Stop 2 Melrose Front Lawn

Oaks Along the Melrose Entrance Drive

NPS Archives

Quick Facts

Location:

Natchez National Historical Park

Designation:

National Historic Landmark

Amenities

2 listed

Cellular Signal, Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits

When John McMurran bought this property just outside the Natchez city limits, it was no longer used as a cotton plantation. Crowded living conditions that spread disease in the downtown area led wealthy people to move out to the suburbs. There they created elegant estates like Melrose. From this point, you can see the estate’s original landscape design. A curved fence separates the well-tended formal front lawn from the meadow beyond. The McMurrans and their guests entered Melrose by carriage through the estate’s white wooden entrance gates. Next they passed a small pond lined with cypress trees with a reflection of the big house in the distance. The gravel drive wound through a series of oak and magnolia trees to the front of the mansion. A secondary drive led to the rear of the house, where a cluster of white wooden buildings form the working part of the estate.

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