Vicksburg, Mississippi ~ Part II Vicksburg Today

Thursday, October 23 ~ Friday, November 7, 2014

Vicksburg is a small  beautiful city.  The Mississippi River, antebellum homes, beautiful flowers and, of course, the people.  The people here are warm and friendly and always offer a smile.

After exploring the Civil War side of Vicksburg, we turned our attention to some of the museums the city has to offer.

First stop, my cola loving friends, was the Museum of Coca-Cola History and Memorabilia.  This is a small museum, housed in the original Biedenham Candy Company building, located in the downtown area. The building has been restored to the way it was in the 1890's...

In the summer of 1894, a young candy merchant named Joseph A. Biedenham of Vicksburg, Mississippi, had an idea that was to shape the American, and later the international, soft drink industry.  His idea?  He took a popular fountain beverage known as Coca-Cola, put it in bottles and shipped it to the rural areas outside the Vicksburg City limits.

This was the first time Coca-Cola had been sold in bottles.  Mr. Biedenham created a totally new concept of marketing the beverage and the rest, as they say, is history...

door leading into the museum

memorabilia

bottle washer

carbonator

filler table

luggage!

oh, if only this soda fountain had some ice
cream!

bottling plant. no longer in use

Our next stop was the Lower Mississippi River Museum (LMRM).  The museum contains both static and interactive displays providing visitors with a unique look at life surrounding the Mississippi River.  Visitors can explore the river's past as well as examine the science behind water movement.  This museum is the first of its kind in the United States as it is the first and only museum to maintain and house a fully restored, dry docked riverboat.

model showing rivers that flow into the Mississippi

We learned about river transportation...

Dugout canoes were the most convenient form of river transportation. Normally made of pine or cypress, canoes varied from a  two-person raft up to a canoe capable of holding 50 people.

River rafts were first used by settlers.  These flat boats were used as one-way craft only.  Loaded upstream, they were floated downriver where their cargo was unloaded and each vessel was dismantled and sold for lumber.

Flats (flatboats) were rectangular, flat-bottomed boats without keels.  They were easy to build, but difficult to steer.  They were an awkward, one-way craft.  They were also dismantled when they reached their downriver destination.

model of a flat-boat

Side-wheel steamers...these ships carried products and passengers quicker and cheaper than other modes of river transportation.

side-wheel steamer

Cotton steamers were common on the Mississippi River in the 1850's.  Because of river meandering, swift currents and crossings, uncharted shoals and sandbars as well as sandbars made river travel dangerous.  By the mid-1800's, the average life of a steamboat on the river was only 18 months.

cotton steamer model

We also learned about levees, floodways and channel improvements that the Corps. is doing.  Interesting.

Other interesting facts include:

We made our way outside to the riverboat which is aptly named the Mississippi IV. The motor vessel Mississippi IV is the fourth U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' vessel to carry that name.  It is a diesel-powered vessel with an all-steel superstructure. The four levels of the structure are the main deckhouse, second deckhouse, Texas deckhouse and the pilot house.  It served as a towboat and vessel inspection until decommissioned in 1993.  It was moved to its present location (on land) in September 2007.  Due to maintenance, we were limited to touring the second deckhouse...

womens cabin. also contained a bathroom and small closet

linen closet 

kitchen

dining hall

Last, but not least, we visited the Old Courthouse Museum.  The courthouse sits on one of the highest hills in the city of Vicksburg; the clock tower rises high above all other buildings...

The courthouse was built entirely by slave labor.  During the siege, the courthouse was damaged by Federal artillery fire from both land-based batteries and the gunboats and mortar scows of the Union fleet.  Many Union artillerists aimed at the clock tower for target practice.  Knowing that the building was the pride and joy of the people of Vicksburg and Warren County, Confederate Lt. Gen. Pemberton housed Union prisoners in the upstairs courtroom and notified Major Gen. Grant and Admiral Porter that if they persisted on firing on the building, they would kill they own men.

It was here that Jefferson Davis launched his political career.  It was here, from the clock tower, Union troops raised the Stars and Stripes on July 4 1863, signifying an end to the 47-day siege.  It was also here that Jefferson Davis (his brother lived in Vicksburg) made his first public appearance following his imprisonment after the Civil War.

The building is simply beautiful.  The first floor houses the majority of the museum; it is divided into "rooms" such as the "confederate" room, the "pioneer" room, the "Vicksburg" room and the "early American" room. The second floor is home to the "costume" room and the courtroom.  Some of the highlights include...

actual photo of the USS Cairo

drawing of a torpedo that sank the USS Cairo

Gen Grants chair

antebellum furnishings

coals were placed in this foot warmer. it was used in a buggy
to keep one's feet warm

knife used to cut the ribbon when the Mississippi River
bridge was opened on May 20,1930

actual newspaper

notice his boots

bathtub

I think I like this bathtub better

underarm shields. circa 1870

lady's split drawers. 1900

knitted hood. 1870

it was here, in this courtroom, that Gen. Pemberton
surrendered to Gen. Grant

jurors chairs

this fireplace was the only source of heat in the winter

attorneys and their clients would sit here

judges chair

this room, off of the courtroom, formerly held the judges
chambers. it now is a room dedicated to Jefferson Davies

referring to Jefferson Davis. rather prophetic...

original confederate ballot

Jefferson Davis favorite chair

these pillars are massive

The downtown residential area is very interesting.  The old courthouse sits among newer homes as well as antebellum homes.  Some of the local sights...

the current courthouse, located directly across the street
from the old courthouse

beautiful home, several of these homes have
been turned into B&B's

gas lamps in the residential district.
look closely and you can see the
flame

home of Martha Vick. Vicksburg is named after her husband,
who established the first church in the county

Louisiana live oak

starting to see some color changes...

the business district (view from the residential district)

the river is just a short walk down from the residential area

love seeing all the barges

getting a drink from the Mississippi

Back at the campground...

Coop and his new girlfriend (she loved him)
Tinkerbell

It's been a blast as well as very educational.  The time has come to head out to our next adventure...in Hattiesburg.

Til next time,
Dawn, Ron & Cooper the RV dog

Natchez, Mississippi

Friday, October 30 2014

While in Vicksburg we took a day trip to Natchez.  Natchez is about 70 miles downriver on the Mississippi.

Natchez is the only city and the county seat of Adams County.  It is named for the Natchez Native Americans who inhabited the area.  Natchez was settled by French Colonists in 1716; it is the oldest city on the Mississippi River.

We began our day at the Natchez Visitor Center...

We explored the exhibits of which many pertained to the cotton industry and the Natchez Indians.

cotton

 It was here that we gathered information and decided what to see.  Located within this Visitor Center is the Natchez National Park Visitor Center.  We picked up information from them as well.

Our first stop was at Bluff Park.  This is a very nice park with great views of the Mississippi River.  There is also a nice walking trail.  I'm sure, Becky and David, that you will enjoy it.

Just below this park lies Natchez Under-the-Hill...

19th century Natchez was split into two cities ~ "proper" and "improper."  Natchez proper was the town on top of the bluff, while Natchez improper was the boat landing beneath the bluff, or "under-the-hill."  Natchez Under-the-Hill was one of the rowdiest ports along the river; saloons, gambling and slave trading took place here. It was here that the keel boats, flatboats and later the steamboats docked.  The keel boats and flatboats were designed for down-river travel only.  When their destination of Natchez was reached, the boats cargo was unloaded; the boats were dismantled and the wood sold for firewood or lumber. The pilots of these boats began their long walks along the Natchez Trace to Ohio and other points north.  This is the southern most part of the Trace.  It ends in Memphis.

Natchez Under-the-Hill as it looks today...

Isle of Capri. now a casino and hotel

We visited the Rosalie Mansion; a historic pre-Civil War mansion.  It is significant for its Greek Revival style influence on antebellum architecture. During the Civil War it served as Union Headquarters for the Natchez area.   While the home is open for tours we were mainly interested in the grounds and the architecture of the home...

We then headed to Forks in the Road...

Forks of the Road was the second highest slave market in the United States.  The Y-intersection of Washington Rd./Natchez Trace, Old Courthouse Rd. and St. Catherine street housed Natchez's slave market after an 1833 ordinance prohibited the sale of slaves within the city's limits.  The Forks of the Road was a slave market but slave auctions were not conducted on the site; the area acted much more like a slave store than an auction house. The slave market operated until it was shut down and demolished by Union troops in 1863. 

shows routes of slave traders

these shackles, displayed in cement, are a reminder of a
terrible time in our nations history

The Grand Village is where we learned about the Natchez Indians...

The Grand Village was the main ceremonial center for the Natchez Indians, who lived in what is now southwest Mississippi as long ago as 700 AD.  The Natchez were the largest and strongest populations on the lower Mississippi when Louisiana was settled by the French.

examples of their basketry

the intricate circle and swirl pattern shows their high level of
cultural development at the time of European contact. These
ceramics were often found buried in the funeral mounds.

living quarters

burial mounds. reserved for the high ranking Natchez

Grand Village is on the National Register of Historic Places and is now used as pow-wow grounds.


Last, but not least, we visited the Natchez National Park...

The Melrose Mansion, a cotton plantation, was considered by many to be the finest home in all of the Natchez Region.  As Melrose was one of the most intact antebellum estates in the South, the National Park Service purchased the estate in 1990 to illustrate slavery and the antebellum plantar class.  Melrose along with Fort Rosalie (closed for renovations) and the William Johnson House form the Natchez National Park.

undergoing a face lift

this building was formerly the kitchen, now houses
the visitors center

this building housed the dairy

privy. so grateful for modern conveniences!

Virginia live oak. love these trees

sitting on the jostling board

slave quarters

cistern

lid on cistern

We then made our way to the William Johnson house...

Known as the Barber of Natchez, William Johnson was born into slavery; at age 11 he became a freed African American. It was shortly after he established a barber shop in downtown Natchez that he began to keep a diary.  The diary was a mainstay in his life until his death in 1851. It is from him we learn what life was like for a prominent freedman in Natchez.  Even though he was freedman, Johnson kept 16 slaves.  He was murdered in an ambush at the age of 42.

wall in his house

The home is along the Natchez Trail.  This walking trail leads through a literal trail of Natchez history as it winds through the historic residential and business
area.

We had such a nice day.  We're so glad that we took the time to visit this interesting city.  We fondly refer to it at the city of one-way streets.  There are more one-way streets here than in any other place we've visited.  It kept us on our toes!!

Til next time,
Dawn, Ron & Cooper