A group of women with Russellville ties often take extended treks around the country and beyond. Retired school librarian Marguerite Kirkpatrick has again provided the readers of The LoJo a highly descriptive travelogue of their tours and sidetrips. The latest one follows:
The lush green of a Mississippi spring enveloped us as we traveled down the Natchez Trace Parkway,a welcome relief after several hours of driving in heavy traffic on Interstate 40. Soon we arrived at our destination—Natchez, home of the famous Spring Pilgrimage, a local event begun in 1932. Arriving late in this lovely city, we checked into our hotel and looked forward to three days of soaking up history, visiting historic homes, attending musical events, and reveling in the springtime beauty of the South.
The following morning found us at the Visitors' Center where we watched an informative film about the history of Natchez. After purchasing tickets to visit four of the 27 homes on this year'spilgrimage, we entered the address of Auburn into our GPS and began a drive through lovely streets adorned with ancient live oaks draped in Spanish moss, as well as redbud and dogwood trees in fullbloom.
Paramount in the rising success and wealth of Natchez was King Cotton. Many young men made huge fortunes on cotton plantations, accounting for the abundance of beautiful mansions that still grace the city. Of course, the dark side of this aspect of Natchez history is that the plantations were dependent on slave labor. The upside, however, is that the citizens—especially the very active garden clubs—have worked very hard to maintain these old homes and keep alive the history of the town. Visitors enjoy a feeling of going back intime.
Auburn, completed in 1812, was designed by Architect Levi Weeks, who stated the home was “to be the most magnificent building in the territory.” The most magnificent feature of this home is a freestanding spiral staircase in the foyer, one of only three in the United States. One can put his right hand on the banister at the bottom of the staircase and not remove it until arriving once again at the bottom; after the descent, the right hand will be on the left of the stairs.
The second owner of thishome, Dr. Stephen Duncan, was a close personal friend of Henry Clay, who often visited here. His portrait now resides over one of the mantels. In 1911 Dr. Duncan's descendants deeded this home to the city of Natchez. The family's rare and costly antiques were sold at auction on the front lawn; the surrounding land was turned into a city park; and the house was left open to the public for a period of 61 years. Local children had free range of the house and often used its interior for roller skating and bike riding. Amazingly, little damage was done to the house by the children or the humid weather of the deep South, leaving the cypress floors and the original wavy glass window panes to be enjoyed by today's visitors. In 1972, a local garden club leased the house and now manage it as a house museum using the proceeds for restoration andmaintenance.
Second on our list was The Burn, built in 1832, so named for the brook that runs through the property. The original owner, John Walworth, who became one of the wealthiest men in Natchez owning several plantations, was of Scottish descent, and the Scottish word for brook is “burn.” This house was built in the Greek Revival style. From the front it appears to be a story and a half, but the back reveals a full three stories. Though the house contains 9,000 square feet, it was built in such a way that “it did not appear ostentatious.” In 1863, the Walworth family was given 24 hours to vacate their home, after which the Union Army used it as a hospital.The family did not regain possession until 1866.The Burn is noted for its lovely gardens with an abundance of azaleas and camellias. Today it is privately owned and serves as a bed andbreakfast.
We enjoyed lunch at King's Tavern, circa 1789, the oldest standing building in the Natchez Territory. Chef Regina Charboneau has restored the Tavern to its original use as a gathering place for locals and and travelers with an interior of exposed brick and wood beams. Their specialty is wood fired flatbreads with various combinations of toppings. Our selection of shrimp, proscuitto, mushrooms, chevre,and Parmesan wasoutstanding!
The afternoon was reserved for a visit to Twin Oaks. Through the years, this home has had asuccession of owners with each one making additions and changes to the Greek Revival structure. The present owners are Douglas and Regina Charboneau, who manage a B&B on the property. Regina, the chef mentioned previously, often shares her culinary expertise on the cooking portions of the P. Allen Smith programs so popular on PBS. This home was comfortable and inviting, filled with books, which seemed to be piled on every available surface, and an extensive art collection including a Picasso lithograph.
Here we learned about the punkah or shoo-fly fan, a broad wooden pallet that hangs vertically above the dining table with an attached rope once used by a servant slowly pulling the device back and forth to shoo away the flies. Since the windows were always open in the hot summertime, the problem of bugs and flies was ever-present. From the dining room we were ushered into the kitchen to receive a treat of almond tea and hot flaky biscuits slathered with honey butter, which we enjoyed with a chorus of oooh's and ahhh's on the screen porch overlooking thegarden.
At 8:00 o'clock we were in our seats awaiting the production of the Historic Natchez Tableaux, an all- volunteer production that has delighted Natchez visitors since 1932. Over three hundred locals fromthe ages of four to ninety-four sang, danced, and dramatized the story of Natchez, beginning with the conflict between the Natchez Indians and the French. Authentic costumes included beautiful dresses with hoop skirts, Lord Fauntleroy velvet suits for the little boys, and Civil War uniforms for the young men going off to fight a war that proved to be one of the most devastating and costly wars in terms of the human toll that America has ever seen. The ugliness and human sorrow of the slave trade was not glossed over in this telling of Natchez history. Included in the drama was the dismantling of the Forks of the Road slave market by the United States Colored Troops of the Union Army.
On Saturday we had only one house left on our list of homes to visit—Longwood, “the largest and most captivating octagonal house in America.” Original plans included four main floors, a fifth-story solarium and a sixth-story observatory. Inside, as a core to provide ventilation and light, was a great rotunda open to the clerestory six floors above. Connecting the levels was to be a grand spiral staircase. Work was begun in 1860 by a group of craftsmen from Philadelphia but stopped abruptly in 1861 when war was declared and all the workers rushed home to take up arms against the South.
The owner, Haller Nutt, and a few slaves completed the nine rooms of the basement level where The Nutt family of eight children lived as war raged. In 1864 Haller Nutt died, leaving his wife destitute. The house was never finished.
Today's visitors amble about the unfinished shell gazing heavenward at the wooden structure that provided the “bones” of what was envisioned as a six story mansion unequaled in lavish architectural design for gracious living and entertaining. The house is managed by the Pilgrimage Garden Club. Events are sometimes held in the spacious but unfinished second story. The day we visited was the day after such an event. Beautiful flower arrangements and bouquets scattered about looked incongruous in the dark, cavernous second story of this unfinished monument to the “heart- rending break of the War Between theStates.”
Dinner at Magnolia Grill, “under the hill” and a few feet from the “mighty Mississippi,” afforded us a view of the sunset behind the bridge that leads to Vidalia, La., as well as a delicious meal of fresh seafood.
An early dinner allowed us to arrive just in time for a choral performance given by the Holy Family Catholic Church Gospel Choir, entitled “A Southern Road to Freedom.” A description in the program stated: “The choir recounts the African-American experience in Natchez from slavery to modern times. A Southern Road to Freedom literally forces you to feel the suffering, the strength, the royalty, and the jubilation of the people as you take a musical trip from the coast of Africa to the streets of present-day Natchez.” In beautiful harmony, they sang many familiar spirituals and hymns: His Eye is on the Sparrow, He's Got the Whole World in His Hands, Going Up A Yonder, Freedom, Summertime, and When the Saints Go Marching In to name only a few. One of our group, former Russellville resident Melanie Baker, was invited onstage to join with other audience members and the choir as they sang Amazing Grace.
St. Mary Basilica was our choice for Sunday services. Though no one in our group is Catholic, wewere anxious to attend this historic church, recognized as an architectural masterpiece among Catholic churches in the South. The cathedral was begun in 1842 but completion took 40 years. Sixteen beautiful stained glass windows, twelve of which were designed in Austria, lend an ethereal light to a sanctuary filled with colored carvings, paintings of Biblical stories on the ceiling, ribbed vaulting, and Carrara marble alters. All contribute to the beauty of this Gothic style church, which was designated a minor basilica in1998.
Sunday afternoon included a visit to the city cemetery with its beautiful statuary, towering live oaks, and colorful azaleas as well as a walk through the National Cemetery where row upon row of simple white marble gravestones provided a sobering reminder of the sacrifices so many Americans havemade for our freedom. Rows of American flags fluttered in the breeze. This cemetery on a hilltop overlooking the Mississippi River covers 25 acres and is listed on the National Register of HistoricPlaces.
By early afternoon we were enjoying refreshments on the verandah of Linden, an antebellum bed and breakfast also listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Rare among these historic homes, Linden has remained in the same family for six generations. Built in 1790 in the style of a Federal plantation home, Linden boasts one of the finest collections of Federal furniture in the South. The front doorway of this home was copied for “Tara,” Scarlett O'Hara's home in Gone with the Wind. Six bedrooms available for guests are furnished with canopy beds and antiques.
The following morning a sumptuous breakfast was served on a Hepplewhite banquet table with fine china and silver. There was even a white cypress punkah hanging over the dining table. But alas, no servant pulled the rope tomake it gently sway over the diners; however, since there were no flies or bugs to shoo away, there really was no need for the punkah.
After breakfast and a tour of the house provided by the current owner, we were loath to pack our car and leave this lovely city. However, we looked forward to a brief stop in Oxford and then a return to our “old Kentucky home.” Though it is great fun to visit far-away places and have new experiences, it is always nice to come home to Kentucky, a place with its own history, lovely homes, and beautiful vistas.