FALL PILGRIMAGE 2024

This house is furnished with period antiques and original Stanton family china, crystal and the Stanton family Bible.   Stanton Hall, one of the most magnificent and palatial Greek Revival homes in America, occupies an entire city block in downtown Natchez.  This home stands 5 stories tall, was originally 14,000 square feet and has delicately arched millwork in the halls and parlors.  Stanton Hall boasts many original furnishings and beautiful antiques. Declared a National Historic Landmark in 1974, Stanton Hall is owned and beautifully maintained by The Pilgrimage Garden Club.

Longwood Mansion is the largest octagonal house in America with the original furnishings and tools still intact. Construction was halted by the Civil War and never fully completed. Tour Longwood and learn about the fascinating history of the original builder and his family.

Located on the Mississippi River bluff near the site of the massacre of the Natchez Indians, now a National Historic Landmark, this home was a Union headquarters during the Civil War. The Mississippi State Society Daughters of the American Revolution continue to preserve Rosalie and its furnishings.

The Burn is one of Natchez’s earliest examples of the Greek Revival style. Built by John Walworth, this three-story home is known for its semi-spiral staircase in the central hall.

Concord Quarters is the only freestanding former slave dwelling in the state of Mississippi that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This mansion has an original written inventory of the enslaved African-American men, women, and children of old Concord.  Enjoy the archaeological site with interpretive display panels in a park-like landscape with giant oaks situated on a knoll and view the Cosey collection of African Bust and Art.  As a special treat, Debbie Cosey, the owner, performs Negro Mystical and Religious songs during your tour.

Stately Greek Revival Mansion surrounded by historic gardens, Green Leaves is one of the great Natchez houses where succeeding generations of a single family have carefully preserved the original furnishings and extensive family memorabilia that dates to the mid 1800s. Step back in time and experience over 170 years of Natchez history!

Built by Nathaniel L. Carpenter beginning in 1844 and completed in 1851 when purchased by steamboat captain, Thomas P. Leathers. The home showcases a large period-appropriate collection of Empire and Victorian furnishings within the walls of its spacious rooms.  Saturdays Only 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.

Located at one of the most historically significant intersections in the Natchez area during Spain’s occupation of Natchez from 1783-1798 sets this charming home, known today as Holly Hedges.

Although its earliest history dates to 1796 when a structure was built by Mr. John Scott, who received a Spanish grant on what was known as Block 1; it is believed Holly Hedges took its current form by 1805 when his widow, Susanna petitioned for a deed to the lot where the home she was building (or remodeling)sits today.

Of great significance in the chain of ownership of Holly Hedges is the tenure of the John T. McMurran family who lived here until their massive suburban estates Melrose was completed in 1848. Melrose is today the crown jewel of The Natchez National Historical Park.

Still later, Holly Hedges became the Natchez home of celebrated Dallas interior designer Earl Hart Miller and his wife Zan, who in 1948 completely restored the Federal era home and added the interlaced Federal style dormers and celebrated parterre garden to the original home giving it added visual appeal and gave the home the name Holly Hedges.

Step into America’s history through stories of the family who still live in this home built by their great-great-grandparents in 1853, on land first occupied by family members since the 1780s.  Lansdowne has been occupied by descendants of the original builder since its inception.  At the entrance of Lansdowne, wide steps rise from a brick pavement, flanked by aged carriage mounting blocks.  Mid-nineteenth-century Zuber wallpaper adorns the parlor with its intricate designs and delicate colors. Gorgeous treasured family heirlooms are displayed throughout the home, including a children’s playhouse with antique doll furnishings and a miniature wood-burning stove.  Hear how “King” David Hunt’s daughter, Charlotte, confronted Union Soldiers who broke into the home in 1865.

The facade of Rip Rap features one of Natchez’s grandest residential essays in Italianate style with its cast-iron gallery arcades and decorative window cornices. The two front parlors contain fourteen-foot ceilings with original plaster molding and luxurious chandelier medallions and feature four ten-foot windows of 15 lights each, looking over the magnificent front gallery and the grounds beyond.  The crystal gasoliers hanging in each parlor are reminiscent of the magnificent paddle wheel steamboats of Mississippi River fame. The central hall, painted in Trompe-l’oeil stone block motif, leads to a relaxing keeping room, elegantly appointed dining room, morning room, bedroom suites, and back gallery overlooking the grounds of the two-acre property.  Surrounded by graceful live oaks, Rip Rap was constructed in the mid-1830s for successful Natchez merchant Benjamin Wade and his wife, Zelia Robitaille Wade.

Dr. John Wesley Monette, the original owner of the home, is renowned for his advocacy in preventing the spread of Yellow Fever through quarantine. Built in the Federal-style, Sweet Auburn is situated among lush rolling lawns, a reflective pond, and expressive oak trees. Sweet Auburn’s property includes multiple historic sites on one property; a cemetery, Monette’s library, and a medical office. Sweet Auburn boasts original millwork, including columns, archways, window casings, mantels, and door frames produced in Cincinnati and shipped down the Mississippi River.

Propinquity dates to the early period of the Mississippi territory and is one of the earliest houses of the Federal architectural style. Secluded among ancient live oaks just outside Natchez in the historic territorial capital of Washington, Mississippi. Renowned for its original Federal-style millwork and has retained its architectural integrity.