The Gardens

The Gardens is the epitome of the early planter’s cottages. These style of cottages, located in the lower Mississippi River Valley, are easy to distinguish by their high-hipped roofs. Built in 1794 as a summer retreat for Captain Stephen Minor, the last Spanish governor of the Natchez District, serving from 1797-1798.

In 1797, Minor sold the property, beginning a line of ownerships. One of which was the Levi Purnell family. While in Natchez on a visit, Louise Clarke Purnell, writing under the pseudonym Louisa Pyrnelle, penned her children’s story “Diddie, Dumps and Tot.” The fictional story is a tale of childhood on a Southern plantation prior to the Civil War.

case, pocket doors and architrave between the double parlors was moved as a structure rather than disassembled.

Henderson was a successful merchant and planter. He was also the author of the only known literary work, “The Paine Detected” or “The Unreasonableness of Paine’s Age of Reason,” written and published in Natchez prior to the American Period, in 1799 and published by Andrew Marschalk of Natchez.

Prior to building Pleasant Hill, Henderson built and resided in several other homes in Natchez including The Elms and The Cliffs, but the family kept Pleasant Hill through many generations continuing to occupy the home until 1971.

Remarkably, the home has changed owners only twice since that time and is now the home of Mr. and Mrs. John Bergeron who in 1999 purchased and undertook an extensive renovation, that included saving and moving a small c 1820s former kitchen and dependency building onto the property from a property just south of Pleasant Hill.

It was under Purnell’s’ ownership that a portion of The Garden’s original acreage was sold to the United to develop the Natchez National Cemetery.

The nine-paned windows that are prominent in the house’s architecture contain original hand-blown glass. Many of the panes feature etchings done by M.C. Purnell, done in 1839, and M.M Purnell in 1859, both previous owners of The Gardens.

From 1863 to 1864 The Gardens served as a military hospital for Federal troops.

Traces of brick ovens and Minni ball, a type of muzzle-loading spin-stabilized bullet for rifled muskets found in the house are evidence of their occupation during that time.

In 1881 the home was deeded to Louisa Schleet, wife of Charles Louis Schleet.

The dwelling has been occupied by descendants of this family ever since. It is currently the home of Dr. and Mrs. Fred G. Emrick.

Located between the Natchez City Cemetery and the Natchez National Cemetery, The Gardens has been featured on Home & Garden Television, “Homes Across America”. It is a rare opportunity to visit this private home that is not often opened to the public.