NATCHEZ, Miss. – The mayor and aldermen fielded complaints Tuesday about conditions at North Natchez Park and its historic renovated Youth Center.
“We’ve been neglecting the park for a while now,” said Alderman Billie Joe Frazier. While he insisted the Youth Center “is in shambles,” Mayor Dan Gibson said he received “a glowing review” from those who’ve recently used it.
Discussions about North Natchez Park were prompted by grievances initiated by James Jones during Tuesday’s meeting of the mayor and Board of Aldermen. Complaints about park conditions come three years after the city renovated its Youth Center at a cost of nearly $1 million. New playground equipment was also installed at the park located by Martin Luther King and Wilson roads.
However, Frazier and Alderman Valencia Hall expressed concerns about water-plumbing problems, overgrown weeds and grass there. While Gibson said city recreation staffers will assess the park conditions, he noted maintenance can be performed only as the budget and priorities allow.
North Natchez Park’s amenities include the new playground along with tennis and basketball courts, a large pavilion for gatherings and the renovated Youth Center. That century-old structure has been listed by the state Department of Archives & History as a Mississippi Landmark also known as the Anchorage Farm House.
The park site was originally part of Anchorage Plantation, then sold as a livestock farm to Melchior Beltzhoover around 1915, according to historical accounts compiled by city officials and state historians. The structure was likely built then to serve as the farm manager’s residence.
“The circa 1915 farm house is the last known (existing) building of the Anchorage Stock Farm, a cattle farm that pioneered Mississippi’s modern cattle and dairy industry,” states a Department of Archives & History report.
“Beltzhoover was pivotal in the early promotion of cattle farming in the state. In 1922, Beltzhoover’s son inherited the Anchorage Stock Farm. Due to the close proximity to Natchez, and trying to mimic the success of Brookhaven’s dairy industry, Beltzhoover spearheaded a movement to open a creamery for the city. While this creamery venture didn’t come to fruition, it did spark statewide interest and increased local dialogue in regard to the benefits of cattle and dairy farming. Beltzhoover eventually lost the farm in 1936, but it continued in operation until 1958.”
The park site became the property of the Natchez-Adams County school system in 1959 to build the old Anchorage school campus for Blacks. In 1974, the property was divided – giving the city control of the park property and Youth Center building with the school board maintaining the school building. During segregation, the park and former farm house served as a popular gathering spot for the Black community that was barred from other public venues. The building over time fell into disrepair until its 2023 restoration.
For more information and photos of the North Natchez Youth Center building, log onto the Department of Archives & History’s website:
www.apps.mdah.ms.gov/upload/rptdocs/prop/2145910970/ML%20Anchorage%20Farm%20House%20report%2001-08-2024.pdf
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