| Believed to have been the meeting place of the legislative body of the Mississippi Territory (1798-1817), Assembly Hall served in that capacity from the time of its construction c.1808 until 1811. Before it burned in 1993, it was one of the few surviving buildings from the territorial period in Mississippi, and was a remarkably intact example of Federal period architecture both on the exterior and the interior. It was also the sole known example remaining in Mississippi of a Natchez Trace tavern built specifically for commercial (rather than combined commercial-domestic) use. This building was listed on the National Register on 19 April 1978. It was completely destroyed by a fire in December 1993. It is included in 'The Architecture of Natchez before 1830,' in "Natchez before 1830" (1989) (p. 144) and "Lost Landmarks of Mississippi" (2002) (pp. 45-46) [HABS: MS-39 (three photographs – one exterior and two interior – made by Jack Boucher in April 1972)] |