Join us at Melrose this weekend for Natchez National Historical Park’s free Christmas program. An annual event organized as a gift to our community, this year Melrose will open for free tours and a variety of family-friendly Christmas activities and refreshments from Friday through Sunday.

In addition to guided tours of the Melrose mansion, the slave quarters, the dairy and the carriage house will be open with special exhibits and activities. On Friday night, pathways will be lined with candle-lit luminaries creating a beautiful nighttime scene.

Melrose has been decorated inside and out with decorations typical of the mid-19th century.

Inside, the dining table is set for a Christmas feast, vases are filled with greenery and a table-top Christmas tree displayed in the parlor is hung with old-fashioned ornaments.

The Adams County Master Gardeners and park service staff have beautifully decorated the outside of the mansion with live greenery, garlands and wreaths.

Our park staff has put together information about the celebration of Christmas in the Natchez area during this period. Visitors will learn about Christmas in Natchez, Christmas for the McMurrans and also Christmas for the enslaved people.

Lynette Tanner of Frogmore has assisted in compiling information about Christmas on nearby plantations. Guides will be in 1860s era dress.

As we are commemorating the Civil War Sesquicentennial, our program this year focuses on the holiday season of 1861, 150 years ago.

An exhibit on the Civil War is displayed in the old dairy with special emphasis on Christmas of 1861. Visitors of all ages will enjoy making a variety of Christmas ornaments and crafts based on the Civil War time period. Park staff and volunteers will help visitors string popcorn and cranberry garlands, make dough ornaments, paper lanterns and pin wheels.

Park staff and Adams County Master Gardeners will show visitors how to make tussie mussies out of fresh greenery from the Melrose grounds.

Park rangers will welcome guests to warm by the fire and roast marshmallows. Marianne Raley from our public library will tell stories by the fire at scheduled times. Musical events are planned throughout the weekend and include caroling by local Girl Scouts, Burnley Cook’s famous calliope, and the Brook-Mont Plus Strings.

While we are looking back toward the days of the Civil War, we also are honoring all veterans of all American wars.

A Christmas tree in the Melrose visitor center is decorated with stars representing veterans of past and present wars. Please come and add your special veteran’s name to the tree.

On Friday evening starting at 6 p.m., guides in period dress will offer tours of Melrose every 15 minutes until 8:30 p.m., and on Saturday and Sunday, the tours will begin at 9 a.m. and run every half hour until 4:30 p.m.

Tours are free, but tickets are required and a maximum of 15 people per tour will be admitted. A limited number of tour tickets are available on a first come,first served basis beginning today.

You can get them by coming to the Melrose visitor center.

On Friday, remaining tour tickets will become available, also on a first come, first serve basis at the Melrose Visitor Center. All other activities are free and do not require tickets.

Melrose is located at 1 Melrose-Montebello Parkway in Natchez. The site can be reached using either U.S. 61 North or South and following signs for the Natchez National Historical Park.

All events are subject to change. For more information, please call 601-446-5790. For more information about Natchez National Historical Park, please visit www.nps.gov

 

Cheryl Munyer is museum curator at Natchez National Historical Park.