Natchez Girls Day



Over the summer, Ellie has read several books that take place in the 'old days' and she's fascinated by how people lived in the days before electricity, cars, running water, and other modern conveniences.  So we decided to have a Mom-n-Me girls day in Natchez to tour a historical home.

First stop:  Mammy's Cupboard!  We enjoyed a delicious lunch of blueberry lemonade, sandwiches on homemade bread, and. . .



. . . a huge (and delicious!) slice of their famous banana caramel pie.  Oh my goodness it was good!

After lunch, we shopped for a bit in downtown Natchez.  Then we headed to the historic Melrose estate for our tour.



Ellie was enchanted by the Spanish Moss as we entered the home's grounds.  It's so delicate yet spooky!

We chose Melrose for our tour because it's one of the most intact antebellum estates in the United States.  It had just three owners before the National Parks Service purchased it and over 80% of the original furnishings are still in the gorgeous home.  It was built in 1841.



Before our tour, we had time to explore the outbuildings on the estate's property.  Ellie practiced pumping water, wandered through the barn and then to the slave quarters.

Inside one of the slave buildings is a room set up exactly as it would've looked during the late 1800's.

The main building is over 16,000 square feet.  The home is undergoing a bit of a facelift but we were still able to tour the inside.



Resting on the porch before the tour. . .  and studying a timeline of the home's owners and their families.



The dairy and laundry building (with more servant quarters upstairs), and inside the main house -- the dining room, formal living room (they used the color green to show they had lots of money), and the 'informal' sitting room.

Ellie's two favorite rooms were the childrens' and master bedrooms. She enjoyed seeing the toys and dolls in the nursery.  And she learned how once the large feather beds were made up for the day, the homeowners would use their daybeds if they needed to rest.  Featherbeds were extremely hard to make up so they didn't want to disturb them throughout the day.

After the house tour, we wandered through the formal gardens.

Looking up!

Garden photos by Ellie!

It was a lovely day and we can't wait to have another mommy-daughter date very soon!  Such special times!