South of Vicksburg along the mighty Mississippi River is the picturesque city of Natchez, MS. It is said that General Grant was so taken by the beauty of the town that he gave orders to do no damage. The result is one of the largest collections of antebellum homes and buildings in the South.
Our home for the week was across the Natchez Bridge on the western bank of the Mississippi, in Vidalia, Louisiana.
We were in the region where cotton is king. About 30 miles west of where we were staying – a three days’ journey in the 1800’s – the Frogmore Cotton Plantation remains as a fully functioning farm.
One of the first things we learned on our tour of Frogmore Cotton Plantation was that the big fancy houses of the plantation owners were located in Natchez or other cities along the Mississippi. The main house on the plantation was designed for utility and function far more than luxury. The wives and families (often referred to as “Nabobs”) would stay in their palatial house in town and conduct a whirlwind social season while the owner would stay at the plantation to manage the operations that made such a lifestyle possible.
Frogmore is both an historically restored site as well as a working cotton plantation. Their main business model is centered on being the only four-engine cotton gin in the area. Present day farmers from all around the region come to the huge building which houses the “gins” to have their cotton harvests processed. Cotton “gin” is short for engine. Eli Whitney’s invention has progressed from manual labor to mule powered to steam powered to the huge computerized machines that are used today. The Frogmore processes the cotton and keeps the seeds. Seeds are then either sold for a new crop or are sold to manufacturers for cottonseed oil production. In turn, cottonseed oil is used in thousands of products including Crisco and cooking oils.
At the original site of the Frogmore Cotton Plantation, the tour guide took us through several restored buildings like those that would have been part of the plantation.
Slaves’ quarters, laundry room, kitchens, meat smokers and curing sheds, a church, and overseer cottages were on exhibit.
In addition, we toured the sharecroppers’ accommodations that were typical of the post-Civil War approach to keeping the plantation labor.
We also stepped into the fields and were invited to try our hand at picking cotton.
We plucked the fluffy cottonball sized pieces away from the razor sharp boles, grateful we didn’t have to meet the daily quota of hundreds of pounds that each field slave had been required to fill.
The only remaining intact steam powered cotton gin in the country was also on the tour. This two story building highlighted the enormity of the volume of cotton at each harvest and the labor intensive processes necessary to bring the 500 lb bales of cotton to market.
In Natchez, we toured the “Rosalie”, an Antebellum house which is now maintained by the Mississippi chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Typical of the plantation owners’ city houses, the grounds and rooms were opulent and sophisticated.
The views of the Mississippi River from camp were beautiful.
Each day, we watched river barges sail alongside the campground pushing their huge freight containers in front of them and heading either towards the Gulf of Mexico or under the Natchez bridge.
The property’s river walkway was a great place to watch the ships pass by.
We enjoyed the lingering sunsets.
We encountered another storm with tornado warnings and high winds. The sky turned an eerie shade of orange at sunset.
This storm caused the vent over our bed to leak a little. A little duct tape and extra caulk took care of that repair a few days later.
The Great Mississippi Tea Plantation
An exciting new venture has come to Mississippi. Through the Harvest Hosts program, we stayed at The Great Mississippi Tea Plantation where energetic young entrepreneurs are growing, harvesting, processing and selling specialty teas. Specializing in green and yellow teas, they also prepare flavored and blended teas, too. This is the only fully self contained tea plantation in the country and the only one to offer the rare yellow tea (available only in China up till now). As guests, we were given a tour of the plantation and processing facilities. We were amazed the at the intricate, complex and meticulous processing required to bring forth black, green, and yellow teas. To sum up the operations, all tea types are derived from the same plant. Each depends on the number of leaves with the bud that are harvested as well as the treatment these receive during processing. Like a vineyard, each tea plantation will produce a distinct tea as a result of the environmental factors occurring on that land. Taking only the bud plus two, three or six leaves, several harvests are made during the May to November growing season. Not only did we learn about one of our favorite beverages, we were able to stay overnight in this beautiful property.
Campground Review: River View Campground, Vidalia, LA
We stayed at River View Campground for a week. Large campground located on the western side of the Mississippi River and across from Natchez, MS. Pull-thru site with level concrete pad and w/s/e hookups, newer picnic table at each site, and community fire rings in a separate grassy area.
Campground has a 1-1/2 mile paved path along the bank of the river and almost all sites have a view of the river. River barges pass by frequently. Laundry room is clean with 3 washers and 4 dryers and open 24/7. Office has quarters for machines. Large registration building with gift shop/camp store; outgoing mail box; tables, couches, chairs, lending library of books and dvds; full kitchen; computer and printer. Did not use the hot tub or pool, but both were open – pool is not heated. The 4 individual combination shower/bathroom rooms were thoroughly cleaned each morning. Easy access to the highway and bridge to Natchez. Strong storm came through one evening and the office building was opened for use as a shelter until warnings were cleared. During our stay, the constant winds were about 15 mph with gusts up to 30. WiFi was adequate for email and youtube with some buffering. Staff were friendly and helpful. We would stay here again.
Next Up… Alabama!
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