“Restoration Plans for Historic Windsor Ruins, the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians and Historic Jefferson College” are topics that will be addressed at the annual meeting of the Natchez Historical Society.

The meeting will be held at the Carriage House at Stanton Hall on Tuesday, Jan. 28. A social gathering (cash bar) will begin at 6:30 p.m. Dinner and program will follow at 7 p.m.

Reservations should be made by calling or emailing Karen Hill or Maria Bowser (kkhill53@gmail.com 218-731-4433; bowser2222@aol.com 601-807-4219). Reservations are required and deadline is Thursday, Jan. 23. The dinner costs $30 and you may order fried chicken or baked fish. Annual dues may be paid at the same time by check or cash. No credit cards.

The NHS dues are $20 a person ($35 for two). Please note that if you paid dues in the fourth quarter of 2019 your dues are paid for 2020. For your information, a list of members and their dues status will be available at the table in the lobby.

After dinner, there will be a short NHS business meeting to introduce new board members, share the organization’s 2019 financials and programs, and present the annual NHS Preservation Award to a person or organization that has made significant contributions to historic preservation in Natchez/Adams County.

Our speakers are Katie Blount, Director of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History and Lance Harris, Director of the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians (an MDAH site). They will discuss MDAH’s projects to restore, refurbish and preserve three MDAH sites in our area: The Historic Ruins of Windsor, the Grand Village and Historic Jefferson College. According to Director Blount, the goal of these initiatives is to “tell the story of this region in fresh ways . . . and to strengthen the area’s already robust heritage tourist economy.”

Director Blount’s vision is to mold these sites into a “Gateway to SW Mississippi and Natchez.”

At this meeting you will learn in her own words, that “one cannot know the history of America without knowing the history of Southwest Mississippi.” Katie Blount and Lance Harris will be available after the meeting adjourns to answer questions.

Please join us for this meeting and if you are not a member become one. Don’t forget to make reservations by Jan. 23.

Maria Bowser is publicity chair of the Natchez Historical Society.