NATCHEZ — A former U.S. president is making an extended visit to Melrose, or at least a life-sized marble bust replica of him.

A bust of Zachary Taylor, the 12th U.S. president, is currently on loan for three years from the City of Natchez to the National Park Service and is being displayed at Melrose.

The statue was formerly at Monmouth, and Natchez National Historical Park Superintendent Kathleen Jenkins said the recent ownership change after the foreclosure on Monmouth allowed NPS the opportunity to provide the statue with security and preservation.

Historic Natchez Foundation Executive Director Mimi Miller said Lyda Jordan, a volunteer at the foundation, was recently digging through files on the statue and decided to go to Auburn to see the statue. Jordan discovered the statue had been moved to Monmouth.

Miller said she contacted United Mississippi Bank, which recently foreclosed on Monmouth, and the bank facilitated the move of the statue to Melrose, where Miller said it can be cared for by professional curators.

“The bank really should be praised for so willingly allowing the park service to take the statue, along with the park service, which graciously agreed to care for the statue,” she said.

The display of the statue of Taylor at Melrose, Jenkins said, is significant because the statue is an “extremely important piece of public art” that is owned by the city.

Jenkins said the statue was crafted by well-known Natchez sculptor Edwin Lyon, probably at the request of John Quitman of Monmouth, who once owned the statue. Quitman was a military commander under Taylor during the Mexican-American War.

The statue remained at Monmouth, Jenkins said, until Quitman’s granddaughters donated it to the city in 1911. It was displayed at City Hall, Auburn and then again at Monmouth.

Jenkins said John McMurran of Melrose and Quitman were close friends and business partners, and McMurran commissioned an oil painting of Taylor for his library at Melrose. Jenkins said, however, the painting left Melrose after the death of Ethel Kelly in 1975.

In the absence of the painted portrait of Taylor, the marble statue now sits in John McMurran’s library.

Jenkins said as an art historian, she is particularly excited about the statue being displayed at Melrose. She said she believes the public access to the statue will allow the community to gain a greater appreciation of the statue’s value.

“I am so very excited we are able to have this quality of art in a little community like Natchez,” she said.

Miller said because the statue’s art and historical significance is unique, it would be nearly impossible to put a price on it.

“It’s definitely a priceless work of art and certainly the most valuable decorative art item the city owns,” she said. “And it is definitely where it belongs.”

Melrose is open from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. daily. Tours are offered at the top of every hour, with the first tour beginning at 10 a.m. and the last at 4 p.m.

Tours are $10 per adult and $5 for students and visitors ages 62 and over. Tours are free for children 5 and under. For more information, call Melrose at 601-446-5790.