Prospect Hill Plantation Tour

When: Saturday, November 12, 2011

Time: 1:00 pm and 2:30 pm

Where: Prospect Hill Plantation - please call the Conservancy's Southeast Regional Office at
(662) 326-6465 or email tacsoutheast@cableone.net to make reservations and get directions to the site. If no one answers, you can leave a message on the answering machine and someone will call you back to confirm that your call was received.

Cost: The Conservancy is asking for a tax deductible donation of $20 per person to help with the expenses of emergency stabilization work on the house.

Picture this: A plantation in rural Jefferson County, Mississippi, founded by a Revolutionary War captain in the early 1800s, who left instructions in his will that the plantation be sold and the proceeds used to send those among his slaves who wished to go  to the West African colony of Liberia. The plantation house is burned down in 1845 by the slaves who have grown restless waiting for those instructions to be carried out. A six year old girl dies and the alleged slave instigators are hanged in the front yard. The remaining slaves make their journey to a colony in Liberia named Mississippi, and the planation house is replaced in 1854. Now, the surrounding forest has encroached upon the house and its garden of antique camellias and in the family cemetery, the massive marble columned monument to the original owner has survived several close encounters with falling trees, but the house has not.  Now, that house is inhabited by a peacock who has lived there alone for almost 7 years.
    
Only in Mississippi’s old Natchez District can one find a place like this and on November 12th, those wishing to visit Prospect Hill Plantation can do so and help aid its preservation as well. The Archaeological Conservancy, which purchased the plantation and a few surrounding acres, will have special guides and speakers giving tours and lectures on various aspects of the plantation and its history. Including Alan Huffman, journalist and author of Mississippi in Africa, the book which documented the saga of Prospect Hill and its slaves, Jennifer Baughn, Chief Architectural Historian with the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Mr. James Belton, a descendant of the Prospect Hill slaves and Ann Brown, local cemetery preservationist, both of whom were featured in Huffman’s book, Jessica Crawford, Southeast Regional Director for The Archaeological Conservancy and several descendants of the Ross Family.
    
Remember that at the moment, Prospect Hill is a diamond in the rough. Places for parking have had to be cleared and it was mowed for the first time in 5 years this summer! So be prepared for an adventure. If it rains or has rained recently and is still wet, the tours will be rescheduled. This is the same weekend as Angels on the Bluff, so those with tickets for the Saturday night Angels tours should have time to get to Natchez for that. Prospect Hill is about 15 minutes east of Lorman, a 45 minute drive from Natchez, about 20 minutes from Port Gibson, and approximately an hour and a half from Jackson. So plan to do some exploring, have lunch with Mr. Davis at the Old Country Store in Lorman and visit a beautiful, historic place that few people have seen!