By Cain Madden

The Natchez Democrat

NATCHEZ — The story of historic Melmont has taken a turn for the worse, but officials are hopeful the future looks better.

Mere months after being placed on the state’s most endangered historic places list last October, a section of the two-story Greek Revival house, located at 715 N. Rankin St., caved in.

Historic Natchez Foundation Executive Director Mimi Miller said she is hopeful the structure is salvageable.

“The good news is that we had a builder, Ed Lewis, of New Orleans come in with an engineer (Ashton Avegno), and we think it can be preserved,” she said. “It is just going to be very expensive.”

Miller said she does not yet have a total project cost, but estimated the repairs would cost as much as $200,000 to stabilize the house to even begin work.

“Masonry buildings are more difficult to fix than a wood-frame building,” she said. “You can’t just take a section out and fix it.”

The property is owned privately by Frances Oberlin Stephens and Sam Oberlin.

Miller said she looked forward to working with the owners to preserve the structure.

Architect James McClure built the house in 1855 for Col. Henry Basil Shaw and his family. The name of the property was derived from the initials of Shaw’s wife, M.E.L. — Mary Elizabeth Lattimore. Mont comes from the French word for mountain, as the house is located on a hill.

The house has sat vacant for several years.

The Mississippi Heritage Trust placed the house on its 2015 list of the 10 Most Endangered Historic Places in Mississippi. The trust is a non-profit organization that supports historic preservation efforts throughout the state.

Historic Natchez Foundation nominated Melmont to be on the list.