Melrose...a new favorite Natchez site

Today we decided to visit the Natchez National Historical Park.  We got there between tours of Melrose, built in the mid-1840's, so we began with self-guided tour of the grounds.  Wow! Who knew so much was still standing here on what was once considered the "out-skirts" of Natchez!

Entrance and rear of main house

Now, Melrose is not a plantation. According to Park Ranger Barney Shoby, a plantation has to have a cash crop grown on the premises.  Melrose only grew wine. fruit in their orchard (peaches, pears, muscadines) and live stock.  It was a self-sustaining property even without the large crops of the era. (The National Park Service found over 200 wine bottles in the house when they bought it in the early 90's. On a possibly related note, all three families that owned Melrose were Irish...)

Columns and porch ceiling

I know we say this a lot, but honestly, we have not run into a terrible tour guide. Ranger Barney was awesome! He knew his stuff about Melrose, quoting journals and family histories, entertaining guests and engaging everyone on the tour. As Heather so eloquently put it on our way home, "I laughed, I cried, it was amazing!" I personally learned several facts that I never heard from other guides on Antebellum home tours.

NPS Ranger Bernard Shoby

I learned why the drawing room is called just that.  Once you enter a home, the host would draw you by the hand into the next room, thus naming it...the Drawing Room.  I didn't know that! I also learned that Hungarian tourists are not used to tour guides asking for their hand to "draw" them places.

Melrose was built as a show-off home.  John T. McMurran and his family owned five plantations in three states.  His wife went on massive shopping trips for furnish the Melrose.  The gasolier in the parlor was 24 karat gold.  The cornices at every window on the first floor are gold. The china brought home from a trip to London has over 1000 pieces! (And we aren't talking Corelle!)

             

The awesome thing about Melrose is that almost 90% of the furnishings you see on the tour are original to the house.  Thanks to families and the loyalty of freed slaves, most everything the McMurrans put into Melrose remains there today.  This is rare!

                   

When the Civil War rolled through Natchez, houses along the river were the focus of the Union troops.  Melrose's location saved it! After the Civil War, the McMurran's lost their fortune and were forced to sell.  In 1865, Melrose was bought by the Davis' Family.  They were from Natchez, but closer to the river.  That means their house was taken by the Union soldiers. The Davis' family moved into Melrose, but several deaths left a young boy all alone as the heir to the estate.

George Davis Kelly moved to New York to live with a grandmother, but left freed slaves to take care of Melrose. Grab the tissue...here come the tears.

Jane Johnson

Kelly left Jane Johnson to care for Melrose.  She, along with one other family housekeeper, kept Melrose and all of it's belongings intact.  As Ranger Barney told the story, when 6 year old George left, "Granny Johnson" as she was known, told him "If you never leave me boy, I promise to never leave you." In 1900, George married and brought his wife back to Granny Johnson and Melrose.  She never left! George took care of Jane just as promised.  In 1944, at over 100 years of age, Jane died.  The tombstone was suppose to read "Jane Johnson/slave," but George said no.  George had a new stone made that reads "Granny Jane Johnson/ Never bought - Never sold/Loyalist-Heroine & Preservationist." One year and one day after Jane Johnson passed away...so did George Kelly.

We were all squalling at the end of that tale. In my mind, this post would not be complete without a visit to Jane's stone in Natchez City Cemetery.  If you have never been to Natchez City Cemetery...it is HUGE! We failed in finding the headstone...for now...but did manage to track down some McMurrans.  We will find Jane!

                           


Melrose remained in the Kelly family until it was sold in 1976 to the Callon family of Natchez.  In 1990, the National Park Service acquired the property and all of the belongings in an attempt to preserve this wonderful piece of Mississippi history.

Melrose....a fantastic tour, a fantastic story, and a fantastic house!

Tours run daily from 10 a..m. until 4 p.m. and hopefully you run into "Little Barney" while you are there.  The gates to the grounds are open all day.  You can enjoy a free self-guided tour of all of the remaining parts of Melrose.  The kitchen, creamery, stables, carriage house, and slave cabins still remain much as they were when Melrose was built in the 1840's.

carriages 

creamery 

Carriage House

Carriage House and Stable

Stable

When visiting Natchez National Historical Park, be sure to check out the slave cabins.  One houses an exhibit on slavery in Natchez.  There is a plethora of information regarding slaves before and during the Civil War.  Also a room is replicated as it would have been in the 1800's when five slaves would have shared one room of the three room cabin. An audio presentation plays and tells stories of lives of slaves.

Take a day and stop by Melrose.  Bring a picnic and hang out under the fabulous old trees.  Tell Ranger Barney his Franklin County folks sent you :) And if you have the time and the weather cooperates, run on over to the Natchez City Cemetery and look up the McMurrans...and if you are lucky...Jane Johnson.

Until next time
~Rosemary

Hello Natchez Indians...we meet again!

Sitting at home the other day, my husband says "Why haven't you done a post on the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians?"

And I responded with "Uh...."

Of course we have been to the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians...just not in the last year since starting Instead of Doing Dishes!

He planted the seed...so on a beautiful summer day we headed to Natchez and to the Grand Village.

The Grand Village of the Natchez Indians is not where you would expect to find it.  Behind a local hospital and medical community, through a residential neighborhood...there sits the former home of a now extinct group of Native Americans.

When you pass through the gates, you will probably head first to the museum.  At least, that is what we did.  Staff? Super nice! We signed in and started the self guided tour of the artifacts that have been found not just on-site, but all over the Natchez area!

My four year old found the museum to be "pretty cool" (his words:)). But his favorite part was the "Touch Table." Yes, you read me right.  All of us got to touch grinding stones, bones, antlers, rocks...all sorts of artifacts! You want a kid friends place, this would be it. 

Hank shows off a grindstone.

Luke poses with antlers.

There is a short eight minute film offered for anyone who wants to view it.  The room with the television is quite incredible for the fact that it houses local artists interpretations of the Natchez Indians. These artists range from school children to adults.  It is quite an impressive collection!

A little history on the Natchez Indians.  I have visited the Grand Village several times, but I have also read a brief account of the Natchez Indians.  Obviously, the namesake for which the town of Natchez was named.  The Natchez Indians were once a thriving tribe covering lots of territory. From the banks of the Mighty Mississippi, to St. Catherine's Creek, and even into Franklin County, the Natchez Indians were thought to be one of the more extensive tribes of it's time.  Like most Native Americans, Europeans arrived bringing disease and fights over territory.  By the time the Natchez left, there were not to many remaining.

The Natchez Indians were made their way to live with other tribes in Oklahoma.  Once there, they were absorbed into the larger tribes and the name Natchez Indian no longer existed.

From the museum, you take a short walk through the local flora to find "the village." The Natchez Indians left three mounds.  One mound was abandoned by the Indians in the 1700's and remains much as it was when discovered.  The other two mounds, the Great Sun's Mound and the Temple Mound, are also visible. The Great Sun's Mound would have been the home of the village chief.  Upon a chief's death, the mound would be raised for the next chief.

Mound B and C

The Temple mound would have housed the bones of the chiefs who had gone before as well as a perpetual fire in honor of those chiefs.  

There is a nature trail down to St. Catherine's Creek, but we weren't in the shoes for a hike today (this has never stopped us before, but after the debacle at Historic Jefferson College, Heather has vowed to never hike with me again :) We will see...)

A reconstructed home also sits in the opening.  The kids got a kick of getting to go inside and seeing how small houses used to be for the Natchez Indians.

The Grand Village of the Natchez Indians makes for a lovely stroll any day, but if you really want to see it in action...check out the annual Pow-Wow!

We did not make it this past year, but here are a few sights from previous Pow-wows.  If you are in the Natchez area when this goes down, you should definitely check it out. The costumes are amazing! The music and pageantry are something worth seeing.

Be sure to pack up the family one day soon and check out the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians!

Until next time,
Rosemary

A Traveler's Advice #1

Instead of Doing Dishes has learned a lot over the past year.  Some things I feel may be helpful to fellow travelers.  As I lay in a hotel bed last night, in a town I had not planned on being in, I decided I should share things we have learned along the way in the form of an advice column.

Here is today's tip:

When planning a weekend trip to a college town in mid-August, always call a local (that would be you Katie) and make sure that nothing big is going on (like move-in day) that would prevent you from getting a hotel room (after driving all night to get there).

There is nothing quite like showing up, exhausted to where you planned on going, and finding every room in the entire town booked.  Yes, this happened to me last night.  We had to drive an additional 30 minutes to a neighboring town to get a room.  Luckily, I knew the area, so it was not to big a deal...but I knew better.  I actually caught myself thinking about following the above advice about a week ago.  But did I? No.

I had a great visit with old friends! Who would guess we graduated together 14 years ago! Holy Cow!

Now, if only I can solve the "my children were so excited to be in a hotel they stayed up until 4 in the morning" issue, we would be all set!

Until next time,

Rosemary

A little break and the Camp Van Dorn Museum

We're BACK!!

And taking a tour of the Camp Van Dorn Museum in Centreville, Mississippi!

This summer has been super busy for the IODD families.  One of us (not me:)) bought a new house and is looking forward to a move.  Don't worry! It is only a few miles down the road. One of us (ok, this one is me) has been getting into the "stay-at-home mom" swing of things.

We did not get a lot of blogging done this summer but the two oldest children are back in school now and we have already made two trips!

THE RECON
Started with a quick trip to run errands in Natchez...where have you heard that before? ha

We read in the newspaper about an fixer-upper house in Crosby, MS for sale.  We are, of course, all about the old houses and had a few in mind we were hoping it was.  Turned out to be a totally different house than we thought and we decided to head home.

Having a few hours to kill before "school bus time," we took a few roads less traveled.  Started with some roads along the Buffalo River.  These landed us in people's driveways (sorry if it was yours!) or wondering if that log in the swampy water was a log or possibly an alligator.

Between the Buffalo and Homochitto Rivers was a sign for a little place called Rosetta.  The road was gravel for a bit, but then turned into old pavement.  This old pavement landed us in Rosetta at the Faith Christian Fellowship Church. We drove on every road in Rosetta...some twice...to see what there was to see. We saw just enough to want to return with a camera (which of course we didn't have because we were suppose to be running errands!) after looking up some information on the area.

                                                

We managed to find ourselves all the way back to the south side of Crosby before heading home. On the way home we decided the next day would be a perfect road trip day!

THE HOMEWORK
Please open your Google browser and search for information regarding Rosetta, MS.  If you found something more than a Wikipedia page proclaiming it an "unincorporated town in Wilkinson County Mississippi" then you did better than I did! Basically, I found out it was in Wilkinson County...helpful...huh?

Heather did not fare much better.  We did find a news article about the Homochitto River bridge in Rosetta that collapsed back in the 70's due to erosion from flooding.  Seeing as we saw construction crews working on the bridge when we passed, it was a little unsettling!

Cameras charging, snacks packed (you know how we roll!), and gas in the tank!

THE ATTACK
We headed out bright and early...ok just kidding...it was like 10 a.m. But we had some IODD business to handle first (business cards!!).

Once we got back to Rosetta, we took a few pictures at the no longer in use church, Faith Christian Fellowship.  At least, we are assuming it is not being used...by anything other than the wasps and the pine trees growing in the doorways.  As we rode around we found other picture taking opportunities.

                                     

 
There was also a fantastic old cypress tree dripping with spanish moss.  The cows were even cooperating with the pictures.  Heather was calling them trying to get them to look up when I informed her that cows only answer to "moo."  Would you believe she "moo"d at the cow and it looked at her like she was crazy! as if to say "make sure you get my good side!"

We then stopped at the Rosetta Cemetery Circa 1890.  This cemetery was pretty well covered by Find A Grave, so we took a few pictures and moved on.

The road beside the cemetery was one we had never been on.  Heather had found some information about a Day Plantation.  The Day Plantation was no longer standing but there was a family cemetery.  I followed Heather's directions and only had to turn around a few times and came across a few picture worthy sites.  We also found another cemetery, the Homer Hill Cemetery of Rosetta.  We stopped because of a Find A Grave request.  We took pictures because the place was amazing.

This cemetery, and it occupants, are well loved.  Just a small plot surrounded by woods and a fence with a small gate, but you get a feeling of peace upon entering.  Almost every stone was accompanied by statues, or knick knacks.  Most interesting...the guitars surrounding one stone.  I also saw here my favorite inscription, "Lay down Maw Maw, take your rest.  We loved you but God loved you best."  How sweet is that?!

We left Homer Hill and found our way to the Day Cemetery.  There really didn't seem to be any sign of the original plantation remaining.  From here we headed in search of food...again...who didn't see that coming?!

We did some talking and driving before settling on finding sustenance in Centreville, Mississippi and taking in the Camp Van Dorn Museum downtown.  I found the website during my search for information about Rosetta.  I had heard about Camp Van Dorn but never knew there was a museum (and my husband works right down the street!).

The building itself if historic.  Turns out this was the first bank in Centreville. It later became a small grocery store before standing vacant and falling into disrepair.  The building was saved and brought back to life to become the Camp Van Dorn Museum.
 





Camp Van Dorn was a World War II training camp that operated from 1942 to 1945.  Two divisions were stationed there in preparation for tours of duty in Germany.  The 99th "Checkerboard" Division was the first group and the 63rd "Blood and Fire" Division was the last. The "Blood and Fire" Division is credited with breaking the Siegfried Line in Germany.

 Camp Van Dorn was named after the Van Dorn from Port Gibson whose house we are still trying to find.  The Camp covered over 41,000 acres and housed over 39,000 soldiers.  The military basically bought up a large portion of the town of Centreville.  All that remains today is the General's house, now an oil company, and a historical marker.

This is information we learned at the museum. The museum is run by volunteers with no funding from government. I'll take this moment to mention it is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and every  1st and 3rd Saturday. There is no fee to view the massive collection of artifacts from Camp Van Dorn and WWII but they do accept donations.

      

                                              

Now I would like to introduce Mrs. Emma Zell Knighton, our guide through the museum.  When she greeted us at the door, this possibly 5 foot, tri-focaled, 88 year old lady welcomed us excitedly. It is pretty safe to say that Mrs. Knighton loves Centreville.  She explained that once upon a time, Centreville, Mississippi was a bustling amazing town. Once the government bought up most of the town for the military camp, most of the locals moved out, never to return.

Mrs. Knighton has lived in Centreville her whole life. She was adorable! She told tons of stories and even though she claimed she didn't know everything about Camp Van Dorn, she was very informative. Mrs. Knighton has met several of the soldiers and families of soldiers who were stationed at Camp Van Dorn. She said people were asking to take pictures with her all the time, so she went home and got a photo of her at 18 and brought it back and holds it up when they take her picture.  So, of course, we took her picture as well!

Even my oldest son Luke got in to the picture taking mood!

Now the race is on to get home before the school bus!

If you find yourself with some time to kill in or around Wilkinson County Mississippi, you should really check out the Camp Van Dorn Museum. I promised Mrs. Emma Zell that we would send as many people as we could her way! She is well worth the visit.  While there you can also sign up for a monthly newsletter put out by the museum.  From this you get great updates and information...like the fact that one of the original twelve chapels built at Camp Van Dorn is in use today in McComb, MS as Holmesville Baptist Church!

We are planning several more trips in the coming days so welcome back to IODD!.  We hope you are having a great summer and that the kiddos got back to school and are enjoying it!


Until next time~
Rosemary