Natchez, Mississippi

Natchez is the county seatand largest city within Adams County, Mississippi. One of Mississippi's oldest cities, it was founded in 1716, predating the current capital city -- Jackson -- by more than a century. Located along the Mississippi River, Natchez is the southern terminus of the Natchez Trace Parkway. The city is famous in American history for its role in the development of the Old Southwest, particularly with respect to its location on the Mississippi River.

Natchez is a state certified retirement location.

In 1716 the French founded Fort Rosalie, an outpost in the Natchez territory. French settlements and plantations were subsequently established.

In the late 18th century Natchez was the starting point of the Natchez Trace overland route, which ran from Natchez to Nashville, Tennessee through what is now Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee. Flatboatmen and keelboatmen (locally called "Kaintucks" because they were usually from what is now Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana) who floated their produce downriver, often sold their wares at Natchez, including their boats as lumber, then made the trek back north overland.

On October 27, 1795, the Spanish signed the Treaty of San Lorenzo, by which Natchez was surrendered to the United States. In 1798, when the Mississippi Territory was created by the Adams administration, Natchez became its capital. After 19 years as territorial capital, on 10 December 1817, Natchez became the first capital of the state of Mississippi. Though the capital was shifted to the more-centrally-located city of Jackson in 1822, over the course of the 19th century, Natchez became a town of strategic economic importance, due to its location on the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, developing into a bustling port for steamboats.

The Natchez region, along with the Sea Islands of South Carolina, pioneered cotton agriculture in the United States. Until new hybridized breeds of cotton were created in the early 19th century, it was uneconomical to grow cotton in the United States anywhere other than these two areas. Although South Carolina came to dominate the cotton plantation culture of much of the Antebellum South, it was the Natchez District that experimented with hybridization, making the cotton boom possible.

The terrain around Natchez on the Mississippi side of the river is rather hilly. The city sits on a high bluff above the Mississippi river and in order to reach the riverbank one must travel down a steep road to the landing called Silver Street. This is in marked contrast to the flat lowland found across the river surrounding the city of Vidalia, Louisiana. Natchez is known for its many Antebellum mansions and estates, built by 19th century plantation owners, who would often own farmland in Louisiana but locate their homes on the higher ground in Mississippi. Prior to the Civil War, Natchez had the most millionaires per capita of any city in the United States due to the large number of plantation owners who owned land across the Mississippi River but dwelt in large mansions in Natchez, making it arguably the wealthiest city in the nation at the time. Today the city boasts that it has more antebellum houses than anywhere else in the United States, partly due to the fact that during the American Civil War Natchez was spared the destruction of many other Southern cities, such as Vicksburg.

Population:

Population (year 2000): 18,464. Estimated population in July 2006: 17,162 (-7.1% change)

Males 8,293 44.9%

Females 10,171 55.1%

Median Age--38.2 Years

Ancestries: United States (7.3%), English (6.8%), Irish (6.1%), German (4.2%), Scotch-Irish (2.5%), Italian (2.2%).

Races in Natchez:

Black (54.5%)
White Non-Hispanic (43.9%)
Hispanic (0.7%)
Two or more races (0.6%)

Geographic:

Elevation: 230 feet

Land area: 13.2 square miles.

Population density--1283 per square mile--low.

Natchez-area historical tornado activity is near Mississippi state average. It is 118% greater than the overall U.S. average.

On 1/23/1969, a category 4 (max. wind speeds 207-260 mph) tornado 24.8 miles away from the Natchez city center killed 32 people and injured 241 people and caused between $50,000 and $500,000 in damages.

On 12/29/1969, a category 3 (max. wind speeds 158-206 mph) tornado 11.8 miles away from the city center injured 2 people and caused between $50,000 and $500,000 in damages.

In-Depth Facts and Figures as listed below, plus other information:

· Climate Charts

1. Average Temperature

2. Precipitation (Rain)

3. Humidity

4. Wind Speed (MPH)

5. Snowfall

6. Sunshine

7. Cloudy Days

· Tornado Activity History

· Hospitals & Medical

· Airports