AP Features, February 26th, 2007
Two dozen white-columned antebellum mansions and other historic homes of Natchez will be open to the public during the city's annual Spring Pilgrimage, March 10-April 14.
The homes include house museums like Stanton Hall and the House on Ellicott Hill, along with private homes like Green Leaves, built in 1838 and filled with antiques, heirlooms and history, including a bullet hole above the front door that dates to Reconstruction. Hosts dress in period costume to greet their visitors. The homes on the tour are listed on the National Register of Historic Places; some are also National Historic Landmarks.
Visitors can select three house tours for $24 or four house tours for $32.
Natchez, located on the Mississippi River, was home to many 19th-century cotton barons. The city surrendered to Union forces in 1863 and its elegant mansions were largely undamaged during the Civil War. The city was also the location of one of the South's largest slave trading sites, Forks of the Road.
A garden club event showcasing some of the old homes led to the first Spring Pilgrimage in 1932, and eventually the annual event helped increase tourism and preservation efforts.
Some of the homes still accommodate visitors - Hope Farm, Shields Town House, Linden, Elgin, Glenburnie and Monmouth Plantation. You can also take horse carriage tours of the historic district, have a candlelight dinner at Monmouth Plantation, drive the nearby Natchez Trace, a scenic byway, and attend a performance of "Southern Road to Freedom," a musical tribute to black heritage performed by the Holy Family Gospel Choir.
For details about tickets, tours and accommodations, contact Natchez Pilgrimage Tours, http://www.natchezpilgrimage.com or 800-647-6742.
The event is sponsored by the Pilgrimage Garden Club, the Natchez Garden Club, Natchez Pilgrimage Tours and other organizations.
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