Page 365 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - USA

MISSISSIPPI  363

serves as a poignant reminder village with Indian mounds,
of a mansion that burned down replicas of huts, nature trails, and
in 1890. The Mount Locust a small museum. A short drive
visitor center is located 15 miles east of downtown is Melrose
(24 km) northeast of Natchez in Plantation, the US’s most intact
a restored 1783 inn. antebellum estate. It displays
African-American history in
slave quarters along side the
i Natchez 1845 Greek Revival mansion.
* 20,000. @ g n 640 S Canal St,
(601) 446-6345. P House on Ellicott’s Hill
Jefferson & Canal Sts. Tel (601) 442-
Best known for its fine antebellum 2011. Open 10am–3pm Fri, Sat.
architecture, Natchez is an Closed Dec 25. & 7
attractive town on the bluffs ∑ natchezgardenclub.com
above the Mississippi River. 8 Natchez Pilgrimage Tour
The first capital of the state Tel (601) 446-6631, (800) 647-6742.
of Mississippi, it is the oldest & ∑ natchezpilgrimage.com
settlement on the entire river,
surrounded by a wealth of Fishing schooners lining the waterfront on
natural resources, with a o Gulf Coast the Gulf Coast
growing industrial sector. Many * 156,000 (Biloxi & Gulfport). £ @
of its historic buildings lie within n 2350 Beach Blvd, Biloxi, (228) 896- Ship Island. After the Americans
easy walking distance of the 6699. ∑ gulfcoast.org gained control of the coast,
compact downtown district. they built Fort Massachusetts
Some of these gems include Lingering French influences and in the mid-1800s on Ship Island.
the oldest house in town, the a maritime heritage combine to During the Civil War, the Union
1798 House on Ellicott’s Hill; make the scenic Gulf of Mexico used the fort to house POWs,
the stately and palatial Stanton coastline unlike the rest of including a troop of African-
Hall (1857); the unfinished Mississippi. In 1699, two Québcois American Confederates
Longwood (1860), whose brothers, Pierre le Moyne, Sieur from Louisiana.
construction was interrupted d’Iberville, and Jean Baptiste le In August 1965, Hurricane
by the Civil War; and Rosalie, Moyne, Sieur de Bienville, Camille, one of the worst storms
an 1829 brick mansion atop reached what is now Ocean to hit mainland US, split Ship
the bluff that served as Union Springs, to set up France’s first Island into two – West Ship and
headquarters during the Civil War. permanent settlement in the East Ship (although it is still
Many house museums are South. In 1704, the French referred to locally in the singular).
open all year, but many more government sponsored the Today, both are part of the Gulf
can be seen during the Natchez transport of 20 young women Islands National Seashore,
Pilgrimage held in the spring as prospective brides for the which spans parts of Mississippi
and fall (see p40). At the south male colonists. Armed with and western Florida and covers
end of town, a mile (1.6 km) off their trousseaux in state-issued 135,500 acres (54,835 ha). A ferry
Hwy 61, is the Grand Village of suitcases or “cassettes,” the transports passengers to the
the Natchez Indians, a historic “cassette girls” were housed on beach and for tours of the historic
fort. Visitors can take boat and
kayak trips to deserted islands,
or fishing charters on traditional
shrimp boats. The Walter
Anderson Museum of Art
exhibits works by the late painter,
potter, naturalist, and writer
Walter Anderson, reflecting his
love for the Mississippi coast.
} Gulf Islands National Seashore
3500 Park Rd, Ocean Springs. Tel (228)
875-9057. ∑ nps.gov/guis
E Walter Anderson Museum of Art
510 Washington Ave, Ocean Springs.
n (228) 872-3164. Open 9:30am–
4:30pm Mon–Sat, 12:30-4:30pm Sun.
Closed Jan 1, Easter, Thanksgiving,
Dec 24 & 25. & ∑ walteranderson
Longwood, the octagonal, domed house, in Natchez museum.org

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