NATCHEZ &045; The beauty and history of Historic Jefferson College continue to impress Cheryl Branyan as she settles in to a new position at the state-owned site.

As branch director of the storied educational institution, the first school established in the region then known as the Old Southwest, she has plenty to learn. Two weeks into the job, however, she is pleased as can be.

&uot;I’ve been familiarizing myself with the property, reading files, learning about the staff and finding out about their duties,&uot; Branyan said, sitting in the corner office of the site’s headquarters building overlooking 80 acres of grounds and eight partially restored buildings dating from 1819 to 1937.

&uot;It’s a wonderful place. It’s beautiful. And the history is vast, covering such a long period of time and so many stories. It’s one of the most significant sites in the area,&uot; she said.

Branyan comes to Jefferson College after five years as resident manager at Rosalie, the historic 1820s brick mansion on Orleans at Canal Street owned and operated by the Mississippi Daughters of the American Revolution.

&uot;Rosalie was a wonderful place for me. Valerie Bergeron recruited me for that position, and I’m so grateful to her and the DAR,&uot; she said.

Jim Barnett, director of historic properties for the state Department of Archives and History, said his part-time management of Jefferson College for the past 20 years was not satisfactory for so significant a site.

&uot;Jefferson College is by far the most complex property in our division,&uot; he said. &uot;Because of all the buildings there, full development of the site could only be reached by having someone there every day.&uot;

State historic properties have grown in number to 14, he said. Only three are open to the public, Jefferson College and Grand Village of the Natchez Indians, both in Natchez, and Winterville Mounds near Greenville.

That means other properties await development and interpretation, time-consuming tasks that Barnett must oversee.

&uot;We’re very happy to have Cheryl,&uot; he said. With much to be done at Historic Jefferson College in the future, &uot;she is most certainly up to the task.&uot;

A project soon to commence is the restoration of Raymond Hall, a 1915 dormitory building that will provide an interpretive center for 20th-century history at Jefferson College.

&uot;That restoration also will provide desperately needed space for our collections,&uot; Barnett said. &uot;Right now we have to turn down a lot of things because of space.&uot;

Some of the funding for restoration at Raymond Hall will be provided by the Jefferson College alumni and friends.

Branyan said anyone else interested in sending donations for the restoration may do so to P.O. Box 700, Washington, MS 39190.

September will bring the first annual event for Branyan to take part in as branch director. The Copper Magnolia Festival will be Sept. 20 and will be expanded this year to include a flea market and sutler’s fair.

&uot;There are many wonderful events here,&uot; she said, complimenting the staff of historians and others who have contributed to creation of those events and their successes. &uot;The staff is superb and very knowledgeable. They’ve made it very easy for me to come in here.&uot;

Branyan grew up in Florida but has family roots in Illinois, where she studied in the museum field at Eastern Illinois. With her master’s degree in historical museum administration, she went on to get a fellowship through Cornell University that brought her in 1995 to an internship at the historic house Melrose, a part of the Natchez National Historical Park.

&uot;I fell in love with Natchez,&uot; she said. &uot;I couldn’t believe the amount of historical integrity, so much of the town intact. It was amazing to me.&uot;

She also fell in love with Richard Branyan of Natchez, and the two kept in touch for three years while Cheryl continued to build on her career, working at the Manship House Museum in Jackson from 1995 to 1996 and The Hermitage, home of Andrew Jackson, in Nashville, Tenn., from 1996 to 1997. She returned to Natchez for her marriage to Richard in October 1997.

Cheryl Branyan looks forward to taking Jefferson College to another level, continuing a project already in the works to have the site accredited by the American Association of Museums.

As current president of the Mississippi Association of Museums, she is aware of the prestige associated with that accreditation and the importance of the self-evaluation and peer evaluation that the status requires.

&uot;That will hold this museum to the highest standards. Only seven in the state of Mississippi are accredited,&uot; she said.

New programs, continued restoration throughout the site and other ideas about preserving and publicizing Historic Jefferson College fill her thoughts now. Meantime, she hopes more local visitors will come to see the site, walk the nature walks and enjoy the good things the old institution has to offer.

&uot;I really like the fact that Historic Jefferson College is a state site and it’s free. People can come and enjoy the grounds and buildings seven days of the week,&uot; Branyan said.

Historic Jefferson College is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday; and 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday. The phone number is (601) 442-2901.