Annual Angels on the Bluff Tour – Natchez, Mississippi
Come to Natchez for an evening of history and excitement with a tour of the Natchez City Cemetery the first weekend of November (usually…check with the Natchez Visitor Reception Center for exact dates because they do, on occasion change.) The elaborate presentation at the Cemetery features selected gravesites with actors portraying those buried there and the life they led during their time on earth. The actors are local with some of them being descendants of the individuals they are portraying.
The tour consists of guides taking groups of about 40 people at a time from grave to grave where the actors, who are dressed in period costumes) tell the stories about the lives & or deaths of the people buried in the grave. At some of the sites there is music accompanying the presentation.
A groups begin the tour every 10 minutes, consisting of about 40 people allowing everyone to get the full impact of the presentations and the stories.
Since parking is limited at the cemetery for the tour but there is a free shuttle from the Natchez Visitor Center to the cemetery. They request you be on board 30 minutes prior to the tour. You MUST go to the Visitors Center and get on the buses provided to come to the cemetery for the tour.
For those who may be organizing a bus tour to attend Angels on the Bluff, group bus parking is available in the cemetery area if you will contact the cemetery director in advance at 601-445-5051 or email for arrangements.
Tickets go on sale for Angels on the Bluff in August and cost $15.00 per person. Tickets for children between the ages of 12 and 6 are $7.50 and no charge for children younger than 6.
No refunds.
No rain dates, but in the event of rain the tour may be re-scheduled.
Angels on the Bluff tickets and information available at the:
Natchez Visitor Reception Center
640 Canal Street, Natchez, MS 39120
Tel. 601-446-6345 or 1-800-647-6724
A few of those in the cemetery are:
Capt. Thomas P. Leathers (1816-1896) who was the colorful and dynamic captain of many of the steamboats named Natchez. He captained the Natchez that participated in the race with the Robert E. Lee on the Mighty Mississippi River in 1870. Although he lost the race to Cannon by a little over 6 hours it still made history and is remembered even today.
Ruphus E. Case and his rocking chair. Mr. Case wanted to be buried in his rocking chair facing his home state of Louisiana so when he died he was placed in his rocking chair, next to his grandchild’s grave, above ground and then a brick structure was built around him and the child’s grave.
Young Florence Irene Ford was just 10 years old when she died of yellow fever in 1871. While living she had been terrified of storms and would rush to her mother whenever there was a storm to obtain comfort. Following her death her mother had Florence’s casket constructed with a glass window at the child’s head. The grave was dug to provide an area, the same depth of the coffin, at the child’s head, but this area had steps that would allow the mother to descend to her daughter’s level so she could comfort Florence during storms. To shelter the mother during storms, hinged metal trap doors were installed over the area the mother would occupy while at her child’s grave. You can still see the trap doors behind the tombstone and they still open although in the mid 1950s a concrete wall was erected at the bottom of the stairway covering the glass window to keep Florence’s coffin away from vandals.
There are great stories to be told about those buried in the Natchez City cemetery so if you are in the area in November, be sure to take the tour.
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