of the Melrose mansion are offered daily at:
10:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m., 2:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m., and 4:00 p.m.

The William Johnson House
The William Johnson House is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Closed from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. for lunch.
Effective March 4, 2018 the William Johnson House site will not open until 12:00 p.m. on Sundays and will close at 5:00 p.m.
The William Johnson House is closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day.

Natchez Visitor Center
The Natchez Visitor Center is open Monday through Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sundays from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
The visitor center is closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day.

Fort Rosalie
Fort Rosalie site is open daily from sunrise to sunset.

Address: 1 Melrose Montebello Pkwy Natchez, MS 39120

Phone: (601) 446-5790

photo courtesy of Natchez National Historical Park