Top Things to do in Port Gibson
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6 Sights & Landmarks in Port Gibson That You Shouldn't Miss
Discover the best top things to do in Port Gibson, United States including Grand Gulf Military Park, Windsor Ruins, First Presbyterian Church of Port Gibson, Port Gibson, Mississippi, A.K. Shaifer House, Bethel Presbyterian Church.
1. Grand Gulf Military Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 106 reviews
Visit the forts, cemetery, observation tower and restored buildings that comprise this 400-acre park, the historic site of the shelling of Confederate forts by Union ironclad gunboats.
Reviewed By 866TaylorB - Chicago, United States
Grand Gulf Military Park is a hidden treasure, a historic monument off Route 61 between Vicksburg and Natchez, a few miles from Port Gibson. My wife and I have visited the location three times and we never are disappointed by what we see. The first thing I remember about Grand Gulf is the entrance, where a sign marks a 29-foot-high point where the water crested in 1927, capping the worst flood in the history of the United States. Historically, there are the earthworks of two Confederate fortifications that attempted to prevent Union gunboats from approaching Vicksburg. There is a museum. campsites, picnic grounds, a Confederate Memorial Chapel that was built in 1868, the Grand Gulf cemetery, hiking trails and an observation tower that offers a spectacular view of the Mississippi River and the surrounding area. Located eight miles northwest of Port Gibson, near a Nuclear plant, Grand Gulf Military Park is a 400-acre Mississippi landmark that was opened in 1962 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. It preserves the memory of the 1963 battle that was fought here and the town of Grand Gulf, which was originally a busy port on the Mississippi River but after being burned in the Civil War and a shift in the flow of the river, it became a ghost town with only a few restored buildings dating back to Grand Gulf's heyday. Oh, be wary of the geese that inhabit the grounds surrounding the chapel. They can get downright angry at times.
2. Windsor Ruins
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 290 reviews
Reviewed By 866TaylorB - Chicago, United States
If you only visit one historical site in Mississippi, be sure it is Windsor Ruins. You won't regret your decision and you"ll never forget the experience. It is located about 10 miles southwest of Port Gibson on Route 552. My wife and I have visited Windsor Ruins on three occasions, before the trees were planted, after the trees were planted and after they were removed. It is awe-spiring to see Windsor as it was during the Civil War, when General Ulysses S. Grant's troops camped on the grounds of the 2,600-acre plantation. Constructed between 1859 and 1861 for wealthy cotton planter Smith Coffee Daniell II, Windsor was the largest antebellum Greek Revival mansion ever built in Mississippi. It stood from 1861 to 1890, when it was destroyed by fire. Mark Twain once observed the nearby Mississippi River from the roof observatory. A three-story block, with living quarters on the second and third floors, the 17,000-square-foot mansion contained three hallways and 23 to 25 rooms, each with its own fireplace. It also featured two interior bathrooms supplied with rainwater from a tank in the attic. The ground floor or basement contained a school room, doctor's office, kitchen, dairy, commissary and storage rooms. The second floor had a hallway flanked by the master bedroom, a bathroom, two parlors, a study, library and dining room. The third floor contained an addition bathroom and eight bedrooms. Today, all that remains are 23 of the original 29 standing Corinthian columns. Each column was more than 3.5 feet in diameter at their base and stood 40 feet tall. Curiously, for more than 100 years, the outward appearance of Windsor was a matter of conjecture. But in the early 1990s, an 1863 sketch of Windsor was discovered in the papers of a former Union officer, apparently made while his unit was encamped on the grounds. Three other interesting notes: (1) Through the years, three of the four cast iron stairways that survived the 1890 fire disappeared from the site. But the fourth stairway was moved to nearby Alcorn State University in Lorman and serves as the entrance to Oakland Memorial Chapel. (2) North of Windsor, off Route 552, is a cemetery where members of the Daniell family and its ancestors have been buried since the early 19th century, the earliest grave dating to 1819. The cemetery is located atop an ancient Indian mound. (3) When we first visited the site, we were fascinated to see original slave cabins adjacent to the main house. On our second visit, the slave cabins had been removed. Windsor was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971 and designated a Mississippi landmark in 1985. Today, visitors can look at the sketch of Windsor and stand near the columns that haunt the property and only imagine what this magnificent mansion must have looked like, what Ulysses S. Grant observed in 1863.
3. First Presbyterian Church of Port Gibson
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 12 reviews
Reviewed By 866TaylorB - Chicago, United States
At first glance, upon entering the beautiful and historic town of Port Gibson, Mississippi, along Route 61, a visitor might think there are more churches than people. Most noticeable and most celebrated is the First Presbyterian Church at the corner of Walnut Street and Church Street. The present structure was built in 1859. Despite a congregation that numbered only 160 at the time, the sanctuary was constructed with a vision of growth. The room measures 66 feet from front to rear, 49 feet from side to side and 36 feet from the floor to the center of the vaulted ceiling. The acoustic environment allows for over 400 people to hear a speaker without any need for electrical amplification. The decorative plaster work, the moldings around the window and the beautiful arch behind the pulpit are impressive. But the unique feature that sets this Romanesque Revival style church aside from others is "The Hand Pointing to Heaven," which can be seen atop the newly re-enforced steeple. The first hand was carved from wood by a local craftsman. The present hand was installed in 1901, repaired and replated and raised again in 1990. The distance from the sidewalk to the tip of the finger measures 147 feet. The hand is 10 feet, four inches tall and the index finger is four feet long. It weighs 200 pounds and is covered by the finest German gold leaf. The clock is original to the building and the bell, which was first rung in 1860, weighs 2,032 pounds.
4. Port Gibson, Mississippi
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 40 reviews
Reviewed By 866TaylorB - Chicago, United States
All you need to know about Port Gibson, Mississippi, is that General Ulysses S. Grant said the town was too beautiful to burn. Grant made that statement in 1863, when his Union Army was en route to besieging Vicksburg in one of the key battles of the Civil War. Port Gibson hasn't changed much since then. It remains a tourist's delight...historic buildings, beautiful homes, lovely gardens. Founded by French colonists in 1729, it was chartered as a town in 1803 after the United States acquired the territory in the Louisiana Purchase from France. Today, it has a population of 1,567 and is Mississippi's third oldest settlement. There is as much history here as there is beauty. The antebellum homes along Route 61 with their beautiful gardens are a popular tourist attraction. So is the First Presbyterian Church with its magnificent steeple. Nearby, visitors will want to see Windsor Ruins, Magnolia Church, Claiborne County Courthouse, the Grand Gulf Military Park, the ghost town of Rodney, the Natchez Trace Parkway and Gemiluth Chessed synagogue, which was built in 1892 and is the oldest Jewish synagogue and the only Moorish Revival building in the state. Port Gibson is the first stop on the route that General Ulysses S. Grant took in his 1863 campaign to capture Vicksburg. Several skirmishes between Union and Confederate troops took place in and around Port Gibson.
5. A.K. Shaifer House
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 4 reviews
Reviewed By 866TaylorB - Chicago, United States
As Civil War historians, my wife and I relish every opportunity to travel along the Mississippi River from Vicksburg to Port Gibson to Natchez to Baton Rouge to New Orleans. So much history, so many beautiful antebellum homes, no many Civil War battlefields, so little change. One of our favorite segments is the Windsor Loop, which includes Windsor Ruins, Magnolia Church, Bethel Church, the ghost town of Rodney and A.K. Shaifer House, all of which played roles in the Battle of Port Gibson in 1863, the first leg of General Ulysses S. Grant's campaign to capture the Confederate stronghold of Vicksburg. After crossing the Mississippi River at Bruinsburg, west of Windsor plantation, Grant's troops moved eastward along a sunken, gravel road until confronting Confederate resistance at the A.K. Shaifer house. The battle for Port Gibson had begun. Today, the two-story house, which was built in 1826, mostly of cypress, appears much as it did in 1863, with its walls showing scars from bullets fired during the battle. Afterward, it served as headquarters for Union General John A. McClernand and a Union hospital. It is the only original structure still standing on the part of the battlefield that was here at the time of the Civil War. The surrounding area hasn't changed much, either, with ravines filled with vines and immense canebrakes, steep-sided ridges, deep and muddy road beds. Bridges have been added where once streams were forded. It's peaceful now but a visitor almost expects to hear the road of cannons at any moment. The A.K. Shaifer house is a last witness to history.
6. Bethel Presbyterian Church
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 1 reviews
