Fort Rosalie

All roads of Natchez’s 300 years of history can be traced back to one site that sits high atop the bluff and provides a largely undisturbed record of human occupancy including the Americans, the English, the French, the Spanish and the city’s namesake, the Natchez Indians.

“Fort Rosalie is the hub of everything Natchez,” Jenkins said. “The fort created the town, and the rest came after that.

“If not for Fort Rosalie, there would be no Natchez and no State of Mississippi.”

Jenkins said her dream for the site is to create a public promenade somewhere on the bluff that will allow visitors to stand tall and soak in the Mighty Mississippi River.

“We want people to understand that the view is what made the settlement possible,” Jenkins said. “But it’s an ongoing challenge right now.”

That challenge comes with safety aspects of that area of the bluff.

Unlike the portion of the bluff to north, the area around Fort Rosalie is not stabilized.

In order to create an elevated structure that will allow visitors a chance to see the view at Fort Rosalie, Jenkins said the NPS must determine where the safest location might be.

Jenkins said she would be appearing before the Natchez Preservation Commission in the coming months to discuss a plan for that structure and other parts of the Rosalie project.

Other visible changes to the site will begin occurring this fall with the removal of vegetation on the grounds.

“We envision that space as a great green space that would have parking areas, picnic areas and even its own restroom facility and orientation space,” Jenkins said. “We’ll have walking trails to lead people through the site.”

The NPS will also work on the former Fat Mama’s location on the corner of Canal and D.A. Biglane streets by replacing the logs, stabilizing the building and replacing the roof.

Melrose

Jenkins said the NPS is in the last phase of its five-year preservation project for historic Melrose, which included several renovations to the house.

One of the last legs of the projects will be completed this fall and will include reapplying the faux painting on the outside of the house.

“The red brick will stay, but everything else will be painted over to resemble sandstone,” Jenkins said. “That is the real fun part.”

Once the preservation projects are complete, Jenkins said she hopes to move on to other projects that will bring a new aspect of history and story telling to the site.

Jenkins said nearly 35 fruit trees would be planted at the southeast side of the main house area of the site where historians believed similar trees once blossomed.

Apple, peach, pear and fig trees will be planted in historic patterns on 30-foot centers around the area.

“We are all sensory learners and when you can create and recreate a site to where people can walk through and see, hear and touch there’s going to be a much more intense learning experience than to see a film or look at a book,” Jenkins said. “It will give the house a sense of place when people can see the trees, see them bloom, and at some point down the road, you’ll be able to pick and taste the fruit.”