Natchez

History

Established by French colonists in 1716, Natchez is one of the oldest and most important European settlements in the lower Mississippi River Valley. After the French lost the French and Indian War (Seven Years' War), they ceded Natchez and the surrounding territory to Great Britain in the Treaty of Paris of 1763. (It later traded other territory east of the Mississippi River with Great Britain, which expanded what it called West Florida.) The British Crown bestowed land grants in this territory to officers who had served with distinction in the war. These officers came mostly from the colonies of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. They established plantations and brought their upper-class lifestyle to the area.

Beginning in 1779, the area was under Spanish colonial rule. After defeat in the American Revolutionary War, Great Britain ceded the territory to the United States under the terms of the Treaty of Paris (1783). Spain was not a party to the treaty, and it was their forces who had taken Natchez from British troops. Although Spain had been allied with the American colonists, it was more interested in advancing its power at Britain's expense. Once the war was over, they were not inclined to give up that which they had acquired by force.

In 1797, Major Andrew Ellicott of the United States marched to the highest ridge in the young town of Natchez, set up camp, and raised the first American flag, claiming Natchez and all former Spanish lands east of the Mississippi above the 31st parallel for the United States.

After the United States acquired this area from the Spanish, the city served as the capital of the Mississippi Territory and then of the state of Mississippi. It predates Jackson by more than a century; the latter replaced Natchez as the capital in 1822, as it was more centrally located in the developing state. The strategic location of Natchez, on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River, ensured that it would be a pivotal center of trade, commerce, and the interchange of ethnic Native American, European, and African cultures in the region; it held this position for two centuries after its founding.

In U.S. history, Natchez is recognized particularly for its role in the development of the Old Southwest during the first half of the 19th century. It was the southern terminus of the historic Natchez Trace, with the northern terminus being Nashville, Tennessee. After unloading their cargoes in Natchez or New Orleans, many pilots and crew of flatboats and keelboats traveled by the Trace overland to their homes in the Ohio River Valley. (Given the strong current of the Mississippi River, it was not until steam-powered vessels were developed in the 1820s that travel northward on the river could be accomplished by large boats.) The Natchez Trace also played an important role during the War of 1812. Today, the modern Natchez Trace Parkway, which commemorates this route, still has its southern terminus in Natchez.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 13.9 square miles (36 km2), of which 13.2 square miles (34 km2) are land and 0.6 square miles (1.6 km2) (4.62%) is water. The physical characteristics that control land use within the municipality are the natural drains, which locals call 'bayous', and the network of deep ravines across the landscape. The elevation of the Mississippi River at Natchez is approximately 46 feet, and the river gauge reference point for Natchez is 17.28 feet. The Natchez bluffs are composed of strata that might indicate a later geological event that cut a trench into the bluffs depositing a soil variation.

Climate

Natchez has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) under the Köppen climate classification system.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 14,520 people, 6,028 households, and 3,149 families residing in the city. The median age was 43.2 years. 22.0% of residents were under the age of 18, and 22.7% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 83.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 78.9 males age 18 and over.

98.4% of residents lived in urban areas, while 1.6% lived in rural areas.

Of households, 26.3% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 26.7% were married-couple households, 21.4% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 46.3% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 39.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 7,901 housing units, of which 16.8% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 4.5%, and the rental vacancy rate was 10.4%.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 18,464 people, 7,591 households, and 4,858 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,398.3 inhabitants per square mile (539.9/km2). There were 8,479 housing units at an average density of 642.1 per square mile (247.9/km2).

In 2000, the racial and ethnic makeup of the city was 54.49% African American, 44.18% White, 0.38% Asian, 0.11% Native American, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.18% from other races, and 0.63% from two or more races. 0.70% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Economy

Adams County Correctional Center, a private prison operated by the Corrections Corporation of America on behalf of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, is in an unincorporated area in Adams County, near Natchez.

Education

Natchez is home to Alcorn State University's Natchez Campus, which offers the School of Nursing, the School of Business, and graduate business programs. The School of Business offers a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree and other business classes from its Natchez campus. The MBA program attracts students from a wide range of academic disciplines and preparation from the Southwest Mississippi area and beyond offering concentrations in general business, gaming management and hospitality management. Both schools in the Natchez campus provide skills which has enabled community students to have an important impact on the economic opportunities of people in Southwest Mississippi.

Copiah-Lincoln Community College also operates a campus in Natchez. Adams County is in the district of Copiah–Lincoln Community College and has been since 1971.

The city of Natchez and Adams County are in the boundary of one public school system, the Natchez-Adams School District. The district comprises ten schools. They are Susie B. West, Morgantown, Gilmer McLaurin, Joseph F. Frazier, Robert Lewis Magnet School, Natchez Freshman Academy, Natchez Early College@Co-Lin, Central Alternative School, Natchez High School, and Fallin Career and Technology Center.

In Natchez, there are some private and parochial schools.

Adams County Christian School (ACCS) is also a PK-12 school in the city. Adams County Christian School was founded as a segregation academy and is a member of the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools (MAIS). Cathedral School is also a PK-12 school in the city. It is affiliated with the Roman Catholic St. Mary Basilica. Holy Family Catholic School, founded in 1890, is a PK-3 school affiliated with Holy Family Catholic Church.

Media

Newspaper

The Natchez Democrat

Television

Natchez is among the television markets in Alexandria, Louisiana, and Jackson, Mississippi.

Transportation

Highways

U.S. 61 runs north–south, parallel to the Mississippi River, linking Natchez with Port Gibson, Woodville, Mississippi and Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

U.S. 84 runs east–west and bridges the Mississippi, connecting it with Vidalia, Louisiana, and Brookhaven, Mississippi.

U.S. 425 runs north from Natchez after crossing the Mississippi, connecting Ferriday with Clayton. At this point, U.S. 65 follows the west bank of the Mississippi, connecting to Waterproof north to St. Joseph, Newellton, and Tallulah, Louisiana.

U.S. 98 runs east from Natchez towards Bude and McComb, Mississippi.

Mississippi 555 runs north from the center of Natchez to where it joins Mississippi Highway 554.

Mississippi 554 runs from the north side of the city to where it joins Highway 61, northeast of town.

Rail

Natchez is served by the Natchez Railway, which interchanges with Canadian National.

Air

Natchez is served by the Natchez-Adams County Airport, a general aviation facility.

In popular culture

Various movies have been shot here, including The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1974), Crossroads (1986), Raintree County (1957), Horse Soldiers (1959), Rascals and Robbers: The Secret Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn (1981), The Ladykillers (2004), Get On Up (2014) and Ma (film) (2019).

In the opening narration of The Apartment (1960), C.C. Baxter mentions the company he works for "has 31,259 employees, which is more than the entire population of Natchez, Mississippi."

Ta-Nehisi Coates' 2019 novel, The Water Dancer, alludes constantly to the threat, in antebellum Virginia, represented to enslaved people by the possibility of being sold "down Natchez way," that is, into the harshest slavery.

Natchez (2025), directed by Suzannah Herbert, is a documentary that explores the unreconciled history of the city by following the lives of various people living and working in Natchez.

Historic sites

Post-classical through Early modern periods

Anna site

Grand Village of the Natchez