The day consisted of touring historic homes in Natchez - three of the homes I paid for the day before, and two that comprise the Natchez National Historical Park. The antebellum houses range 1775-1861, and represent a wide range of architectural styles and sizes. I tried to pick a broad selection to see as much of the scope of the nearly 90 years of Mississippi river architecture as I could. As is common among historic houses, many of the locations prohibit photography indoors, which is unfortunate, as many of them feature truly remarkable interior features and furnishings.
House on Ellicott Hill
The House on Ellicott Hill is a federal style house built from 1797-98 by a merchant named James Moore on a hill overlooking the Mississippi River. The hill, named Ellicott Hill, after Andrew Ellicott, a surveyor that George Washington commissioned in 1797 to mark and chart the 31st parallel, which divided the US from Spain following the signing of the Treaty of San Lorenzo de Real in 1796. Ellicott camped on the hill during his surveying, and it was his camp that was the first site in the Mississippi Territory where the American flag was raised.
Moore only lived at the house for a couple of years, when he rented it to Samuel Brooks, who would be appointed the first mayor of Natchez in 1803. He later rented and then sold to one of the first doctors in Natchez, Frederic Seip, who used the lower level as his doctor's office. The Natchez Garden Club purchased the then dilapidated house in 1934 as their headquarters and the first civic organized restoration in the state, and continues to own it and a few other homes. They are also the organizers of the Natchez Pilgrimage tour, their volunteers helping to show most of the private residences that open their doors to the public.
The William Johnson House is the first part of a pair of properties that constitute the Natchez National Historical Park. The McCallum house on the left, and the William Johnson House on the right make up this part of the park.
Shortly after he started his business as a barber, he started a diary, which he wrote in religiously. From 1835-1851, he filled fourteen leather-bound volumes - comprising one of the most extensive writings of a freed slave. All sorts of details of his life and business are included in the diary, some excerpts of which can be found in an acrobat file from the National Humanities Center website. In addition to documenting purchases and sales figures, and details of his personal life, he also added several drawings of the things he wrote about.
Johnson's death is a bit of a legend of the city. He had a land dispute with his neighbor, Baylor Winn, which ended up going to court. Johnson won his day in court, but Winn felt embarrassed by it, so he fatally shot Johnson. Though there was a witness and Johnson himself was able to tell authorities that Winn was his murderer, Winn was never convicted due to a technicality - at the time, a black man couldn't testify against a white man in court, and though Winn was also a freed black slave, he claimed to have American Indian ancestry, and therefore to not be black. The witness was mulatto, as was Johnson, so after two hung juries that couldn't be convinced that Winn was black, he was released.
As was common, the living space was upstairs, while the lower level was rented out to other merchants. I started with the house upstairs, and was surprised by the use of color. Vibrant colors on the floors and walls - in particular, the hot pink in the hallway, really popped out at me. Many of the rooms feature his family's original furnishings, including beds, a rocking chair, cabinet, dresser, washstand, armoire, gilded mirror, leather lounge, sideboard, bookcases and hundreds of books.Behind the house is a kitchen/slave quarters outbuilding which currently serves as a park office.
The National Park Service has created a museum on the bottom level that displays one of his journals as well as blown up excerpts, and items excavated from his residence. When I returned to the museum, I asked a park ranger about the vibrant colors, and he said they are a match for the colors they found after inspecting layers of paint in the house, meant to impress visitors, since it would have cost a lot of money to create those paint colors.
Downtown Natchez
Since I was already downtown, and didn't have anything else planned until the afternoon, I took a walk around the historic downtown, checking out several of the other houses that were on the tour, but most of which weren't on the rotation of the homes open for that day, and a few that weren't on the tour at all.
Greek Revival styled Parsonage (1852) is not part of the pilgrimage (above), but the much grander Rosalie (1820) is, and is one of the select few that is open daily. Because I was planning on visiting a couple of other Greek Revival homes, I chose not to pay for the tour of Rosalie, but I did walk the grounds, and they were beautiful.
Texada Tavern (1792) is the second oldest brick building in downtown Natchez.
Greenlea (1855), directly across the street corner from Texada, is a brick cottage featuring a Greek style portico and retains it's original gardens.
A little further down the street is Governor Holmes House (1794), which, like Texada, was built in the Colonial Spanish style. It is named after it's most famous owner, David Holmes, who served six consecutive terms in Congress before being appointed the first governor or the new territory of Mississippi by Thomas Jefferson.
I passed the courthouse and a few other homes on the way back to my car.
Mammy's Cupboard
On the way into Natchez, by chance, I passed a familiar roadside attraction. Mammy's Cupboard, a restaurant that has been operating since 1940, is one of the most commonly referenced roadside attractions in the country. It's only open for lunch Tuesday through Saturday, so I decided to head there to see the inside and check out the food, since the houses close from 12:30-1:30, so I had an hour break before going to Selma.
I was hoping for a creative menu and interior to match the interest of the building. It doesn't - the menu is as plain as the interior, offering sandwiches, soup, blueberry lemonade, and a variety of desserts. With a building that is reminiscent of Mrs. Butterworth, it would have been more fitting to have flapjacks, biscuits, and sausages. They were also packed, and seemed a little understaffed, though it felt like that is standard for them. The food tasted good, but was a little disappointing due to my expectation of something more interesting, and I never got a refill of my blueberry lemonade.
Selma
Selma, built in 1811, is located just outside the city proper, along the Natchez Trace. Situated on a knoll overlooking the Muddy Fork Creek valley, it's rural setting on a dirt road past several horse farms, is possibly the most tranquil of the 30 houses on the tour. Gerard Brandon built the house on his 510 acre indigo plantation. The remaining 55 acres are still plenty to provide a feeling of solitude and a retreat from the modern world. The first reference of the name "Selma" was in the will of Margaret Brandon Smith, which was probated in 1856, but the derivation is uncertain.
Though the majority of the homes on the tour are privately owned, Selma is the only private residence I visited. The current owner, John Bornman, was directing parking with the assistance of his dog, when I arrived, and his wife was on the full length front porch, offering cookies and fresh squeezed lemonade. The interior is very well maintained and much of it is original. The Bornmans are avid antique collectors, and all of their home is furnished with interesting period pieces.
Natchez Trace
Driving back to town afforded me an initial glimpse of the Natchez Trace Parkway's sweeping curves.
Melrose
Melrose is the second of the houses that comprises the Natchez National Historical Park. While the grounds and support buildings are free for self guided touring, there is a fee for the ranger guided tour of the mansion, which isn't included in the National Park Pass - the first time I'd heard of the pass not covering a cost for National Parks/Memorials.
Melrose is a large, Greek Revival style mansion built from 1842-48 by Marie Louisa, the daughter of a Mississippi Supreme Court Judge, and John T. McMurran, a lawyer who later became the governor of Mississippi. It's large Doric columns frame the front portico, while square columns are used in the rear, which was in the process of a renovation, providing an opportunity to see some of the structural components of the building. 
We entered the building through the front door, a feature that many people unfamiliar with traditional building techniques would be surprised to be standing on what they might otherwise call wall paper. It was common to use painted canvas as a floorcloth, even when material cost wasn't a factor. It wore better and allowed for more detailed patterns than other materials. Unfortunately, the reproduction floorcoth here needs to be straightened out because the wear of visitors has wrinkled it.
Similarly, the house's 36 solid cypress doors have been painted to resemble oak in the faux bois style. Demonstrating how these techniques weren't used as a cost concern, but because of the fashion of the day, 10 Italian marble fireplaces, hand blocked French wall paper, and French gold gilded mirrors are found throughout the mansion.
The furnishings are just as elegant as the exterior, but instead of Greek Revival, they are in the more ornate Rococo Revival and Empire styles.
After the tour, I walked the grounds, checking out the rest of the outbuildings, including a well, servant quarters, a barn, and others.
Longwood
The final house of the day was Longwood, which is the most unique house in the town. Construction began in 1860, and progressed swiftly through April 1861, when it abruptly came to a screeching halt due to the onset of the Civil War. The architect of the house was Philadelphia's Samuel Sloan, and many of the craftsmen that were working on the project were from Philadelphia, and fled the South, never returning to finish the work after the war. The basement level was completed by the owner, Haller Nutt, with some local workers, but the rest of the house remains as it was when the war broke out. Fortunately, the exterior was finished prior to the project's abandonment, providing us with a remarkable impression of the innovative and grandiose design.
The basement level was originally designed to house a wine cellar, school room, recreation room, and an office was turned into the only living area. At 4448 square feet of space on the basement level (the next two were to each have 3872 sq. ft., minus the rotunda), the Nutts still had a very substantial, posh living quarters.
The principal level is the most complete of the unfinished levels. It was to include three family rooms, hall, drawing room, dining room, breakfast room, and reception room. The walls are built, but completely unfinished. Supplies and tools are left where they were in 1861. Unfortunately, the rest of the levels are too unfinished to permit visitors.
Being designated a National Historical Landmark, Mississippi Landmark, and a historic site on the Civil War Discovery Trail, the house will never be completed, which is equally disappointing and respectable.
Vidalia Riverwalk
When I got back to the campground across the John R Junkin Drive Bridge, I still had some sunlight, and decided to take a walk along the Vidalia Riverwalk on Louisiana's bank of the Mississippi across from Natchez.
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