Melrose

The Melrose estate, a part of Natchez National Historical Park, is one of the best-preserved estates in the Deep South form the mid-1800s. Melrose helps tell the American stories of an economy based on growing cotton and the world of chattel slavery/

• Two story mansion with four columns, first and second story porches and a widows walk on the roof. The mansion is surrounded by lush green grass, trees and shrubs. Behind the mansion is two matching two-story outbuildings that once served as a kitchen and dairy, a brick smokehouse and privy, two octagonal-shaped cistern houses, two white clapboard slave cabins, a carriage house and a stable building.

Stop 1 Melrose Estate

Stop 1 of the Melrose Grounds Tour

• A white picket gate that leads to a sidewalk with cherry laurel hedges on either side. At the far end of the sidewalk is the back of the Melrose mansion along with the kitchen, dairy, smokehouse, privy and two cistern gazebo buildings.

Stop 10 Melrose Courtyard

Stop 10 on the Melrose Grounds Tour

• To the west is the back of the Melrose mansion, which has porches across the entire width of the first and second stories, six evenly spaced columns that stretch from the ground to the roof that appear to be made of stone. To the north is the two story kitchen which has porches across the entire width of both stories and four columns that stretch from the ground to the roof. Next to the kitchen is the octagonal shaped cistern building made of lattice and a small square shaped brick building. To the south is the dairy dairy, another cistern building and privy which all are identical to the buildings on the north. To the east is an open yard with a huge oak tree and beyond the yard are two small wood frame cottages that once served as slave quarters.

Stop 11 Melrose Kitchen Building

Stop 11 on the Melrose Grounds Tour

• Two story brick buildings, with porches across the width of each story and four evenly spaced columns that reach from the ground to the roof.

Stop 12 Melrose Smokehouse

Stop 12 on the Melrose Grounds Tour

• Square shaped building made of brick with one wooden door and no windows. T

Stop 13 Melrose Slave Cabins

Stop 13 on the Melrose Grounds Tour

• A Pair of white wooden cabins. The cabin to the right has three doors spaced across the front with windows between the doors. Each door has a set of steps with handrails. The cabin to the left has two doors evenly spaced with a window to the right of each door.

Stop 14 Melrose Barn

Stop 14 on the Melrose Grounds Tour

• Wooden building with a wood shingle roof. Across the front of the building going left to right is a boarded window, then a door and next is another boarded window, then another door followed by two boarded windows.

Stop 15 Melrose Carriage House

Stop 15 on the Melrose Grounds Tour

• Wood building with wood shingle roof and an attached lean too with a door is on the right side of the building. Three sets of large double doors are evenly spaced across the main part of the building. Centered above the large double doors is a large window with a smaller window on each side.

Stop 16 Melrose Playhouse

Stop 16 on the Melrose Grounds Tour

• Child-size wood building with a wood shingle roof. Two doorways are evenly spaced across the front.

Stop 17 Melrose Raised Bed Garden

Stop 17 on the Melrose Garden Tour - Final Stop

• Raised bed garden where an assortment of seasonal vegetables are growing.

Stop 2 Melrose Front Lawn

Stop 2 of the Melrose Grounds Tour

• Driveway leading to the Melrose mansion. The driveway is lined with cherry laurel hedges on the left and to the right of the driveway is the front yard separated by a fence from the meadow beyond.

Stop 3 Melrose Main House

Stop 3 of the Melrose Grounds Tour

• Greek Revival style mansion with four doric columns resembling stone. The 16,000 square feet mansion has a large front porch and second story balcony. At the center of the house on both levels is a large oak grained door. Each level has four windows with shutters evenly spaced across the front of the house.

Stop 4 Melrose Landscape

Stop 4 of the Melrose Grounds Tour

• Large yard with trees, shrubs, and flowers

Stop 5 Melrose Parterre Garden

Stop 5 of the Melrose Grounds Tour

• Brick steps with flower urns on either side. Beyond the steps is a circular flower bed divided by brick paths that form an X across the bed.

Stop 6 Melrose Orchard Gate

Stop 6 of the Melrose Grounds Tour

• Decorative iron gate in with cherry laurel hedges on either side

Stop 7 Melrose Dairy Building

Stop 7 of the Melrose Grounds Tour

• Two story brick building with a porch across the front and a balcony across the second story. From the porch is a is tow doors, one to enter the dairy room and the other to enter the laundry room. Between the two doors is a wood rail gate at the entrance to a narrow staircase to take you upstairs.

Stop 8 Melrose Cistern Building

Stop 8 of the Melrose Grounds Tour

• Octagonal shaped building made of lattice

Stop 9 Melrose Brick Privy

Stop 9 on the Melrose Grounds Tour

• Square brick building

William Johnson House

The William Johnson House connects visitors with the life of a free man of color and his family during the antebellum era. William Johnson, a slave who was freed, started out as a barber and eventually owned several barber shops, rental property, a farm, and timberland; he also kept a lengthy personal diary that offers insights into antebellum southern life and relations between whites and free blacks.

• Two story brick house with two dormer windows. The first floor has three evenly spaced wooden doors across the front and the second floor has three windows with shutters evenly spaced across the front.

Melrose Visitor Center

• Melrose Visitor Center
• Located in the former kitchen building for the estate, the Melrose Visitor Center is the visitor contact station at the site. Tickets for the mansion tour are available here. There is also a gift shop and an adjoining exhibit room.

Natchez Visitor Center

• Natchez Visitor Center
• The Natchez Visitor Reception Center is owned, operated and maintained by the National Park Service. The building also serves as the official southern terminus and welcome center for the Natchez Trace Parkway. The Natchez Visitor Center is home to Natchez National Historical Park Headquarters, the Mississippi Welcome Center, and the City of Natchez Visitor Information Services. Currently, the Natchez Visitor Center is closed due to construction surrounding the installation of a new HVAC system.

William Johnson House Visitor Center

• William Johnson House Visitor Center
• This visitor contact station at the William Johnson House site is located in the two-and-a-half story brick building known as the McCallum House which is adjacent to the Johnson home. The McCallum House serves as the site's visitor contact station and provides restroom facilities, a small bookstore/giftshop, and exhibits.

• Explore Melrose
• Explore one of the best-preserved suburban estates in the Deep South from the pre-civil war era.

• Natchez Visitor Center
• The Natchez Visitor Center provides information on tours, exhibits, gardens, trails, activities, and events. The experienced staff can help you plan an itinerary for your visit to Natchez National Historical Park and other nearby attractions.

• Visit Forks of the Road
• From 1833 to 1863, Forks of the Road was the second largest slave market in the Deep South. Tens of thousands of enslaved men, women and children were transported from Virginia, Maryland, Kentucky, and the Carolinas to the market at Natchez. The slave market operated from 1833 until the arrival of Federal troops on July 13, 1863.

• Visit the William Johnson House
• The William Johnson House offers visitors the opportunity to connect with a free man of color and his family during the antebellum era.

• See Fort Rosalie
• Discover how the town of Natchez came to be as you explore Fort Rosalie.

• Natchez Civil War Sites Driving Tour
• Take a driving tour of Civil War sites in Natchez. Your voyage will wind you through historic Natchez, highlighting only some of the more important sites relevant to the Civil War and the Federal occupation of Natchez. Unlike some other Southern cities, Natchez emerged from the conflict relatively unscathed and today, contains one of the greatest collections of antebellum architecture in the nation.

Walking Tour of the Melrose Grounds

Step back in time as you embark on a tour of the Melrose grounds featuring historic images of the estate.