NATCHEZ — The iconic Dunleith Historic Inn is up for sale.

The 1856 mansion, outbuildings, and the roughly 60 acres of land surrounding the estate are listed for $6.95 million.

Michael Worley, who owns the house, signed a contract in December with Peter Patout, a New Orleans-based realtor who specializes in historic properties.

The sale also includes the commercial operations on the grounds, such as Castle Restaurant and Pub, operated in the original carriage house, and the luxury 22-room inn.

Patout said those businesses will remain in operation, at least until the property is sold.

“I can see where the next owner will continue,” Patout said. “The income is considerable.”

The sale also includes most of the fine art and antiques found inside the buildings, eight historic Dunleith carriages and other more modern furnishings and equipment, including the full restaurant interior.

Patout said Worley, a Louisiana resident and businessman, was selling the house to pursue other interests.

Worley does not own any other hotels, and rarely travels to Natchez, Patout said.

“I’ve been doing historic houses for years, and it’s obvious that this house is the queen of them all,” Patout said. “The complex is remarkable, an extraordinary surviving complex from the mid-19th century.”

The property was designated a National Historic Landmark and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. It served as a private residence until 1976, when it was opened as a luxury inn.

Historic Natchez Foundation Executive Director Mimi Miller said Dunleith is one of the 26 buildings in Mississippi to receive the National Historic Landmark designation.

Approximately half of those are in Natchez, she said.

The National Historic Landmark office chose Dunleith, Miller said, because of the property’s unique architecture, fine antique furnishings and its historical completeness.

“It had the integrity of architecture and setting,” Miller said. “Outbuildings don’t typically survive. We are lucky here in Natchez.”

Miller said the house was built as a suburban villa, and was never a plantation.

The house is in a Greek Revival style, and is the only surviving antebellum mansion in the state of Mississippi encircled by two-story columns. Both floors feature complete wrap-around porches.

The 1856 house was built on the site of an earlier house, Routhland. The first house was built by Job Routh in the late 18th century and destroyed by a fire in 1855.

The grounds were the site of a battle between American and Spanish forces prior to the Spanish evacuation of the area in 1798.

After the destruction of Routhland, Routh constructed the existing house and outbuildings. The estate was sold several times throughout the years, and was eventually purchased by the Worley family in 1999.

Worley expanded the acreage of the property, from about 40 to its current 60 acres.

He expanded its commercial use by adding additional guest rooms, opening a publicly accessible restaurant in 2001, and expanding the house’s use as a special events venue that hosts more than 35 weddings annually. Worley invested in a full restoration of the property in 2012.

A television show and several movies have been filmed on the property.

Patout said he has only just begun marketing the house, and has not yet been contacted by any interested buyers.