Natchez, Mississippi

Friday, October 30 2014

While in Vicksburg we took a day trip to Natchez.  Natchez is about 70 miles downriver on the Mississippi.

Natchez is the only city and the county seat of Adams County.  It is named for the Natchez Native Americans who inhabited the area.  Natchez was settled by French Colonists in 1716; it is the oldest city on the Mississippi River.

We began our day at the Natchez Visitor Center...

We explored the exhibits of which many pertained to the cotton industry and the Natchez Indians.

cotton

 It was here that we gathered information and decided what to see.  Located within this Visitor Center is the Natchez National Park Visitor Center.  We picked up information from them as well.

Our first stop was at Bluff Park.  This is a very nice park with great views of the Mississippi River.  There is also a nice walking trail.  I'm sure, Becky and David, that you will enjoy it.

Just below this park lies Natchez Under-the-Hill...

19th century Natchez was split into two cities ~ "proper" and "improper."  Natchez proper was the town on top of the bluff, while Natchez improper was the boat landing beneath the bluff, or "under-the-hill."  Natchez Under-the-Hill was one of the rowdiest ports along the river; saloons, gambling and slave trading took place here. It was here that the keel boats, flatboats and later the steamboats docked.  The keel boats and flatboats were designed for down-river travel only.  When their destination of Natchez was reached, the boats cargo was unloaded; the boats were dismantled and the wood sold for firewood or lumber. The pilots of these boats began their long walks along the Natchez Trace to Ohio and other points north.  This is the southern most part of the Trace.  It ends in Memphis.

Natchez Under-the-Hill as it looks today...

Isle of Capri. now a casino and hotel

We visited the Rosalie Mansion; a historic pre-Civil War mansion.  It is significant for its Greek Revival style influence on antebellum architecture. During the Civil War it served as Union Headquarters for the Natchez area.   While the home is open for tours we were mainly interested in the grounds and the architecture of the home...

We then headed to Forks in the Road...

Forks of the Road was the second highest slave market in the United States.  The Y-intersection of Washington Rd./Natchez Trace, Old Courthouse Rd. and St. Catherine street housed Natchez's slave market after an 1833 ordinance prohibited the sale of slaves within the city's limits.  The Forks of the Road was a slave market but slave auctions were not conducted on the site; the area acted much more like a slave store than an auction house. The slave market operated until it was shut down and demolished by Union troops in 1863. 

shows routes of slave traders

these shackles, displayed in cement, are a reminder of a
terrible time in our nations history

The Grand Village is where we learned about the Natchez Indians...

The Grand Village was the main ceremonial center for the Natchez Indians, who lived in what is now southwest Mississippi as long ago as 700 AD.  The Natchez were the largest and strongest populations on the lower Mississippi when Louisiana was settled by the French.

examples of their basketry

the intricate circle and swirl pattern shows their high level of
cultural development at the time of European contact. These
ceramics were often found buried in the funeral mounds.

living quarters

burial mounds. reserved for the high ranking Natchez

Grand Village is on the National Register of Historic Places and is now used as pow-wow grounds.


Last, but not least, we visited the Natchez National Park...

The Melrose Mansion, a cotton plantation, was considered by many to be the finest home in all of the Natchez Region.  As Melrose was one of the most intact antebellum estates in the South, the National Park Service purchased the estate in 1990 to illustrate slavery and the antebellum plantar class.  Melrose along with Fort Rosalie (closed for renovations) and the William Johnson House form the Natchez National Park.

undergoing a face lift

this building was formerly the kitchen, now houses
the visitors center

this building housed the dairy

privy. so grateful for modern conveniences!

Virginia live oak. love these trees

sitting on the jostling board

slave quarters

cistern

lid on cistern

We then made our way to the William Johnson house...

Known as the Barber of Natchez, William Johnson was born into slavery; at age 11 he became a freed African American. It was shortly after he established a barber shop in downtown Natchez that he began to keep a diary.  The diary was a mainstay in his life until his death in 1851. It is from him we learn what life was like for a prominent freedman in Natchez.  Even though he was freedman, Johnson kept 16 slaves.  He was murdered in an ambush at the age of 42.

wall in his house

The home is along the Natchez Trail.  This walking trail leads through a literal trail of Natchez history as it winds through the historic residential and business
area.

We had such a nice day.  We're so glad that we took the time to visit this interesting city.  We fondly refer to it at the city of one-way streets.  There are more one-way streets here than in any other place we've visited.  It kept us on our toes!!

Til next time,
Dawn, Ron & Cooper