Natchez

FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2020

I determined that I would get a lay of the land, so to speak, on Friday morning. The weather was cool and drizzly, with the high temperature forecasted to be in the mid-50s. My first stop following the fitness club was the Natchez Visitor’s Center, which was a very good decision. (Incidentally, a $10/day visitor’s pass provided me access to all of the fitness center equipment as well as their shower facilities, which was a great deal for me since I was experimenting with sleeping in my truck on this trip.)

The folks at the Visitor Center were incredibly hospitable and helpful. I paid a nominal fee to watch a brief film about the history and important cultural aspects of Natchez, and then explored the impressive photographic overview of the area tastefully displayed in their lobby. It was well done, and I picked some important clues about the culture and values of the people there. Still more useful, though, was their guidance on getting a tour of the area. Several different tours are available. However, on a cold, drizzly day in January there are few takers, and so selection was down to a choice of one. I don’t know how good the other tours are, but I was very pleased with mine. It was Rev’s Country Tours. The service is so named because my tour guide, the Reverend Tracy Collins is the proprietor and operator of the business. Aside from the Natchez Visitor’s Center, the Rev can be contacted at PO Box 308, Lorman, MS 39096.

I was the only person on the tour, so I had ample time to ask questions and get to know my guide. Among the highlights of my tour were: The Grand Village of the Natchez Indians, a drive-by-with-description of several historic homes and neighborhoods, the “Forks of the Road” Slave Market site, King’s Tavern (the oldest and reputedly most haunted building in Natchez), the home of Mississippi Madame Nellie Jackson, Natchez Cemetery, and old Natchez Under the Hill. A lot of information was packed into a couple of hours, and – even with a generous tip – the tour cost less than $50. It informed the rest of my visit to the area, and it was worth every penny.

Natchez is the county seat and the only city of Adams County, Mississippi. It is located about 90 miles southwest of Jackson, the capital of Mississippi has a total population of about 18,000 people. It’s across the Mississippi River from Vidalia in Concordia Parish, Louisiana. The city of Natchez was a prominent city in the antebellum (post-Civil-War) years, a center of cotton planters and Mississippi River trade. Today, the city contains about 8,000 households and the average household size is 2.4 people. The median income for a household in the city was $25,117, as of the 2000 census, and the median income for a family was $29,723, leaving 28.6% of the population and 25.1% of families below the poverty line. 41.6% of those under the age of 18 and 23.3% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line as of that census year.

I invested the bulk of the afternoon on Friday in photographing the Natchez Cemetery. Since it was dark and cloudy well into the afternoon, the weather seemed about right for that subject, and I had a lot of fun. I am no expert on cemeteries, but this one is incredible. Tons and tons of graves with ornate, intricate tombstones and family plots. Beautiful deteriorating stones and brickwork as well as gorgeous wrought iron fencing and gates are everywhere. Hundreds of pieces of statuary, and live oaks with Spanish moss. Sections for everyone – an Irish-Catholic section, a Jewish section, a Confederate soldier section; it just goes on and on.

Some very unusual graves too, including that of Florence Irene Ford. This grave contains the casket of a 10-year-old girl whose mother insisted that a stairway be included, so that she could descend those stairs and see the casket each day through a window built into the side of the grave. The window has been walled off, so it’s no longer possible to view the casket. But the stairway remains, now littered with Barbie dolls and other memorabilia dropped off there by well-meaning visitors. If ever there was a haunted cemetery, I’m pretty sure this one would qualify as a top candidate.

Setting aside the incredible graves and statuary, though, the sheer landscape is worth the trip. If you ever visit Natchez, the cemetery is a must-see!

Friday evening, I had dinner at one of the restaurants along Natchez-Under-the-Hill, called Magnolia Grill . I had two excellent meals in Natchez, and the best one was here. I had a filet (the most expensive item on the menu, as I recall) – and it was excellent. It was a generous cut, and the chef knew how to get a very thick cut of meat perfectly done without butterflying it. Absolutely mouth-watering! The visit also provided me with an opportunity to grab a couple of shots of Natchez-Under-the-Hill as I departed in the evening. The Magnolia Grill is located at 49 Silver Street, Natchez, MS 39120.

Natchez-Under-the-Hill was a raucous boat landing beneath the bluff on the bank of the Mississippi. Described by nineteenth-century travelers as one of the rowdiest ports on the Mississippi River, this port hosted keelboats, flatboats, and – beginning in 1811 – steamboats. Taverns, gambling halls, and brothels lined the streets. Slaves were sold at the landing on Natchez-Under-the-Hill, as well as on the city streets and at the Forks of the Road, the second largest slave market in the South. When the steamboat began to be replaced by the railroad, Natchez Under-the-Hill became a sleepy river port whose primary commerce was the ferry that provided transportation to and from Louisiana. Finally, in 1940, the construction of a bridge across the Mississippi River made Natchez Under-the-Hill a veritable ghost town. The remaining half-dozen businesses there serve primarily as a historic landmark.

All weekend, beginning Friday evening, I paused along the road when I saw a building (commercial or residential) that I felt displayed the kind of character that revealed a story through its own dereliction. They also tell a broader story in aggregate, a story about the once fantastically wealthy city of Natchez that fell disastrously from grace as the cotton industry imploded, and left an entire swath of America in decay and ruin.