Under-the-Hill Saloon (Natchez, Mississippi)

Photos © 2005 Leafworks

Under-the-Hill Saloon 25 Silver Street Natchez, MS 39120 601-446-8023 http://www.underthehillsaloon.com

“Once thieves, cutthroats, ladies-of-the-night and riverboat gamblers lurked in the shadows and trod the dusty streets. Up from the docks where the great river packets were tied they came – up Silver Street to the heart of the most notorious port on the river. Up from the river they came to the saloons and taverns seeking the pleasures these places provided – cheap whiskey, illicit love, or a winning hand at five-card stud… ” … set in the historic under-the-hill, this saloon has the old style western doors, and a friendly staff with its own set of loyal patrons. Good drinks and good service. A killer crawfish pie is also often available. Live bands on occasion and good times. Located next to the Mark Twain Guesthouse in case you don’t want to wander far from the bar. Just across the street is the Mississippi River so the view is spectacular. The casino is also just a wander down the road across the street. Rated: 4 1/2 stars.

Grand Village of the Natchez Indians

Natchez, Mississippi
by Leaf McGowan

Photos © 2005 Leafworks

Grand Village of the Natchez Indians 400 Jefferson Davis Boulevard Natchez, MS 39120 601-446-6502 A religious structure once stood atop the Temple Mound and housed bones of previous chiefs (called Suns). A sacred perpetual fire was kept in the Temple’s inner sanctum, symbolic of the sun, from which the royal family had descended. The 128-acre Grand Village site features a museum, a reconstructed Natchez Indian house, and three ceremonial mounds.

Two of the mounds, the Great Sun’s Mound, and the Temple Mound, have been excavated and rebuilt to their original sizes and shapes. A third mound, called the Abandoned Mound, has been only partially excavated. After three major archaeological excavations at the Grand Village by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, no more digging investigations are planned for the site. The unexcavated areas of the site will be preserved intact, representing a sort of “time capsule” from the Natchez Indian’s past.

The Natchez Indians inhabited what is now southwest Mississippi c. A.D. 700-1730, with the culture at its zenith in the mid-1500’s. Between 1682 and 1729 the Grand Village was their main ceremonial center, according to historical and archaeological evidence. French explorers, priests, and journalists described the ceremonial mounds built by the Natchez on the banks of St. Catherine Creek, and archaeological investigations produced additional evidence that the site was the place that the French called “The Grand Village of the Natchez Indians.” During the period that the Natchez occupied the Grand Village, the French explored the region and began to make settlements. Relations between the French and the Natchez were cordial at first but deteriorated beginning in 1716 until 1729, when the Natchez massacred the French garrison at Fort Rosalie. The French retaliated in such force in 1730 that the Natchez were forced to abandon their homeland.

Magnolia Grill (Natchez, Mississippi)

Photos © 2005 Leafworks

Magnolia Grill 49 Silver Street Natchez, MS 39120 601-446-7670 http://www.magnoliagrill.com/ Rating: 4 stars The Magnolia Grill is a nice little hole-in-the-wall restaurant right on the shore of the Mississippi River, conveniently located just angled across from the Isle of the Capris casino in historic Natchez, Mississippi.

Apparently a favorite of locals and the longest operating restaurant in the history of “Under-the-Hill” historic district of Natchez. Here you can find some of the finest Gulf seafood, crawfish, catfish, Angus steaks, and chicken. A little “pricey” for my tastes, but excellent food with average portions. Staff is extremely friendly and good service. Burgers and sandwiches ($8-10) and Meals average ($13-$40). I had the Crawfish etouffee’ … it was delicious and quite satisfying to the palate. Much recommended.

Under-the-Hill : Natchez, Mississippi

Natchez, Mississippi
“UNDER-THE-HILL”

In the 1830’s and 1840’s, the waterfront streets of Under-the-Hill Natchez were notorious, spilling over with boatmen, slave dealers, merchants, tavern keepers, warehousemen, and the riffraff that gave the landing its bawdy atmosphere. Under-the-Hill sat on a small strip of land that ran for several miles along the river below the town’s bluffs. Here steamships docked, brimming with passengers, cotton bales, and bountiful cargo.

Photos © 2005 Leafworks

Moored alongside were boats filled with enslaved humans bound for the Market in Natchez or for district plantations. Under-the-Hill’s northend trailed off into the swampy woods of the Devil’s Punch Bowl, a legendary haven for shady characters. Its southern end was a place of brothels, gambling dens, shacks, and shanties where respectable ladies and gentlemen seldom ventured. It’s busy midsection boasted sawmills, wharves, hotels, warehouses, a cotton oil mill, saloons, bars, boarding houses, even a villa estate and gardens. (source: William Johnson house information board - NPS)

Today, Under-the-Hill is an artsy area with a biker’s bar/ saloon, historical building fronts, restaurants, and the only current casino in Natchez - the Isle of Capris. Its a must stop visit for any visitors to Natchez.

Me and Erin walked down the hill and dined at the Magnolia Grill where she was so sweet to treat me to a Crawfish Etouffee lunch! Yummy! thank you. The restaurant was good, but very overpriced. Beautiful views of the Mississippi River.

After lunch, we proceeded back up the hill to State street to return to our car to venture to Four Corners where the slave block once resided where slaves were bought and sold. As we walked up the road, a bunch of turkey vultures were tearing apart a freshly killed armadillo in the road. It was a gruesome sight! (as well as a smelly one)

Forks of the Road (Natchez, Mississippi)

Forks of the Road Located one mile east of downtown Natchez at the junction of Liberty Road, St. Catherine Street, and D’evereux Drive (Hwy 61). The site is nothing more than a empty field behind a church with a series of Mississippi Department of Archives and History historical markers established by the Natchez Juneteenth Committee.

Photos © 2005 Leafworks

Its more or less a history lesson stop and a place to reflect on the lives of thousands of enslaved people who were traded, bought, and sold from 1830’s until 1863.

Slavery is central to American history. The labor of enslaved African Americans built much of the nation’s wealth and enabled it to gain its economic independence. The enslavement of people also challenged America’s fundamental committment to freedom. (source: Roadside historical marker)

The First Presbyterian Church of Natchez, Mississippi

Sunday, 19 June 2005
Natchez, Mississippi
by Leaf McGowan

After walking around the William Johnson house, we took a foot tour of the downtown area of Natchez following the trolley route that the trolleys take from the visitor center. We walked down State street, past the old town jail. Then up to the The First Presbyterian Church: Congregation organized in 1817. The Sanctuary was built in 1851. The Romanesque Revival rear addition was built in 1900 in honour of Joseph Stratton, Pastor, 1843-1903. The church and its companion manse on South rankin Street are two of the finest Federal style buildings in Mississippi. (source: historical marker) This church was beautiful! A nice drive-by if travelling through Natchez.

Long walk checking out antibellum homes and mansions, pre-civil war structures, and some incredible sites. Natchez is definitely a hotspot for historic sites!

William Johnson House

Natchez, Mississippi

William Johnson House
“The Barber of Natchez”
Our first stop off was the newly opened (February 2005) National Park Service monument “The William Johnson House”. I remembered fondly when co-workers of mine at the the Southeastern Archaeological Center talked about excavating this site. Now its a developed site. It’s nice seeing the full circle of one’s work.

Former Slave, Businessman, Patriarch, Diarist, and Slaveowner.
The commercial district of antebellum Natchez bustled with activity. The sounds of carriages, villagers, steamboats and livestock created a constant clamor. Streets that were alternately muddy or dusty were lined with hotels, churches, shops, and houses. Among the buildings located on State street was a two-family brick structure that contained both rented retail shop space and the home of the William Johnson family. Johnson rose from slavery to a position of middle-class prosperity during the heyday of the cotton kingdom economic boom. He hunted, gambled, bartered, picnicked with his family and recorded these events in an extensive journal. Although Johnson reaped the material benefits of his economic success, he still walked a fine line between the full rights of a white citizen and the bondage of slavery. (source: NPS information brochure)

Photos © 2005 Leafworks

From Slave to Master William Johnson was born the son of a mulatto slave woman in 1809. At the age of eleven, William was emancipated by his white slaveowner, alsom named William Johnson, who is presumed to be his father. The boy’s mother Amy and sistere Adelia had been freed at an earlier date. James Miller, a free black barber, trained young William as an apprentice.

Following completion of his training, Johnson purchased his first barbershop in Natchez in 1830. He would eventually own and operate three barbershops and a bath house in the city. Clients received services from Johnson himself, from free blacks hired by Johnson, from apprentices, and from slaves owned by Johnson. State laws concerning property ownership did not prohibit any free person from owning slaves, even if that person had formerly been a slave. In Johnson’s world, slaveownership was a signal of economic and social status. By reaching a certain level of financial success, Johnson was able to purchase slaves and profit from slave labor in his business, in his farm lands, and in his family’s home. (source: NPS information brochure) William Johnson probably kept a diary for much of the same reasons people do today: to record information, to which one might wish to refer in the future, to express oneself in private about matters of importance, and as a means of “talking to oneself” about life’s events. In addition, in the 19th century, the keeping of a diary was considered part of a cultured and educated life. (source: William Johnson house exhibit board)

Emerald Mound (Natchez, Mississippi)

EMERALD MOUND mile: 10.3 on the Natchez Trace Parkway Ancestors of the Natchez built this ceremonial mound about 1400. The nation’s second largest of its type, it covers nearly 8 acres. Only Monk’s Mound in Cahokia, Illinois, is larger. This 8 acre mound, constructed from a natural hill, was built and used from about 1300 to 1600 by the Mississippians, ancestors of the Natchez Indians. Unlike dome-shaped mounds constructed only for burials, Emerald Mound supported Temples, ceremonial structures, and burials of a complex society’s civic and religious leaders. (Source: sign post at Emerald Mound)

Natchez, Mississippi

Natchez, Mississippi
One of the oldest and most historic cities in the Deep South - is the beginning point of the cherished and loved Natchez Trace Scenic Parkway. This beautiful, scenic, and historic town gives the tourists a glimpse of what life was like when Cotton was King. Natchez has over 500 structures dating to the era before the Civil War. The start to visiting this town is best done at the Visitor Reception Center on Canal Street. One can get a glimpse of African-American history by visiting the William Johnson House and the exhibition at Forks of the Road where one of the South’s largest slave markets was located. The downtown district hosts numerous exquisite shops ranging from antiques to delicious restaurants. Natchez has a curious walking tour that begins at the Mississippi River.

Natchez Trace Parkway (the beginning) (Natchez, Mississippi)

Natchez Trace Parkway
We entered the Trace parkway around Port Gibson (Historic District) and went for a scenic ride down to Natchez State Park from there. Beautiful lush green trees and pristine wilderness well preserved along this “tourist-only” 444-mile byway - beautifully maintained and well kept. It took 67 years to construct.

The Natchez Trace Parkway is a National Park maintained scenic bi-way representing a historic voyage and storytelling of people on the move, of the age-old need to get from one place to another. This historic highway goes from Natchez, Mississippi through Alabama upwards to Knoxville, Tennessee. It tells the story of the Natchez, Chickasa, and Choctaw Indians who followed their traditional ways of life travelling this route following an old bison run.

It tells the story of French and Spanish peoples venturing into a new world and of a people building a new nation. The trace started out following a series of hunter’s paths that followed old Bison runs - these paths eventually evolved into a trail from the Mississippi over the low hills into the valley of the Tennessee. By 1733 the French knew the land enough to cartograph it and showed an Indian trail that ran from the Natchez to the Northeast.Source: sign post on Natchez Trace Parkway)

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