During U.S. Grant’s extended siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi, he attacked the confederate stronghold of Port Gibson that was opposing the Union approach to Vicksburg on the Mississippi River. Port Gibson’s fall was the last major defense of Vicksburg which Grant would finally capture on July 4, 1863. Grant was reported to say that the city was too beautiful to burn, and so many buildings survived the war. The city was incorporated in 1803 when the Louisiana Purchase brought the land into the U.S. One surviving building was the one that caused me to stop on my venture up the Natchez Trace. Historic county courthouses compel me to stop. The Claiborne County Courthouse was built in 1845, and from a distance still reflects the Greek Revival glory of the 19th century, but close up shows the poverty of 21st century rural Mississippi.
Claiborne County Courthouse, Mississippi
While I was exploring the inside, someone saw my camera and suggested I walk over to the nearby First Presbyterian Church for some photos. She said she’d be over there in half an hour to unlock it if it wasn’t open.
First Presbyterian Church, Port Gibson, Mississippi
The sign outside says it’s the second oldest Presbyterian church in the “Old Southwest” organized in 1807. The current structure was built in 1859, and so was one of the buildings left standing following the siege. The door was open.
Interior First Presbyterian Church, Port Gibson
Stairs to the choir
Often, the towns with old courthouses have an old theater nearby, and they too beckon photographs. It wasn’t there for Grant to burn, but it’s history says it has survived fires, and operates as a bar. Its name reflects the historic nearby trail.
Trace Theater, Port Gibson
What routed me through Port Gibson was a diversion to another historic spot off the Trace. The state preserves the ruins of the largest antebellum Greek Revival mansion—now called Windsor Ruins. It, too, survived the war, but burnt down in 1890. All that survive are the twenty-nine, 50 foot columns giving silent testimony to the three-story, 25 room mansion that commanded views over the Mississippi and the cotton plantation’s enslaved workers.
Windsor Ruins, Claiborne County, Mississippi