Under-the-Hill : Natchez, Mississippi
June 23rd, 2005 by leafworksNatchez, 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)
