The Kyle House Restoration Project: Before and After

Pictured is the Kyle House at the corner of Rankin and High Streets.

The nineteenth-century history connected to this house highlights the life of a free African American family in antebellum Natchez. The house was probably built before 1825 by Christoper H. Kyle for his enslaved servant Nancy. In 1827, when Kyle made his will, he left the house to Nancy and directed his executors to arrange for the freedom of Nancy and her three children by taking them to a non-slave state and bringing them back to Natchez. In addition to the house, Kyle bequeathed $1,000 to Nancy and her daughter Caroline Kyle.

HNF partially restored the Kyle House in 1981 to preserve it and later transferred ownership to a new owner who completed the restoration. HNF celebrates Preservation Month through highlighting the intrinsic connections of places and stories. We are proud that the house remains and continues to interpret the many stories of antebellum Natchez.