Natchez, Mississippi

Melrose (who mowed that lawn?)

Saturday, March 11…

Off to the Visitor’s Center this morning, then did a driving tour of the town (annotated map in hand). There are 10 or so historic antebellum homes in Natchez, which is pretty impressive. I’ve been through several plantation homes farther east, so we skipped these. We also walked part of the town, hoping to visit the African-American History Museum, but it was closed. Enjoyed a good lunch at Cotton Alley Cafe.

Growing cotton since 1815.
Kids got a chance to pull the
bell (very deep & resonant),
which called everyone to work.

In the afternoon we visited Frogmore Cotton Plantation & Gins, where we got a detailed show & tell of the entire cotton growing/processing operation as it was during slavery, and as it is today. Great tour (with a great guide who, for my FH Ward readers, could easily have been Marsha Porter). A couple quick facts: 1. Eli Whitney was not the only one to invent a practical cotton gin (engine), but he was the first to get a patent. 2. There are 20+ seeds in each cotton boll, and it’s incredibly hard to pick them out by hand (especially w/o losing any of the fiber, which of course was critical). 3. Slaves were expected to pick & clean 250 lbs (half a bale) of cotton per day; children “only” had to pick 125 lbs. 

There is no plantation house today, but the original slave/sharecropper quarters have been preserved. Frogmore is a working cotton farm, and every bit of the cotton plant is put to some use.

Not sure we can find 250# in this field.
(Cotton is harvested Sept - Thanksgiving.)

BlogThoughts…  Natchez reminds me so much of my childhood home, Chestertown MD. Founded in 1716 and 1706, respectively, both are on major river town surrounded by farmland. (Admittedly, the Chester River is very short (45 miles), but it’s deep and wide and a major tributary of the Chesapeake Bay (with close to 50 creeks flowing into it). Like the Mighty Miss, it’s loaded w/ fish and shellfish. Unlike the M, however, it’s no longer used for commercial transport.) Both have small colleges (Jefferson and Washington), and both are county seats.  Natchez is somewhat larger, but I feel right at home as I walk through.

Tug and Barges on the Mississippi
(later I saw a 7-barge load!)

Washington College crew team on the Chester
(I used to watch sailboat regattas from our dock)