Moonlight & magnolias? Wide verandas & enormous hallways? Hoop skirts & lace? French Wallpaper & fabric? Dining rooms, china, & silverware for 24 people? Billiard rooms & libraries? Scenic entry drives that showcase wealth & status?

All the above exists in the lovely little town of Natchez, Mississippi, located on a bluff overlooking the Mighty Mississippi. When I was 6 or 7, somehow my mother convinced my father we should see this dreamy place, & I still remember, after many years, bits & pieces of the things I just mentioned.

My other reason to go to Natchez was my own love affair with old houses! We've rehabbed & lived in a number of them, the oldest of them dating from 1708. Oddly enough, our current house (since May '21) is the youngest we've ever had (20 yrs old).

When Les & I were invited to a wedding in New Orleans, I convinced him this would be the perfect time to visit Natchez, 3 hours away. We were also encouraged by 3 sets of Charleston friends who had just experienced it, so off we went with great expectations that were delightfully met.

Natchez currently has 16.000 residents, & has a "Spanish grid" layout. It's history started with the Natchez Indians, & includes Spanish & French eras before it became American. At one time (1830-40), it had the highest number of millionaires in the world, due to cotton.

Wealthy people came from the North, lured by the idea of cotton plantations & enslaved workers. This accumulated wealth created a tranquil town, where cotton planters & factors, attornies, doctors, & merchants lived in style. Most of their plantations were in Louisiana or other parts of Mississippi (but also stretched to Maryland, Virginia & Texas) & they used steamboats to travel as much as they could.

Due to the high number of landowners with Northern roots, the townspeople were not highly supportive of Seccession. Some even made an effort to convince General Grant that they were Unionists, & would be happy to support his troops. Some were involved in convincing the town to surrender to the Union, rather than risk losing their beautiful homes, & their enslaved property to the war. It worked, & most of Natchez was saved.

We were lucky to be able to access the "Fall Pilgrimage" (there's a larger spring one too) when they open a number of privately owned houses on a rotation schedule for 3 weeks. We stayed in a comfortable "mansion hotel" on Franklin Street, close to the river, & enjoyed dining at Dunleith, a beautiful home that was not open for the tours. We did get a peak of it (through raindrops) as we parked the car near the stables, where their restaurant was located.

Speaking of rain, if you live in the Southeastern US, you know we've had quite a bit of it for the last several weeks, along with the H & H (hot & humid) that bogs us all down. One of the Natchez people told me that where they live, they get only 3 months when they are relieved of this kind of weather. Oh dear. No wonder they have the vernadas & the punkas (see photo gallleries for explanation).

The tours did not disappoint us: the Pilgrimage Tour people were quite helfpul, the volunteers were organized & informative, & the houses all different & most interesting. 4 of the ones we saw are owned & operated by different non-profits (the Natchez Garden Club, the Natchez Pilgrimage Club, the Daughters of the American Revolution, & the City of Natchez).

We met owners of the houses at 2 places, where the same family were owners for generations. We saw one house connected with a grisly murder, & another one that was never finsihed, oddly enough the most interesting of all of them, on our last stop.

While there, I read 2 books, one a fictional modern murder story, the other a non-fiction book about a 1932 "southern gothic murder". Both books dealt with the underlying problem about pretty little southern towns, plantations, & extreme privilege in our American story: slavery. Natchez has an African American Museum (that closed before I was aware of it) as well "Forks of the Road", a small triangle of land that served as a market for enslaved people shipped or walked to Natchez for sale. It's a start.

After Natchez, we arrived in New Orleans for the Friday & Saturday parties celebrating a wedding that was postponed several times due to Covid. It was nice to be celebrating something again. We also visited the incredible WWII Museum, where we spent 6 hours exploring & learning in this most interactive experience.

Please visit our photo gallery to see many pictures of our time in Natchez.

We hope you all are enjoying fall temperatures & good weather, & health, of course, & are getting ready for a Happy & Healthy Halloween.

All the best,

Elise & Les