NATCHEZ — For the first time since the 1820s, Gov. David Holmes was in the house that bears his name on South Wall Street Saturday. He was joined by his friends Andrew Jackson and the Choctaw Chief Pushmataha, and together they greeted the guests to the Gov. Holmes House for the first day of Spring Pilgrimage.

The three — along with several other historical figures — were portrayed by volunteer actors, friends of the house’s current residents, Michael and Eugenie Cates. Rather than have a docent give a tour of the home, visitors were directed from room to room, where the actors told the story not only of the space in which they stood, but about the real-life characters they represented.

Eugenie said she’s wanted to do something similar with the Pilgrimage tours at the house for several years, and since the first day of pilgrimage fell on what would have been Holmes’ 236th birthday, it felt appropriate that this would be the year to bring the governor back to the house. After researching the characters she wanted on the tour, she wrote a script for each character and asked Natchez Little Theatre’s Layne Taylor to look it over. Once the scripts were prepped and the actors selected and costumed, it was time to open the doors for pilgrims.

“The early, territorial history (of Natchez) is very interesting,” Eugenie said. “I wanted to make the tour fun and entertaining, give people a little inspiration to go and look this information up for themselves.”

Because Saturday would have been Holmes’ birthday, guests were treated to lemonade and gingersnaps.

“We didn’t have birthday cake because that didn’t become popular until the Victorian era,” Eugenie said.

As visitors moved through the house, in one of the rooms they would have encountered Elizabeth Greenfield, the Natchez native who, although she was born a slave, was freed and adopted by a white woman, later becoming an opera singer of note. She had the nickname “the black swan.”

Alethea Shelton, who as part of her role performed a song for visitors, portrayed Greenfield. Even though she’s a veteran actor, interacting with a live audience in such closed quarters was a new experience for her, Shelton said.

“The stage is usually my buffer,” she said.

But Jim and Michele Wood of Ponchatoula, La., said the interactive tour made the Governor Holmes house stand out.

“You go into a lot of places and just get a spiel about the people there, but this really brings it to life,” Michele Wood said.

Houses on tour this morning include The House on Ellicot’s Hill, Banker’s House and The Towers. Afternoon tours include Greenlea, Texada and Selma.

For more information about Pilgrimage and this spring’s tours, visit www.natchezpilgrimage.com/spring.htm