Melrose Estate, Natchez National Historical Park: Cultural Landscape Report
Ann Beha Associates, Inc.. 1996. Melrose Estate, Natchez National Historical Park: Cultural Landscape Report. Cultural Landscape Report. NPS Southeat Regional Office. National Capital Regional Office
A comparison between Melrose as it existed in earlier periods, as documented in the written and photographic record, and Melrose as it exists today, reveals the degree to which the landscape has either been altered or has maintained historical continuity. The degree to which Melrose as a whole retains continuity from its beginnings as a suburban villa in the 1840s up to the present is remarkable. The architecture, interior, furnishings, and landscape all retain direct links with their original nineteenth-century forms. Certainly changes have been made in all of these categories, but the changes have for the most part been sensitively achieved, with concern for historic integrity as a priority. This preservation ethic applied to property management distinguishes Melrose from many historic properties of the same period. The fact that the Kellys were mindful of, and committed to, this approach in the early years of this century is exceptional. In most areas of the South, this rekindling of interest in the past and careful protection of historic resources began in the 1920s at the earliest. The purpose of this report is to outline the evolutionary history of the Melrose landscape, organized by periods of occupancy; evaluate the integrity of various landscape layers-compare existing resources versus what is known through the historical record existed on the site during each period; determine the degree of significance for each period of occupancy; develop a conceptual approach for the treatment of the landscape.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Ann Beha Associates, Inc.
- Date of Issue
- 1996
- Publisher
- NPS Southeat Regional Office
- Units
- HIST , NATC , SER
- Keywords
- Agriculture, American Picturesque Landscape Design, Antebellum Cotton, Architecture, Commerce, dairy, ehistory, farm, George Kelly, Historic Preservation, History, John McMurran, Kitchen, Landscape architecture, Louisiana, Museum, plantation, Suburban Villa
- Subjects
- CRIS-CL: 550175: Melrose Estate