4 Best Mississippi Waterparks

When people think of the summer season, the idea of visiting a water park often comes to mind. With summer bringing temperatures often in the 90’s or higher, these water parks are almost necessary in the state of Mississippi. There’s much more to water parks than simply lazy rivers and water slides. Visitors of these water parks will find even more fun to be had during the summer months, from giant water slides and classic lazy rivers to wave pools and activity areas to white sandy beaches and cabanas. Certain attractions may be temporarily closed or require advance reservations. Some restaurants are currently offering pickup only. Hours/availability may have changed.

4 Best Mississippi Waterparks

• Geyser Falls Water Theme Park, Photo: Geyser Falls Water Theme Park
• Grand Paradise Waterpark, Photo: Grand Paradise Waterpark
• Gulf Islands Waterpark, Photo: Courtesy of Pavle - Fotolia.com
• Water Parks in Mississippi: Pep's Point Water Park, Photo: Pep's Point Water Park
• Cover Photo: Courtesy of sergiy1975 - Fotolia.com

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More Ideas: Rosalie Mansion

Located in Natchez, MS, Rosalie Mansion is a pre-Civil-War-era living history museum designated as a National Historic Landmark and cited as a prominent influence on Antebellum architecture in the American South. Originally established as a settlement and trading post by French colonists in 1716, Natchez, Mississippi served as a major center for trade and commerce throughout the first two centuries of European settlement in North America. Following the French and Indian War, the settlement was ceded to Spain, and later to America following the Revolutionary War.

History

The area had served as the southern terminus for the Natchez Trace, a major trade route used by indigenous Mississippi River area tribes, for centuries prior to the arrival of Europeans in North America. During the mid 19th century, the city attracted a large number of planters and entrepreneurs, who built elaborate Antebellum-style mansions on their cotton and sugarcane plantations. Though the city’s days as a national hub for cotton and sugarcane production ended by the early 20th century, a number of the plantations mansions were preserved by local citizen groups and nonprofit organizations and operate today as living history museums.

Rosalie Mansion was built along the banks of the Mississippi River in 1823 as the residence of Peter Little, a cotton broker from Natchez, Mississippi. The three-story Greek Revival mansion was constructed over a portion the site of the former French fort Rosalie, the site of the Natchez Revolt of 1729, which resulted in the deaths of more than 230 French colonists and the eventual dissolution of the Natchez tribe into nearby Cherokee and Creek indigenous tribes. Little kept the Rosalie name for the property, named in honor of the French Countess of Pontchartrain, as a memorial to the site’s history.

Throughout much of the following three decades, Little and his wife Eliza operated the house as an extension of the Natchez Children’s Home, which Eliza had helped to found in 1816. During the American Civil War, however, the mansion was seized by General Ulysses S. Grant in 1863 and served as a headquarters for Union Army troops for the remainder of the war. Original furnishings belonging to Little were stored in the mansion’s attic to prevent destruction or theft, which helped to ensure their preservation following the war. When the Littles passed away in the mid 1850s without leaving behind a will, the house was sold at auction to Andrew Wilson, whose family retained ownership of the mansion until 1938. Following the death of the house’s final Wilson occupant, the property was acquired by the Mississippi State Society Daughters of the American Revolution, which restored and renovated the house for operation as a living history museum. In 1989, the mansion was designated as a National Historic Landmark.

Attractions and Programs

Today, Rosalie Mansion is open to the public seven days a week for guided and self-guided tours, including group tours for students and organizations. The three-story brick mansion features a front facade with a four-column Tuscan portico, as well as a five-column portico extending from its rear entrance. Entablature and gabled pediment adornments along the house’s facade, as well as a truncated hip roof and low balustrade, are typical of the mansion’s Greek Revival styling, particularly the Early Classical Revival and Federalist styles, which were popularized by United States President Thomas Jefferson. Window features, such as the mansion’s oval fanlight and symmetrical row windows, also exemplify the Early Classical style. The mansion’s first floor features a wide central hall between the front and back entrances, with a library, dining room, and two parlors located on either side. Four bedrooms are located on the second floor, which also utilizes a central hall layout to maximize air circulation. All rooms are furnished with period-appropriate furnishings and artifacts, including pieces originally owned by the Little and Wilson families.

Two surviving outbuildings, a two-story servant’s quarters and kitchen and a smokehouse, are located on the mansion’s property, which has been landscaped into a number of small formal gardens, including the Walter Reed Page Smith Garden, the Patricia Walton Shelby Bicentennial Garden, and the Janet Terreson Sims Memorial Rose Garden. A gift shop located inside the mansion’s former carriage house contains a variety of handcrafted artisan works and Civil War-related souvenirs.

The Mississippi State Society’s Daughters of the American Revolution genealogical library is housed at the mansion, offering free public use of records for personal genealogical research. Rosalie Mansion is also available for private special event rental, including weddings, family reunions, and business events.

100 Orleans St, Natchez, MS 39120, Phone: 601-445-4555

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More Ideas: Stanton Hall

Located in Natchez, MS, Stanton Hall, also referred to by the name Belfast, is an 1850s Classical-Revival-style mansion that is considered one of the most opulent extant buildings of the Antebellum period and is operated as a living history museum open for public tours.

Originally established as a settlement and trading post by French colonists in 1716, Natchez, Mississippi served as a major center for trade and commerce throughout the first two centuries of European settlement in North America. Following the French and Indian War, the settlement was ceded to Spain, and later to America following the Revolutionary War.

History

The area had served as the southern terminus for the Natchez Trace, a major trade route used by indigenous Mississippi River area tribes, for centuries prior to the arrival of Europeans in North America. During the mid 19th century, the city attracted a large number of planters and entrepreneurs, who built elaborate Antebellum-style mansions on their cotton and sugarcane plantations. Though the city’s days as a national hub for cotton and sugarcane production ended by the early 20th century, a number of the plantations mansions were preserved by local citizen groups and nonprofit organizations and operate today as living history museums.

Built between 1851 and 1857 as a home for local cotton broker Frederick Stanton, Stanton Hall was originally named Belfast in honor of Stanton’s ancestral Ireland home, but the name did not endure due to Stanton’s brief occupation of the house. After Stanton’s death in 1859, maintenance of the house became a financial burden on his heirs, but the mansion survived in large part due to its occupation by Union troops during the American Civil War. Following the war, the mansion was converted into an educational facility, the Stanton College for Young Ladies. After the college’s closing, the mansion was acquired by the Pilgrimage Garden Club in 1938 and restored to its original 1850s appearance for operation as a living history home museum. The home was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1974.

Permanent Attractions and Tours

Today, half-hour walking tours of Stanton Hall are offered to the public daily by the Pilgrimage Garden Club. The mansion spans a two-acre city block near the city’s downtown area, at the intersection of Commerce, High, Monroe, and Pearl Streets. As a cultural landmark of the American South, the mansion has been featured in a number of film and television productions, including the 1951 film Show Boat and the ABC miniseries North and South. It also served as inspiration for the Haunted Mansion attraction at Disneyland.

The two-story white brick mansion showcases a two-story Greek portico along its front exterior, flanked by four fluted Corinthian columns. Adornments are a blend of Greek Revival, Italianate, and Gothic Revival styles and include entablatures, gabled pediments, and a hipped main roof with center cupola. The home’s interior encompasses more than 11,000 square feet throughout its two stories, with 17-foot ceilings and elaborate Carrera marble design features. 10-foot mahogany doors and intricate glass and bronze chandeliers serve as testament to the home’s status as one of the most ornate preserved Antebellum mansions.

Nearby Attractions

In addition to Stanton Hall, the Pilgrimage Garden Club also owns and operates the nearby Longwood estate, designed for Haller and Julia Nutt in 1860 by Philadelphia architect Samuel Sloan. Construction on the ornate octagonal residence, designed to mimic an Asian villa, was halted due to the American Civil War, leaving all of the home’s interior unfinished except for its basement level, where the Nutt family continued to reside through the beginning of the 20th century. Locally nicknamed “Nutt’s Folly,” the residence was deeded to the Club in 1970 and restored to its original condition. Visitors may tour the home’s finished basement and unfinished upper floors, as well as its grounds, which include a detached kitchen currently being restored by the Club. Both the Stanton Hall and Longwood facilities may be privately rented for private special events, including weddings and rehearsal dinners.

Adjacent to Stanton Hall, the Carriage House restaurant has been a Natchez institution since 1946 and serves as a frequent after-tour gathering place for tour groups. Chef Bingo Starr cultivates a menu of classic Southern fare, including mint julep cocktails and famous fried chicken and silver dollar biscuit meals. Soups, salads, and sandwiches are also served, and a Sunday brunch highlights Gulf seafood dishes.

Stanton Hall and Longwood serve as stops on the Natchez Fall Pilgrimage in October, which features open home and garden tours and evening entertainment at many of the city’s historic home sites. Halloween and Christmas-themed tours of the facilities are also offered during the fall and winter months.

401 High St, Natchez, MS 39120, Phone: 601-445-5151

More Mississippi things to do, Things to Do in Natchez

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