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Pilgrimage To Natchez
by Brian Sands
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA

Tired of French Quarter Festival and jazzfest crowds? Looking for a quick getaway from the Big Easy? Interested in seeing one of the most beautiful and historic towns in the South? Then head on up to Natchez and into a world of Southern charm and hospitality.

Founded in 1716 by New Orleans' own Jean Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville, Natchez is the oldest permanent settlement on the Mississippi River. the city has gone through boom (cotton in the early 19th century, oil in the 20th) and bust periods, but currently seems to be prospering, like New Orleans, courtesy of its thriving tourist trade as well as its port.

When cotton was king in the 1800s, Natchez had more millionaires per capita than any other city in the country except New York. As each tried to outdo the other, an incredible collection of grand mansions, country houses and suburban villas sprang up. Fortunately, when the Union Army's Gen. Gresham occupied Natchez in 1863, he appreciated the value of this unique treasure and decreed that the city should not be destroyed.

Now, the town's 25,000 residents welcome visitors who similarly appreciate architecture, history and culture year-round and particularly during Pilgrimage times. So grab a mint julep and let the tour begin!

Spring Pilgrimage

By the 1930s, age and weather had taken their toll on a number of Natchez' antebellum mansions and other regal estates. The Depression had limited disposable income and so the ladies of these houses, led by Mrs. J. Balfour Miller of Hope Farm, gathered together in 1932 and decided to open their homes to the public for a limited time. Revenues from the sale of tour tickets would go to maintain these homes.

This group evolved into the Natchez Garden Club and the Pilgrimage's success enabled them to acquire and restore other buildings. Over the past 65+ years the Spring Pilgrimage has grown from a one-week to a five-week affair that now features 32 homes spread over eight tours of four homes each. The Fall Pilgrimage (Oct. 2-25, 1998) offers six tours and 24 different houses. (For more information, call 800.647.6742.)

Tours are given from 9am-1pm and again from 1:30-5:30pm during the Pilgrimage (a number of homes are open throughout the year as well). A brochure and signs around the city make it easy to find your way to the locations on your tour.

Throughout each house, ladies in hoop skirts are stationed to tell you about the furnishings and history. Adding a further personal touch, if a home is privately owned, the owner is likely to greet you at the doorway.

A recent overnight visit to Natchez allowed me to explore the following magnificent homes:

Richmond: Set a ways back from the main road, Richmond is a distinctive triad of architectural styles. The middle section, completed in 1784, is French Plantation, the front entrance is Classic Greek Revival (1832) and the back brick building is English Georgian (1860). John Shelby Marshall was the richest man in Natchez when he acquired the central structure and started adding to it in 1832.

Anna Mary Rowell, a sixth generation descendant of Marshall, and her family are the current residents of Richmond and she welcomes you to her home in the most unpretentious manner. She refers to a cabinet displaying antique fans and other goodies that any museum would love to get its hands on as her "bric-a-brac collection."

Items unique to Richmond include whale oil-burning lamps, a piano used in a concert given by Jenny Lind (1851) and in one room the most memorable presentations I saw in Natchez. Wanting to do something a little different than the usual spiel on woodwook and upholstery, the gracious Miss Addie explained that Richmond decided to exhibit a collection of antique bathtubs: a foot-washing one, a children's tub, a recycling shower that drew used water back to the top section and, my favorite, a "mint julep tub" for use when the master of the house came home smashed on liquid refreshments. Filled with ice cold water to sober him up, it tapers off at the end to prevent him from going under and drowning when he finally passes out!

The Briars: Situated at the highest point of the Mississippi River between St. Louis and New Orleans, The Briars is the quintessential Southern Planter mansion. Built between 1814 and 1818, it is best known as the residence where Jefferson Davis wedded Varina Howell, the eldest daughter of the house, in 1845. As it was Davis' second marriage, the simple home ceremony was held in the parlor before a hand-carved cypress mantel that has retained its elegance.

The 19-acre estate's main residence, now the Briars Inn, has mostly English furniture, including Chippendale chairs and some French pieces. A wonderful fainting sofa from the 1850s encouraged women to swoon-a fashionable response back then when words failed. In one room, hand-painted Chinese wallpaper features birds and insects said to bring good luck. Though a bit creepy, the delicate artistry imbues the bugs with a certain majesty.

Outdoors, a classic wisteria arbor leads down to a fabulous lily pool. The grounds are sculpted with fountains, walkways, statues, gazebos and a pond. No wonder-interior designers Robert Canon and Newton Wilds own the place and have lovingly been restoring it since purchasing the property in 1975.

While one may not expect Gay couples (another Pilgrimage home is owned by Robert Blackwell and Harry Gorst) to be so prominently featured in a small Mississippi town, Natchezians don't really seem to care that-and even less so if you have money. While very much involved in civic affairs, Canon and Wilds are hardly Gay activists. they're not the type to fly a rainbow flag from their veranda, though a few years back, not realizing its significance, Wilds did raise one up just because he thought it looked nice. Greeting Pilgrimage visitors in dapper attire, they refer to each other as "my partner." Those who get it, get it; those who don't, don't.

Rosalie: Located on the Mississippi Bluff near the site of the French Fort Rosalie, this 1820 brick mansion was the Union Army headquarters for three years. General Gresham respectfully had the original furniture stored in the attic during that period. What General Ulysses S. Grant sat and slept on when he stayed here, I'm not exactly sure.

Rosalie's opulent gentlemen's parlor furnishings include Baccarat chandeliers, Bohemian glassware, a piano from 1820 with mother-of-pearl keys and the finest collection of Belter furniture outside the Smithsonian Institution. (Beautiful hand-carved, rosewood pieces from the 1850s for those not in-the-know on those kinds of things.)

Around this National Historic Landmark you'll also find a Tiffany punch bowl in the dining room, a doll collection amassed by the Rumble family's children from 1866 to 1880 and cuspidors-brass for men, porcelain for ladies. In the ladies' parlor, I was surprised that guests were allowed, even encouraged, to play the antique piano there.

Appropriately, the children's bedroom tour guide was 10-year-old Heather who, wearing a junior hoop skirt, did her grandmother (another guide) proud with an impressive command of knowledge.

The Parsonage: Peter Little owned Rosalie in the 1850s. Tiring of his religious wife's minister friends, he bought a nearby plot of land and built the parsonage so the Mrs. could entertain and he could have some peace. It has since passed into the hands of the Metcalfe Family who continue to reside there.

Upstairs, the rooms, though gorgeous, began to blur with similar ones seen earlier that day. Fascinating items, however, included a quilt made from Betsy Ross' old dress (a family tree shows Anna Ross Metcalfe's relation to the flag designer) and a "Planter's Annual Record of his Negroes" showing the number of males and females living on the Grove Plantation and their value.

The Parsonage's ground floor, on the other hand, has been converted by the Metcalfes from storage space into a homey residence of exposed beams and brick walls. Furnished with plainer pieces from Pennsylvania and featuring a small greenhouse and samplers on the walls, it has a down-to-earth feel not found in too many other Pilgrimage homes. In fact, I wouldn't mind living there myself.

Leaving the Parsonage, I overheard the tour guides commenting that they were looking forward to getting out of their hoop skirts and enjoying the dinner that the Metcalfes prepare for them each day that their home is on the tour. Talk about Southern hospitality!

[Next issue, we'll continue with the Red Pilgrimage tour and other things to see and do around Natchez. In the meantime, the Natchez Opera Festival takes place in May with The Mikado (May 9 & 15); Susannah (May 16); The Boyfriend (May 23 & 29); and, The Tales Of Hoffman (May 30). Call 601.442.7464 for details.]

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