Prospect Hill Plantation

04/29/2026

James Belton shared a CD with his research into the Belton family with me. I have uploaded it to Google Drive. For anyone looking into Belton family genealogy should be able to access it here. If you have trouble, send a message and I'll try a different link.

Access Google Drive with a Google account (for personal use) or Google Workspace account (for business use).

01/30/2026

When The Archaeological Conservancy bought Prospect Hill, the front and back of the house were literally falling down. It was owned by someone who no longer lived there or had the means to take care of it. For years, he had resisted offers from people wanting to buy it. In 2011, he finally decided to sell it to us. Our intent was to preserve the archaeology of the grounds and to find someone who appreciated its importance and was willing to buy what we owned and restore the home. While we never intended to restore the house, we knew something drastic had to be done or the house would reach the point of no return. We began raising money for a new roof to halt the water damage. With the help of a $50,000 grant from the Mississippi Department of Archives and History and generous contributions from individuals from all over the country, we raised $114,000 for a new roof that was completed in 2017. That pretty much saved it for a while. Since then, we’ve tried to maintain it as best we could. We’ve had archaeology done on the grounds but nothing more has been done to the house. Even with the new roof, the house was needing attention again.
So now, I have some exciting news! I’m so happy to announce that The Archaeological Conservancy has sold Prospect Hill to Windell Weeden of Natchez. Windell, Steve Cook, and their family have done incredible work restoring historic homes in the Natchez area, including Meadvilla in Washington. They plan to do a complete restoration so Prospect Hill will again be beautiful. They’ve already removed the temporary porch, shored up the front, begun working on the brick piers, and will soon deal with the box gutters. They have a long way to go but they know what they’re doing. They’re wonderful people and I couldn’t be happier to end my time as steward of Prospect Hill by handing it over to them. It’s a special place to so many people for so many reasons. I wish Ann Brown were here to see it but I’m sure somehow, she will know. I want to thank every person who contributed to saving Prospect Hill and every person who offered words of encouragement over the years. To know so many people cared for a place that had so much going against it kept me going when the task of saving it seemed impossible. I especially want to thank the experts at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, the Mississippi Heritage Trust and the Historic Natchez Foundation. We were so lucky to always have them in our corner! I hope all descendants connected to Prospect Hill will support Windell and Steve and will be proud of what Prospect Hill becomes. I know in my heart that Prospect Hill has been saved. Of course, now the real work begins for the new owners. Please remember it is private property and respect their privacy while they work. They promised me I’m welcome there any time and I will do my best to keep this page updated with photos and continue to post genealogical information as often as possible. Y’all, we did it!!

09/06/2025

If you’re a Ross/Wade descendant, please watch this! You may be able to help identify one of the John Doe’s from the Battle of Camden in SC. Wade is one of the possible family names of the soldier, and as you know, the Wades related to Prospect Hill were from South Carolina.

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/19PaWHvqVk/?mibextid=wwXIfr

06/25/2025

Mississippi State, Department of Anthropology and Middle Eastern Culture’s’ curation field school students washed, analyzed, and curated over 9,000 artifacts from the Prospect Hill site this month! Now, they’re working to finalize the museum display of the artifacts. Tomorrow we will visit the Prospect Hill site. What a great month! They’ll be on display at the Cobb Institute of Archaeology Museum at MSU 🙂

06/05/2025

Second day of my Curation Field School for Prospect Hill! My students absolutely love washing hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of nails a day haha.

12/19/2024

Stay turned for exciting updates in 2025! Watch this clip for a glance of Isaac, the peacock who lived at Prospect Hill! Thanks so much for your interest in, and support of, Prospect Hill over the years!

10/16/2024

Today, as we were washing and analyzing artifacts from this summer’s excavation Prospect Hill plantation, we discovered this beautiful 1844 Half Dime! It’s in pretty great shape for how old it is!

08/16/2024

Inventory of Isaac Ross taken in March 1836, two months after his death.
Lot 1
Enoch 27, $1,200
Marilla 26, $900
Anna 7, $300
Matilda 5 $250

Lot 2
Grace 35, $1,00
??Pulis?? 15, $700
Levy 13, $700
Julia 9, $200
Peggy 5, $200
Virginia 3 200

Lot 3
Dunkie 40, $800
Hilpa 38, $500
Isaac 19. $1,000
??Masta?? 17, $1,000
Sarah 12, $500
Daphney 8, $400
Duncan 5, $300
Ni**od 3, $250
Emma 1, $100

Lot 4
March 52, $200
Rebecca 50 $200
Virgill 24 $300
Jeffery 17 $900
Hilpa 10 $350
Riley 6 $300

Lot 5
Dick 50 $200
Milly 50 $200
Yorkshire 23 $1000
Rachel and Child 3 yrs. Vinny 21 $800
Cynthia 15 $800
Rufus 13 $700
Essex 10 $700
Laurence 3 $200

Lot 6
Kitty 50 $200
Anthony 22 $1000
Tumba 17 $1000
Ephram 15 $600
Lozzetta 12 $500
August 8 $400
David 11 $300
Bunga 5 $300
Solomon 2 $200

Lot 7
?Esonum Lewis 28 $1000
Nancy Lewis 26 $800
Daniel Lewis 13 $600
Clarissa Lewis 10, $450
Eliza Lewis 8 $300
Jim or Jupiter Lewis 5 $300
Becky/Rebecca Lewis 3 $200
Sarah Lewis 3 $200
Peter Lewis 1 ½ $100

Lot 8
Sampson 32 $1000
F***y 28 $600
Patsy 10 $400
?Lucinda 7 $400
Bridget 5 $300
Rose 3 $200
Johnson 1 $100

Lot 9
Frederick 27 $1000
Sylla/Seylla 28 $800
Shaderick 4 $200
Milly 2, $100


Lot 10
Esau 38 $800
Peggy 33 $800
Jacob Thornton 16 $800
Adam 13 $800
Elsey 3 $200

Lot 11
Yeary 50 $500
Aggy 40 $500
Colusa 22 $900
Andrew 17 $900
Gilbert 15 800
Francis 12 $500
Henny, Henry (Hunny?) 10 $500
Samuel 8 $450
Murray 6 $350
Katharine 3 200
Pickney 1 $100

Lot 12
Plato 26 1200
Penny 22 750
Hilpa? 7 $350

Lot 13
Paris 26 $1200
Nelly 18 $800
Ambrose 3 $200

Lot 14
Peter 31, $1200
Sabinah 23, $800
Jerry 6, $300
Humphrey 4, $200
Miatta 1, $100

Lot 15
Scipio 55, $500
Harriet 55, $100
Cyrus 22, $1100
Alex the Great 11, $600

Lot 16
Baptiste 27, $1200
Mary 25, $800
Letty 6, $300
Lotty 6, $300
Baptiste jr. 2, $100

Lot 17
Dinah 52, $100
Mathew 16, $100

Lot 18
Louisa 45, $100
Bob 25, $900
Philis 24,
Rubin 18, $800
Abagail or April 16, $700

Lot 19
Frank 32, $1200
Phoeby 26, $800
Winney 6, $300
Amelia 3, $200
Nanny 1, $100

Lot 20
Horace 25, $100
Emily 20, $800
Monday 4, $200
Edmond 2, $100

Lot 21
Hampton 22, $1200
Henrietta 17, $800

Lot 22
Thomas 33, $2000
Linder 23, $900
Orange 5, $300
Susan 7, $300

Lot 23
Daphny 62, $100
Reason 20, $1000
F***y 15, $900
Jo(John) Walker 20 800

Lot 24
Jo (John) Walker 31, $1200
Jenny 21, $900
Martin 5, $300
Dinah 3, $200
Shelby 1, $100

Lot 25
Choctaw 27, $1,200
Harriett 23, $800
Mahala 3, $200

Lot 26
Hannibal 57, $300
Mariah 40, $300
Lucy 24, $0
Vincent 18, $1000
Corinth 16, $900
Alfred 17, $800
Murphy 36, $2000

Lot 27
Robert 37, $1000
Winney 31, $400
Cordelia/Cornelia 2, $100

Lot 28
Pascal 35, $1500
Sarah 25, $1000
Granville 5, $400

Lot 29
Lee ?Louis 34, $1200
Nancy or Nancy 29, $800
Eleanor/Ellender 12, $500
Emily 9, $400
Richard 4, $200
Lewis 1, $100

Lot 30
Sambo 45, $400
Lucy(Sibrey?) 34, $700
Bolen 17, $1,000
Wiley 15, $800

Lot 31
Abram 55, $100
Betsy 45, $50
Margaret 17, $900

Lot 32
Hector 66, $0
Jefferson 34, $600
William 18, $400
Frank 14, $700

198 Head Hogs $3 $594
193 Head Sheep $2.52 $482
36 Horses $100 $3600
109 Cattle $15 $1635
30 Young Steers $20 $600
16 Yoak Oxen $70 $1,120
5 Waggons $100 $500
1 Hearse Waggon (?) $200 $200
Mc????? Tools $100
Farming Utensils (?) $372
Buggy Waggon $50
1 Cutting Box $50

1 Lot of Books $100
1 Sofa $40
1 Doz Chairs $40
1 Book Case $30
1 Rocking Chair $10
1 Piano $50
2 Looking Glasses $40
2 Small Tables $10
Carpet & Rig $80
??????
Shovel & tongs $30
1 Side Board $40
2 Dozen Chairs $50
2 Sets Dining Tables $40
1 Lot Glassware $100
1 Lot of China $100
1 Carpet $50
And Irons ????
Shoval & tongs $30
1 Bed Set & Bedding $80
1 Sorbet (?) table $10
1 Secretary $20
1 Clock $10
1 Carpet & Rug $12
Andirons Shovels and tongs $8
1 Dozen Charis $10
5 Bed Stands Furnitures $50 $250
3 Bed Stands Furniture $25 $75
Whole Amt of Inventory $105,665 $103, 665

Inventory of personal property of Isaac Ross taken March 1836