There’s a place in the heart of Jackson where walkers wave, students ride their bikes to school, and neighbors discuss Daylilies and Camellias from their front porch. If your windows are open at the end of the day, you may hear a neighbor practicing an instrument. If you're out for a walk, you very well may find a plein air painter set up on your block capturing a beautiful home. This is Greater Belhaven—two neighborhoods, Belhaven and Belhaven Heights. Once the Moody Estate, the land that now encompasses these two neighborhoods became home to Col. James S. Hamilton, who named it for the Scottish land of his kin, “Belhaven” translating in Scots-Gaelic to “Beautiful Bay”. From there, mansions rose beside cottages inhabited with doctors, artists, professors, musicians, tradesmen, attorneys and students. These homes reflected a range of architecture styles from Craftsman, Tudor, and Federalist to humble bungalows.

Greater Belhaven is anchored by the quiet green of its three neighborhood parks-Laurel Street, Belhaven, and Belhaven Heights-linked by miles of biking, walking and jogging trails and protected by the state’s two largest hospital systems. Twice listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it is the largest historic district in Mississippi. Some of our neighbors were born in the homes they live in now and many enjoy living the same house built or owned by their ancestors. Like anywhere in the South, acquaintances circle a conversation until they identify their connection, but in Belhaven, that dance is done more specifically, with our homes. Two neighbors meeting for the first time, won’t carry on until they’ve placed each other by address, more often than not identified by the names of past families “Oh, you’re in the Greens’ old place?” Further, often when our neighbors travel beyond Jackson and are asked where they are from, they’ll say "I live in Belhaven"—because the name alone carries its own weight and sense of place.

We invite you to join the magic here in Greater Belhaven. Visit for a stay at the Fairview Inn, a jewel of a Colonial Revival mansion turned four-diamond hotel, a show at New Stage, our professional regional theatre, dinner and a drink at the vibrant Belhaven Town Center. Even better, find a home to make your own, and stay forever.