Foggy Day in London Town & Caching Around Natchez 4/2/2008

We left this morning in a very heavy fog bank over the Ole Miss. We started with a cache at St Mary's Cathedral which if you saw yesterdays pictures is a very very lovely Catholic church, next was a cache located across the street from Arlington another antebellum French Style mansion. Sadly enough Arlington caught fire back in 2002 from an electrical short in the attic and was quite extensively damaged. At one time, the home housed over 2000 antique books (one was found to be dated from 1635) as well as much antique furniture. Many items were able to be salvaged, but had to be cleaned of all the soot and grime from the fire in a painstakingly slow process by hand.
Then it was on to Monmouth Plantation which was built in 1816 as a gift for the bride of John Hankinson. It sold to General John Quitman in 1826 for a sale price of $12,000. Quitman had embraced the Southern way of living and strongly advocated secession so when the Union soldiers in the Civil War remembered Quitman's sympathies and treated Monmouth very roughly. His daughters saved the house from destruction only by pledging loyalty to the United States.It remained in the family till his daughter Rose died in 1914. The current owners bought the house in the 1970's and it was in extreme disrepair, but after a lot of effort, investment and love it has been restored into the glorious beauty it once was.
Next cache was at Routh Cemetery which was hidden among the moss laden trees, enclosed within a high brick wall. we couldn't get into the cemetery as it was locked but many of the graves dated back to the mid 1850's. Noted near the center of the cemetery is a large vault with an iron, life sized figure of a Newfoundland dog beside it. Buried in the vault is Walton Pembrooke Smith and his wife, Mary. When Walton was a young boy living in Virginia, he fell into the Potomac River one day. He was rescued by the faithful family pet, a Newfoundland dog.The memory of this dog remained with him throughout his life. While in New York one time, he went by a large iron works and had them make him an iron dog from his description. He treasured this figure from then on-so much so that it was thought only fitting that the dog be placed beside his vault to guard over him in death.
Then it was on to another antebellum mansion, Melrose which is the estate of John T. McMurran a lawyer and state senator who was a planter in Natchez from 1830 until the Civil War. The home is a Greek Revival home and contains the main home and slave quarters which now includes painted floor cloths, mahogany punkah, a type of fan, a set of Rococo Revival parlor furniture, a set of Gothic Revival dining room chairs, and bookcases with books dating to the 1700's.
Next we were off to Duncan Park and 3 caches in that park. The first was just off a short walking trail near the golf course, next was a cache located down a mountain bike/walking trail about 120' into the woods and the last cache was a multi cache that ended up deep in grass and weed and trees in the woods in back of a baseball field. Then it was on to the Natchez Fire Dept and a cache located near an old steamer pumper fire truck, a historic hose cart and huge fire extinguisher, then it was on to the Natchez Mall and a TB Hotel located behind the mall in the woods and our last cache was on a dead end road near the entrance to a now abandoned golf course. Then it was on back to the RV after picking up lunch at Sonic. Mom washed and did the logs after lunch and I vacuumed and cleaned. We had dinner, early tonight, and I am doing the blog now. A few of the other places we visited today were Dunleith B & B Circa 1858 which included on the grounds a gift shop, carriage house and restaurant, Linden B & B Circa 1800, Auburn Circa 1812 and King's Tavern/Bledsoe House Circa 1789mwhich is supposed to be the oldest house in Natchez. It once operated as a tavern, stage stop and a mail station at the end of the Natchez Trace. It is now a tavern and restaurant that specializes in Hickory smoked prime rib.......yummy. Well time to say good night one and all and we love you and miss you guys.


Picture List:1,2,3-King's Tavern/Bledsoe House Circa 1789 the oldest house in Natchez, 4,5,6-Routh Cemetery-Pic 5 is the monument with the statue of the Newfoundland next to it, 7-Steamer/Pumper Fire Truck, 8-Hose Cart, 9-Fire Extinguisher, 10-Dunleith House Circa 1858, 11-Dunleith House Restaurant, 12-Dunleith House Carriage House, 12-Dunleith House Gift Shop, 13-Dunleith House Guest House, 14-Monmouth Plantation Circa 1818, 15,16-Melrose House Circa 1841, 17-Arlington Circa 1816, 18-Auburn Circa 1812, 19-Linden Bed & Breakfast Circa 1800.