Part 1

NOLA NANCE OLIVER

_Natchez_ SYMBOL OF THE OLD SOUTH

HASTINGS HOUSE · PUBLISHERS · NEW YORK

This book is dedicated to Louise and Mary.

_Copyright, 1940, by Nola Nance Oliver. Printed in the U. S. A._

_Foreword_

Natchez derives its name from the sun-worshiping Indian tribe, the Natchez, who were the original owners of the area on which the city is located. It is situated in Adams county, in the southwestern part of the state of Mississippi, on bluffs 200 feet high overlooking the Mississippi River, and is midway between Memphis and New Orleans. It is accessible by railway, steamboat, motor highway and airway. It is particularly proud of the Natchez Trace Parkway, a modern concrete road over an old Indian trace or trail from Nashville to Natchez. This highway is a link in one of the most important commercial and historic highways in the United States reaching from Washington, D. C., to Mexico.

Today Natchez is a recognized center of interest because in the city and its vicinity there are a greater number of original ante-bellum mansions than in any other community in America—some 75 or more.

Natchez is the second oldest town in the United States, being next in age to St. Augustine, Florida. It has lived under five different flags, each of which contributed romantic flavor to the section. From 1714 to 1763 it was under the flag of France; from 1764 to 1780 under the flag of England; and from 1780 to 1798 under the flag of Spain. In 1798 the first United States flag in the Lower Mississippi Valley was raised in Natchez. Years after the raising of the “stars and stripes”, another flag which some call “the conquered banner”, the beloved flag of the Confederate States of America, floated over Natchez, 1861-’65.

Natchez “Under the Hill” applies to that part of the town along the water front and under the bluffs. It flourished during the heyday of steamboating on the Mississippi. The inroads of the river have washed away the streets, and only a few buildings remain. One very interesting home, “Magnolia Vale”, has been preserved and is presented in this book.

The majority of these old homes contain original pieces of furniture, china, coin silver service, draperies, carpets, wall decorations of exquisite workmanship, huge mirrors in massive goldleaf frames, paintings bearing authentic signatures of great masters, and hand-carved marble mantels. Laces, silks, and rich costumes are displayed today by third, fourth and fifth generations.

It seems hardly possible that the world could move on and leave one small community undisturbed in its ancient grandeur. The hand of destiny seems indeed to uphold and enshrine this hallowed region. The estates have descended from generation to generation, many of them today being owned and occupied by descendants of the original owners.

Natchezians have been entirely satisfied, even proud, to be termed “provincial”. A sense of inherent aristocracy has given these people a secure and placid self-sufficiency which neither time nor stress of outside conditions nor the frettings of progress can jar or mar.

Within the past ten years tourists have come. They clamored for entertainment. And now, maintaining the established reputation for “hospitality of the true South”, each Spring season Natchez opens wide her gates and invites the world to come “where the Old South still lives”.

The “company dress” of great-grandparents, which has been sacredly stored away for scores of years, is brought out, and overnight the whole town, in manners and dress, returns to those halcyon days of long ago. The streets are filled with young and old in ante-bellum costumes. Sweet olive trees and magnolia trees are in fragrant bloom, flower gardens are fresh and inviting, moss-draped oaks ring with the song of native birds, the old homes are opened, treasures are placed on view, and visitors are given a Southland welcome. The “Pilgrimage” is on!

In addition to guided tours through ante-bellum houses special entertainments are planned for each evening. Confederate balls, historical pageants, and many other colorful events of the past are re-enacted. Spirituals are sung in old-fashioned Negro churches where the “pahson” is eager to greet “our white friends”. On spacious plantation grounds an old-time Southern barbecue prepared by black mammies will be served.

A custom which has long prevailed in Natchez is the placing of coins in a box for old darky beggars. On Saturdays every merchant observes “Penny Day”, as it is called. It originated as a time saver, the box being placed in a convenient location to avoid interruption of the store’s business. There are many regular “customers” for this feature and they are always welcome. “Penny Day” is a thoughtful, good-natured gesture to the needy Negro from his “white folks”.

Pictures of the old homes with accurate data and intimate stories and legends constitute _Natchez, Symbol of the Old South_. Most of the photographs are by Earl Norman.

A fascinating visit is given you by one who knows and loves the Southland. You will be delighted and enriched.

_The Natchez Tribe_

A bronze plaque of a handsome Indian chief has been erected in a granite wall overlooking the great “Father of Waters”, in memory of the Natchez Indian tribe from which the city of Natchez derives its name.

The Natchez Indians were of Aztec origin and were in possession of the Natchez country when the French came in 1700. They were sun-worshiping Indians, and their great chief proclaimed himself “brother to the Sun”.

White Apple village, ten miles south of Natchez, was headquarters of the Natchez tribe. They resented the invasion of the French explorers into their country, and because of an insult (real or fancied) to their Chief by a French Commandant, on November 28, 1729, the Indians slaughtered the entire French settlement at Fort Rosalie. Later a French colony, with the assistance of the Choctaws, a warring Indian tribe, annihilated every member of the Natchez tribe.

Undoubtedly this was the country of the Natchez tribe, and the beautiful plaque is a deserved reminder of the days when the land was one hundred per cent American.

_Natchez Trace_

Opportunity for easy travel, over trails that were once Indian foot paths, is offered now to motorists on perfect concrete highways. Modern roads, which slowly evolved from dirt roads to paved highways, stretch from Nashville, Tennessee, in a continuous smooth concrete ribbon to Natchez, on the great Mississippi River.

Days when the beauty of the Southland could be viewed only from a steamboat deck; days when transportation of passenger and freight could be handled only by oxcart or slow stage coach or horse and buggy (a three-weeks journey from Nashville to Natchez) are gone forever, and soon the Deep South will be directly connected by a day’s pleasant journey with all the cities and towns along the Natchez Trace.

By treaty with Choctaw and Chickasaw Indian tribes the United States Government in 1801 secured a permit to open the Natchez Trace as a wagon road over which the mails could travel.

That same trail or “trace” from Nashville to Natchez is 500 miles of consecutive beauty spots along continuous acres of parkways and historic highways.

Mrs. Roan Fleming Byrnes, serving as President of the Natchez Trace Highway Committee, in a recent publication says:

“The ancient trail was traveled by most of the well-known figures in the history of our country: Jefferson Davis; Peggy and Lorenzo Dow, the revivalists; the fast riding John Morgan; the famous Audubon. Lafayette rode over the Trace during his visit to the Natchez country; Aaron Burr was given his preliminary trial for treason under two liveoaks just beside the Trace; Meriwether Lewis died at an inn on the Trace when returning from his Western explorations.

“The life of Andrew Jackson is closely interwoven with the windings of the Natchez Trace. At Springfield plantation, in Jefferson county, Mississippi, Jackson was married to Rachael Robards; and, near Nashville, Tennessee, is the ‘Hermitage’, the home he built for Rachael.

“It was when marching his rejected Tennessee militia homeward over the Trace from Natchez to Nashville in 1813 that Jackson acquired his famous nickname, ‘Old Hickory’.”

The unusual beauty of the deep cut roadways, worn down by travel throughout the years, and the overlapping, moss-draped trees, will be preserved as far as possible.

Many of these old roads running into Natchez lead through deep, tunnel-like ways whose sides are sheer walls ten to eighty feet high and draped with long fronds of overhanging Spanish moss.

These roadways of tunnels and curves are weird and beautiful, affording an irresistible attraction for all travelers.

_Airlie_

Built prior to 1790, “Airlie” is a rambling, wide-spread building of cottage type, on a rolling elevation at the end of Myrtle street. It attracts attention through its unusual simplicity of exterior. Its architecture is entirely different from other ante-bellum homes in the community.

This great departure from the usual style is due to the age of Airlie. Its original building date is ahead of all the available history of Natchez.

Additions have been made, from time to time, until today Airlie stands twelve rooms broad, reaching a row of venerable cedars with their swaying moss which sweeps the eaves of this old home of the Ayres P. Merrill family.

The central portion is built on old Spanish style, with beams and timbers held together by wooden pegs; later additions show that these were made by somewhat improved methods.

Airlie is often referred to as “the old Buckner home”. It was occupied by the Buckner family at the time of its first recorded history and during the War Between the States when conflicts at Airlie left blood stains on its floors and walls which are clearly visible today.

This house was for a time used as a hospital for Northern soldiers.

When Airlie passed from the Buckner family it became the property of another family of distinction, that of Ayres P. Merrill, whose descendants occupy Airlie today, with its treasure of rosewood and mahogany antiques.

The present Merrill family are the proud possessors of hundreds of pieces of Du Barry and other imported china from France and Belgium, as well as a silver service of rare design and sacred antiquity which might well excite the envy of Royalty itself.

There are many persons who believe Airlie was the first residence built in the Natchez territory. No definite date in authentic records can be found.

_Arlington_

Where Natchez’ Main street ends, the great wide gates of Arlington open. Live oaks with pendant gray moss line the driveway, which winds through beds of vari-colored irises to one of the most distinctively attractive ante-bellum homes in the South.

Of Southern Colonial type, constructed of red brick with stately white Tuscan columns supporting the upper story gallery, Arlington today, more than a century old, presents a magnificent appearance.

The great carved entrance door leading to the spacious hall is crowned with intricately wrought fanlights, and the broad veranda is approached by wide steps of concrete.

Arlington was built for Mrs. Jane White, eldest daughter of Pierre Surget, who came from France in the early days of Natchez. The house was completed about 1820 but on the very first night of her residence in the home of her heart’s desire Mrs. White passed away suddenly. Many tales have been told of a mysterious death but none has been verified. At her death Mrs. White left Arlington and all its treasures to her sister, Mrs. Bingaman.

Five generations of the Pierre Surget family occupied Arlington. Each in turn contributed to its wealth of rare treasures. The original furniture was imported from France.

Across the broad hallway which is hung with rare paintings by old-world masters such as Vernet, Baroccio, Carlo Dolci, and Coccanari, is the Music Room which contains a spinet more than three hundred years old. There are family portraits in this room—some of musicians in the family—by such renowned artists as Sully, Audubon, Albani, Fidanza, and Maratti.

The Library holds some five thousand books.

Mrs. Hubert Barnum, the present owner of Arlington, comes from a long line of Natchez aristocracy. Arlington was given her as a wedding gift from her husband, who recently passed away. Mrs. Barnum while keeping the home atmosphere of Arlington has made it, also, a veritable private museum, rich in beauty, in rare books, and antiques.

_Auburn_

Built in 1812, a full century and a quarter ago, by Dr. Stephen Duncan, “Auburn” mansion is noted today as in bygone historic days for its architectural beauty and the natural beauty of its surrounding acres.

Auburn is a magnificent red brick structure with great white columns supporting its broad front galleries. The bricks were made on the premises by slave labor. On the first floor are spacious drawing rooms, a large dining room, a family dining room, library, smoking room, and two hallways. Above stairs are six huge bedrooms with high ceilings.

In the rear of the main mansion is a two-storied brick kitchen which is connected with the main building by a flagged patio. The servants’ quarters are above with the kitchen and pantries on the ground floor. The kitchen has the giant fireplace with cranes and pots and the old-time “spit” where meats were roasted.

Entrance to Auburn is through a classic doorway which has been aptly called “an architect’s dream of beauty”.

Inside the house there is a majestic spiral stairway rising to the grand high hallway, without support except at its base. This amazing feature intrigues the imagination.

In early days Auburn entertained many celebrities, among them Henry Clay, Edward Everett Hale, and John Howard Payne. The same gracious hospitality maintains today.

Auburn is the property of the city of Natchez by deed of gift from Stephen Duncan, and is used as the deed stipulates for the “amusement, entertainment, and recreation, without cost or monetary consideration, of Natchez citizens”. It is the handsome headquarters of several distinguished local clubs.

The women’s clubs of Natchez have undertaken the task of furnishing the lower floor with valuable antiques of the period of its original furnishings.

The acreage surrounding it is known as Duncan Park in compliment to the Duncan family who gave it to the city. It contains huge, aged, moss-draped oaks, alluring sweet olive trees, famous magnolias, shrubbery and vines, old-fashioned gardens, a golf course, and playground with swings and merry-go-rounds used every day in the year for the health and frolic of children.

_Belmont_

Sturdy as the Rock of Gibraltar stands this imposing Neo-Greek mansion. It was known originally as “Cleremont”, and was built in the early 40’s by one Loxley Thistle.

Storm and strife have beaten against the doors of this stronghold but it was built after a disastrous tornado which put a great fear in the minds of builders of that period, and Belmont (as it was renamed) was constructed to resist fierce storms, although at the same time exquisite lines of beauty were maintained.

This place with its thirty acres of land has changed hands oftener than any ante-bellum home in Natchez. Its history is broken and uncertain. It was undoubtedly built by imported craftsmen who had the help of local carpenters and slave labor.

Many prominent families of Natchez are identified with Belmont at some period in its history. Within its fort-like walls Natchez elite often sipped rare old wine from its private sub-cellar in frequent celebrations.

Belmont has its ghost story of whispering souls wandering through the high-ceilinged halls—ghosts created to scare the slaves, and “whispers” which proved to be the swishing of chimney swallows rushing in and out of their nests.

The approach to Belmont is a majestic line of moss-draped cedars and giant oak trees standing sentinel-like over the gardens of days long passed.

Louis Fry, present owner, plans the complete restoration of Belmont. It may soon ring with echoes of happier days.

_Belvidere_

On Homochitto street, in the shadow of magnificent “Dunleith”, is a simple white cottage, “Belvidere”, which for generations has been the home of the Henderson family.

Originally Belvidere was the center of a fourteen acre tract of wooded land which was the property of Christopher Miller, who was secretary to the Spanish Governor of Natchez, Gayoso de Lemos. The Hendersons are descendants of Christopher Miller.

Simple and unostentatious this small cottage stands with her very toes, as it were, on the street where once broad acreage spread. These acres gave space in later years for a public school and a paved highway.

Belvidere is more than 100 years old, and has been for more than a century owned and occupied by one family.

It is simply furnished, and much of it is the original furniture, more than 100 years old. Two pictures of special interest adorn the walls, silhouettes of Samuel Brooks and his wife—“the first Mayor of Natchez and his Lady”. These pictures were made in 1753.

Rare Venetian glass and china and many exquisite pieces of porcelain are found in Belvidere.

The property is now owned and occupied by Mrs. Florence Henderson Kelly and her son and daughter, Thomas G. and Ellen N.

_Brandon Hall_

This old home is not in the immediate Natchez area but its owner and his descendants are so closely allied with all that is Natchez that Brandon Hall is rightfully considered a Natchez asset and is included in its list of ante-bellum homes.

Gerard Brandon of Ireland came to Natchez prior to the Revolutionary War, and more than a century ago “Selma Plantation”, from whose acres came the grounds of Brandon Hall, was built by him. Mr. Brandon was a successful farmer and was one of the original pecan growers in the county. He came to Natchez from South Carolina.

Brandon Hall was built by Gerard Brandon the Third in 1856, and stands today a splendid monument to a grand old family. It is sturdily constructed. Its timbers are secured with thumb screws and wooden pegs.

_Cherry Grove_

Built of primeval timbers, cut and hewn by slaves on the place, the old home at Cherry Grove plantation “sits tight” secured by dependable wooden pegs. It was built in 1788 when time and expense of labor were of little consideration, and nails and modern building equipment were not available.

Pierre Surget of La Rochelle, France, built this Spanish style house, on a Spanish land grant, for his wife, Katherine d’Hubert, and from this couple have come some of Natchez’ most prominent families.

Mr. Surget was a seaman for many years before coming to the Natchez country, and Cherry Grove was built with the sturdiness of a seaworthy vessel.

The home has never passed out of the Surget family. Its present owner, Mrs. Carlotta Surget McKittrick, now possesses the original Spanish land grant made to Pierre Surget in the 1700’s.

In a small cemetery within sight of the old home, enclosed by an imported iron fence, lie the bodies of Pierre Surget and his wife, Katherine.

Descendants of the Surget slaves remain in the “quarters” to look after the place, and to plant and gather cotton from its vast acres.

The house is unoccupied. Much of the original furnishing remains intact, and a Surget heir is today sole owner of the quaint old dwelling of her illustrious forbears.

_The Briers_

Could Jefferson Davis and his beloved wife, Varina, return to The Briers today they would be pleased to find it in a perfect state of preservation.

“The Briers”, a typical story-and-a-half country home, was given to Louise Kemp at the time of her marriage to William Burr Howell, who was a cousin of Aaron Burr. And here Varina Howell was born May 7, 1826. This home was the scene of Varina’s marriage to Jefferson Davis on February 12, 1845. Mr. Davis later became “President of the Confederacy”.

The house is situated on a knoll overlooking the Mississippi river, with a view of the cotton lands of Louisiana. The view of the Mississippi shown in the end papers was taken from the lawn of this house. It stands in the center of a forest of oak, pine, and pecan trees, and can be reached by only one narrow winding roadway, through deep woods, around bayous and ravines, hanging heavy with bushes and brambles. The house is quite similar to the Virginia type of country home.

When the present owner, Mrs. W. W. Wall, purchased The Briers a few years ago, it was in a sad state of dilapidation. By great and loving labor, and generous expenditure of money and time, The Briers today is in perfect condition. It is now a charming credit to Natchez and to the memory of Jefferson Davis and his wife, Varina.

The early architectural lines have been followed and materials similar to the original ones have been used. The broad veranda across the entire front, with many small wooden pillars and hand-turned spindle bannisters, the wide entrance steps, the quaint old dormer windows with their 12-pane sashes and heavy green blinds, form the perfect picture of the original plantation home of the Howells and Jefferson Davis.

The simplicity of the floor plan is pleasing. The furniture includes many reproductions of rare original pieces. There is a restful, sacred serenity in The Briers worthy of its illustrious original owners.

For the pleasure of visitors from the outside world, the present mistress keeps open house throughout the year, and hundreds of interested persons from every part of the United States pass through the portals of this home—the shrine of Jefferson Davis and Varina Howell.

_The Burn_

Another old home that was once situated in the center of vast acreage is “The Burn”. Streets have been cut through, lots sold and residences erected until today this quaint old home, originally the residence of John P. Walworth of Ohio, is in the very heart of the residence district of Natchez.

While the “old Walworth home”, as it was so long known, was built about 1834, its most interesting history is concerned with the war of 1861-65.

The Burn is a homey-looking house of the story-and-a-half cottage type with spacious halls and nineteen rooms in the main building. High ceilings, mahogany woodwork, and wide, hand-rubbed board floors are indicative of its early period.