About this city
Also known as: The Town Too Beautiful to Burn
Commanding a spectacular position along the historic Natchez Trace and Bayou Pierre in southwestern Mississippi, Port Gibson is the county seat of Claiborne County and one of the state's oldest communities. Chartered in 1803, the town developed rapidly into a wealthy commercial center for cotton plantation trading and riverboat shipping commerce. Port Gibson achieved enduring architectural fame during the Civil War; as Union General Grant marched through in 1863, he famously declared the town 'too beautiful to burn,' sparing its grand Greek Revival churches and mansions from destruction. Today, the town functions as an enchanting, deeply poignant open-air museum of the Old South, tightly preserving its stunning historic residential streets while offering access to monumental archaeological ruins.
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Practical Tourism Metadata
Suggested stay: 1 day
Photograph the massive columned ruins of the grand 1861 Windsor Ruins, a colossal plantation house destroyed by fire. Walk down the historic, oak-shaded streets of Church Street to see the golden hand pointing toward heaven atop the First Presbyterian Church. Tour the adjacent Grand Gulf Military Park to explore Civil War trenches.
