Melrose, Natchez National Historical Park: Historic Furnishings Report, Volumes I, II, and III
Petravage C. 2004. Melrose, Natchez National Historical Park: Historic Furnishings Report, Volumes I, II, and III. Historic Furnishing Reports. Natchez, Mississippi
Natchez National Historical Park was established by Congress on October 7, 1988, by Public Law 100-479. The National Park Service purchased Melrose in 1990 from Mr. and Mrs. John Callon. At that time, Melrose consisted of a circa 1848 house, approximately 80 acres, and a large collection of furnishings dating from the early 19th century to the late 20th century. The furnishings included many objects acquired by the original owners of the house. The house has unusual historic value not only because of its large collection of original furniture but also because of the survival of original window treatments and two original floorcloths, items that do not generally endure from the mid-19th century. One of the floorcloths is an exceptionally large one block-printed to mimic a floral patterned Brussels carpet. Many items of furniture are marked not only with the family’s name but also with the name of the manufacturer or the retailer, which makes the collection a valuable resource in the study of American decorative arts. Another unusual and valuable characteristic of this site is the existence of two 19th- and two 20th-century inventories and a large body of correspondence written by the McMurran family, the original owners. This information gives us excellent documentation for the historic furnishing of the rooms and provides an incredibly rich source of interpretive material about the people who lived at Melrose.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Petravage, Carol
- Date of Issue
- 2004
- Units
- HIST , NATC
- Keywords
- Analysis, concrete, Drawings, ehistory, estimate, furnishings, History, Illustrations, occupancy, paint, Plan, Planning, Recommendations