Stanton Hall

Stanton Hall at 401 High Street in Natchez, Mississippi, is one of the most imposing antebellum mansions in the American South — a Greek Revival palace built between 1851 and 1858 for cotton merchant Frederick Stanton at a cost of over $83,000, an extraordinary sum at the time. The house occupies an entire city block in the heart of the Natchez Historic District and is a National Historic Landmark administered by the Pilgrimage Garden Club.

The exterior presents a long colonnade of Corinthian columns supporting an elaborate entablature, with cast-iron fencing enclosing formal gardens that fill the surrounding grounds. The proportions are monumental: the central hall is 72 feet long, 17 feet wide, and 16 feet high, running the full depth of the house. Original French chandeliers, marble mantels imported from Europe, and plasterwork cornices of exceptional intricacy fill the principal rooms.

Guided tours take visitors through the main floor rooms, including the double parlors, the dining room, and the central hall. Costumed guides provide detailed commentary on the house's construction, the Stanton family's history, and the lives of the enslaved people whose labor produced the cotton wealth that built the house. The tour typically lasts 50 to 60 minutes.

Stanton Hall also houses the Carriage House Restaurant, a dining venue occupying the historic carriage house at the rear of the property — a popular lunch destination in Natchez offering Southern cuisine. The Pilgrimage Garden Club hosts its annual tableaux and pilgrimages from the grounds. Morning light illuminates the columns and gardens to best effect; the house is a 10-minute walk from the Natchez Visitors Center.