Natchez

Natchez stands on a bluff above the Mississippi and was, before the civil war, among the wealthiest towns per head in the country - cotton money, with more millionaires than almost anywhere. It surrendered without a fight in 1862 and was not burned, which is why several hundred antebellum buildings survive, including Longwood, an octagonal house left unfinished when its Northern workmen downed tools in 1861 and whose upper floors remain bare brick and scaffolding to this day. The wealth rested on slavery, and the Forks of the Road site on the edge of town was one of the largest slave markets in the South; it is now interpreted by the Park Service rather than left unmarked.

What you actually see

• Several hundred antebellum buildings - saved by an early surrender.
• Longwood - octagonal, abandoned mid-build in 1861, still unfinished inside.
• Forks of the Road - a major slave market site, now interpreted.
• The bluff over the Mississippi - and the end of the Natchez Trace.

When to go

October to April; Pilgrimage house tours run in spring and autumn. A full day.

Honest expectations

House tours are individually ticketed and add up. Some houses open only during Pilgrimage seasons. Summer heat and humidity are severe. The town has long presented the mansions and the slave trade unevenly, though this has improved.

Nearby

The Trace Parkway runs north-east; Vicksburg is north.