Free Topo Maps of Natchez National Historical Park

Download free topo maps of Natchez National Historical Park. Use the adjoining 7.5 minute quadrangle legend to locate the Mississippi maps you need.

Adjoining 7.5' Quadrangle Legend

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  1. Northwest Topo Map: Ferriday North, LA
  2. North Topo Map: Spokane, LA
  3. Northeast Topo Map: Pine Ridge, MS
  4. West Topo Map: Ferriday South, LA
  5. Topo Map: Natchez, MS
  6. East Topo Map: Washington, MS
  7. Southwest Topo Map: Deer Park, LA
  8. South Topo Map: Sibley, MS
  9. Southeast Topo Map: Kingston, MS
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Natchez National Historical Park

Natchez National Historical Park was established to commemorate the historical past of Natchez, Mississippi; with an emphasis on the antebellum era, the history prior to the Civil War. There are three parts to the Park, Fort Rosalie an 18th century French fort represents the early years during a time when indigenous American Indians lived here; the home of William Johnson, a free African American represents the situation of former slaves and the lives that they lived prior to the Civil War; while Melrose, the antebellum estate of John T. McMurran represents the lives of the well established "upper class" preceding the Civil War. The history of the region goes back thousands of years prior to the Fort Rosalie, when the American Indians thrived in the region, living in a complex society and trading with other tribes from the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes. Initially the French were welcomed, however tensions grew and incursions began. The French called for reinforcements at which time the Nachee, as they were called by the French, were almost annihilated. French occupation lasted only until the British replaced them, after a seven-year incursion, to be followed by Spain, until the new Americans embraced the region as part of the United States; which induced many people to travel in search of opportunity. One of these was John McMurran, a lawyer and later a senator who also became a planter from 1830 until the Civil War. He built Melrose in the style of the time and furnished it with great care. Incredibly his estate survived over time with little change to the home or furnishings, even though it changed hands. Eventually the estate was sold to the National Parks Service and has become one of the focal points in the Park. Another focal point is the home of William Johnson, former slave made a free-man at the age of eleven. He was a prosperous barber, whose observations were kept in a journal which has left behind the history of those African Americans who led a free life in the South prior to the Civil War. Each of these sections of the park offers a complex insight into the history, its shaping and cohesion of the city of Natchez and the legacy it left behind.