Ty and Sonja Taylor were impressed by Natchez's historic ambiance the first time they visited the southwest Mississippi town about 15 years ago.
The Taylors were so impressed that they returned in 2000 and purchased the Burn, a historic home and bed and breakfast where they had stayed on their first visit.
"There's a tremendous amount of treasure in these older properties," Ty Taylor said. "We felt this town of Natchez did a terrific job of preservation."
Natchez borders the Mississippi River and boasts several antebellum homes, including the Burn, an 11,000 square-foot home built long before the Civil War. It is now listed as a National Trust Property.
The preservation of antebellum homes in Natchez does not reflect the wider trend elsewhere in the state, where steady construction of new homes is replacing worn-down historic structures.
In a few Mississippi communities, more than half the housing structures have been built during the last decade, according to newly released census information.
Olive Branch led the state in new housing starts. An estimated 67.7 percent of its 8,061 residential buildings were built during the 1990s, according to the Census Bureau "long form" survey of about 1 in 6 American households.
The Census Bureau survey included both occupied and vacant housing units. A housing unit may be a house, an apartment, a mobile home, a group of rooms, or a single room that is intended for occupancy as separate living quarters.
"It's not only just Olive Branch, but Southaven, Horn Lake, that whole area has seen tremendous growth," said Marty Milstead, chief executive officer of the Homebuilder's Association of Mississippi.
Outside of DeSoto County, the cities of Madison and Flowood also saw a more-than 50 percent increase in housing structures.
Statewide, there has been a steady growth in housing construction since the state's industry hit a low in the late 1980s, Milstead said.
"Our builders, especially in the latter part of the '90s, have done very well," Milstead said. He said the greatest growth has been in apartment complexes.
The areas with the most housing structures - Hinds, Harrison and Jackson counties - remained unchanged.
Natchez is in Adams County, which leads the state in older homes. Nearly 2,000 homes - 13.2 percent of the county's 15,175 homes - were built before 1940, according to the census data.
Natchez residents say there are at least 500 antebellum homes still intact in Adams County, and many are in Natchez's historic district.
"Today it's prestigious to live in a historic house in Natchez," said Mimi Miller, director of preservation and education at the Historic Natchez Foundation.
Only about 1,662 new homes were built in Adams County over the decade and Natchez's 2000 population of 18,464 is a loss of about 1,000 residents.
Miller says those numbers are misleading since the city is gaining part-time residents who live and work in urban centers like Jackson, New Orleans and Houston.
"Natchez is the state's … major heritage destination," Miller said. "Our tourism industry has evolved since the 1970s. It was seasonal; now it's year round."
She said other communities in the state are now working to revitalize inner cities that have declined in recent years. She pointed to Jackson's Farish Street district as an example of a dilapidated area that officials are now working to restore.
The Taylors have restored two historic homes in California. Ty Taylor said Natchez's warm climate and regulation drew them here.
Copyright 2002, Associated Press. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
