Hello friends and neighbors! Come join our birthday party as we kick off a year-long recognition of our 20th anniversary as a national park, created by Congress on Oct. 7, 1988. Many people still do not realize that we are a separate national park interpreting the history of Natchez — and not just part of the Natchez Trace Parkway!

Please check out our park sites: Melrose, the William Johnson House or the Natchez Visitor Center, and have a look at the progress we have made. We are offering free refreshments today for the visiting public at all three sites, which are all wheelchair accessible.

At Melrose, 1 Melrose-Montebello Parkway, the mansion that was lovingly preserved by the Kelly and Callon families has been transformed from a magnificent home to a premier historic house museum.

We have installed reproduction carpets, wallpapers and window treatments from 1850 throughout the mansion, and we have re-created marbleized and faux-grained baseboards along with other original paint colors.

Today we are offering guided tours of the Melrose mansion free of charge. They begin at the top of each hour, with the first at 10 a.m. and the last at 4 p.m.

Come see the original paint colors and new wood shingles on the historic outbuildings at Melrose, and the refurbished gardens. The Melrose grounds are open to the public free of charge from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The Melrose Garden Friends are doing a great job of preserving the old camellias and restoring the character of the formal gardens.

Also, come learn about the hundreds of enslaved people of African descent whose forced labor on plantations created the wealth that built Melrose, and the slaves whose talents were utilized at the estate. We recognize their important contributions through slave cabin exhibits showing a furnished living space and interpreting slavery in this area.

The William Johnson House at 210 State St. tells the story of the free people of color who lived here before the Civil War. Most of them were the mixed race offspring of enslaved people and white plantation owners.

Some were prosperous enough to own slaves themselves — as did William Johnson. Johnson was born a slave but freed as a child and trained as a barber. As an adult, he owned three barber shops and raised a large family on the upper levels of his house.

But Johnson is best known as an author of journals from 1835 until 1851. First published by LSU Press in 1951, they provide detailed insight into the daily life of Natchez.

Come visit the William Johnson House exhibits that explore antebellum Natchez, Johnson’s businesses and favorite pastimes like hunting and horse racing, his family and the issues he faced as a slaveholder. Upstairs, you can take a self-guided tour through the restored living spaces with original furniture. The site is open free of charge from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily.

In 1998, the National Park Service partnered with the City of Natchez for a visitor center at 640 S. Canal St. that also houses park and city offices. Come gather local information at the state welcome center, buy your event tickets from the city or Natchez Pilgrimage Tours counters, view the 20-minute movie or browse the logo shop or Eastern National bookstore that supports our park’s interpretive themes.

This year we are initiating the next phase for the Fort Rosalie property along Canal Street. Watch for more removal of deteriorated structures and the first public programs at the colonial French fort site during the year.

We will also complete a boundary study on whether the Forks of the Road slave market site meets the criteria to be added to our park, bringing national attention to this under-recognized foundation of the Natchez story.

Thank you to those who lobbied for creation of the park, those who preserved these sites before us and the folks who have supported us through our first two decades.

Watch for special park events going on every month; our festivities will culminate next fall with the opening of our new exhibits at the Visitor Center.

Come celebrate Natchez history with us! For more information, call 601-446-5790.

Kathleen McClain JENKINS is the superintendent of the Natchez National Historical Park.