MISSISSIPPI - Natchez on top of and "Under the Hill"

"Natchez Under the Hill" along the mighty Mississippi River
Natchez, Mississippi

For hundreds of years a settlement has looked down on the Mississippi on top of a bluff on the Mississippi side of the river. This place is called Natchez. From approximately 700 AD - 1700, Native Americans and eventually the powerful Natchez people occupied the top of the bluffs building what was known as the "Grand Village". This Mississippian culture constructed typical platform mounds but was different from Mississippian culture in that it had a complex nobility class led by a chief known as the "Great Sun". It was said that the Natchez at Grand Village could raise 1,500 warriors if necessary to defend the village. First European contact was likely Hernando DeSoto's expedition in 1542. Due to diseases brought by Europeans that decimated the tribes population and the Colonial conquest of the Natchez by the French, the Natchez people were dispersed and many of them were sold as slaves. In 1716 the French established Fort Rosalie on the Bluffs overlooking the Mississippi in order to control the Mississippi valley from a commerce and military standpoint. Over the years the garrison passed through French, British, Spanish and then finally American hands. By the late 1790's and early 1800's Natchez and it's landing "Under the Hill" along the Mississippi was known as the western trail head of the old "Natchez Trace" which in it's time was a super highway of trade between Natchez and Nashville, TN. The old "Trace" was a hazardous road where all kinds of thieves, scalawags, murderers and highway men would prey upon un weary travelers. Natchez "Under the Hill" was often stacked with steamboats lined at the dock and dozens of saloons along the narrow strip were full of riverboat gamblers, card sharks, women of ill repute, and all kinds of other unsavory characters. Present day Natchez is a fascinating old place. There are several Mississippian era mounds in the area including Emerald Mound which is the second largest such structure north of Mexico. Old Fort Rosalie is gone and on its approximate site, only a solitary historical sign makes mention of its existence. The city of Natchez has developed a beautiful park with a pavilion on the bluff with interpretive panels and fine views to the west. A stroll down old Silver Street to the "Under the Hill" Saloon is a good way to cap off a visit with a cold brew as there are great historic pictures on the walls of this old brick building from the riverboat era. You might also be able to strike up a conversation with a local about legends of the Natchez Trace or the rough and tumble character of Natchez Under the Hill.