Natchez in Adams County, Mississippi — The American South (East South Central)
Cottage Gardens
Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, March 11, 2024
1. Cottage Gardens Marker
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Architecture. In addition, it is included in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1795.
Location. 31° 34.121′ N, 91° 23.772′ W. Marker is in Natchez, Mississippi, in Adams County. It is on Myrtle Avenue west of Elm Street, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 816 Myrtle Ave, Natchez MS 39120, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Southwest Mississippi and in Natchez Trace Corridor. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Deep South, and in the Great River Road Region. Globally, it is in North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain, the Viceroyalty of New France, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate
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Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Natchez Children's Home (approx. 0.2 miles away); The Burn (approx. Ό mile away); Birthplace of Jackson State University (approx. 0.3 miles away); Gerard Brandon IV House (approx. 0.3 miles away); Lisle-Shields Town House (approx. 0.3 miles away); Richard Wright (approx. 0.4 miles away); Rose Hill Missionary Baptist Church (approx. 0.4 miles away); Natchez City Cemetery (approx. 0.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Natchez.
Regarding Cottage Gardens. Excerpts from the National Register nomination:
Cottage Gardens is an excellent example of the late Federal style of architecture as it developed in the Natchez region of the Lower Mississippi Valley. It was also the home of noted photographer Earl Norman (1888-1951), who for nearly forty years continued a family profession -of visually recording the people and scenes of Natchez and its environs.
According to local tradition, Cottage Gardens was built ca. 1795 as the home of Don Jose Vidal, the last of the Spanish-appointedacting governors of the Natchez district and, after dissolution of the Spanish regime in 1798, consul of Spain. It presumably was substantially remodeled when purchased in 1828 by Adam BowerPhotographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, March 11, 20242. Cottage Gardens MarkerMarker (partly blocked by column) is to the right of the door.
Earl Norman was the son of Henry C. Norman (1850-1913), who in 1870 joined a photographic firm which had operated in Natchez since the 1850s. In 1877 Henry opened Norman's Studio, and during his peak years in the 1880s and 1890s, he was unrivaled locally as a photographic artist. In 1913 Earl Norman inherited the studio, and as was subsequently demonstrated, he had also inherited his father's talent. The careers of the two men produced approximately 75,000 prints and negatives which document Natchez from the time of Reconstruction through the first half of the twentieth century.
Earl Norman lived his married life at Cottage Gardens with the family of his wife, Mary Kate Foster, herself an artist specializing in tinting photographs.
Also see . . .
1. Cottage Gardens (PDF). National Register nomination for the property, which was listed in 1979. (Prepared by Dorothy Jane McNeil; via Mississippi Department of Archives and History) (Submitted on April 2, 2024, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)
2. Henry C. Norman, Photographer.
unknown; City of Vidalia, La. via Wikipedia (Public Domain)
3. Don Josι Vidal (1763-1823)
He was secretary to Manuel Gayoso de Lemos, the Spanish Governor of the Natchez District from 1792-1797. Preferring to stay on Spanish territory, he left Cottage Gardens and moved across the Mississippi River, where he established Concord (later renamed Vidalia).
Credits. This page was last revised on April 2, 2024. It was originally submitted on April 2, 2024, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 800 times since then and 69 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on April 2, 2024, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
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