35th Wedding Anniversary Road Trip 2014: Sunday March 9 Natchez, MS to Vicksburg, MS

62112 Overcast 57* 186 miles La Quinta

This morning, we headed to Stanton Hall for an inside tour before getting on the Natchez Trace. Sunday is a pretty quiet day in town so we had the tour guide to ourselves. Stanton Hall is a magnificent Greek Revival mansion built in 1857. No expense was spared since Frederick Stanton was the Bill Gates of his time. Many of the furnishings were original to the home, having been donated back by family members. The home had 5 levels, 3 parlors and 6 bedrooms The main hallway was 72' long. The music room had a double sided music stand for duets. Several of the hall tables had mirrors underneath so that ladies could check that their petty coats weren't showing. There were 3 HUGE mirrors, like 12' x 6' in size. They were made in France and in order to get at least one shipped without breakage, 5 were ordered.

After our tour, we started on the Trace towards Jackson, Mississippi. We made several stops to read the historical information and to walk about. By the time we got to Jackson, we decided that even though the trace was interesting, the scenery wasn't compelling enough for us to continue all the way to Tupelo as planned. PLUS, it had been 10 days since Sonny had a Starbucks. He was having withdrawals! There just weren't many shops along the secondary routes we were driving but Jackson had one. After our coffee break, we headed West to Vicksburg to learn about the historical battle and siege that took place there during the Civil War.

Stanton Hall 77' entrance way that was filmed in "North and
South"

Porch and entrance way to Stanton Hall. Imagine antebellum ladies
with their hoop dresses strolling the porch.

Sonny is 5"3" and he only
comes to the middle of
the door! It's 10'.

We've come a long way to ride the Trace which is 444 miles long
from Nachez, MS to Nashville, TN

Our first stop after the GPS settled down was at Jefferson College. The
old live oak trees are impressive.

This building was used as the military dorm at West Point in
the mini series, "North and South". Some areas are being
restored.

In "North and South" Orrie and George had to fill water buckets from
this pump, hold them high and goose step in place in the heat for a
very long time as punishment for sassing Corporal Bent.

The Trace generally follows the 10,000 year old trail that

the local Indians, Mississippi boatmen returning north, postal

riders, highway men, Meriweather Lewis, John James Audubon,

Ulysses S Grant and General Andrew Jackson all traveled.

As more and more travelers used the trail in the 1800s, there was a
need for safe over night arrangements. Walking back to Nashville took
a month so travelers would stop at local homesteads which
eventually became inns or "stands". This home is Mount
Locust and was one of 50 "stands" along the Trace.

Comfy bed? Straw and rope but safer than sleeping in the woods
and risking encounters with highway men.

This inn was a working farm with several slaves. There was a kitchen
separate from the house.

Traveler's hacky sack

Table setting for visitors.

We walked along a trail to the cemetery and saw this little plant.
What is it?

This might be quince?

The original path headed North

At lunchtime, we stopped in Port Gibson to get a salad and sandwich
which we ate at the "sunken trace" where the ground was soft. With
many feet and wagons, the trail had sunk. In 1863, General Grant
marched through Port Gibson. The town didn't experience much
damage because General Grant said "This town is too pretty to burn."

Sunken Trace

Interesting tree fungus that looked like little snails.

Rocky Springs was once a busy little town of 2000 on the trace.
All that is left now is the Methodist Church which was active until
recently. Now, there is an annual membership reunion held in April.