Indigenous people of the Mississippi delta region lived in Natchez from as back as the 8th century B.C. The Europeans descended here some 300 years ago, and changed the face of the city forever. Natchez grew in importance as a thriving port town and later became a cultural hotspot.
The Emerald Mound, on the Natchez Trace Parkway, houses Native American ruins while downtown Natchez has the largest concentration of antebellum mansions in the country—a visually stunning snippet of life as it was in the pre-Civil War era. Natchez has undergone more transformations than any other place in Mississippi. From a sacred ground of the Native Americans to a commercial hub run by the Europeans, the transformation of Natchez is nothing if it is not dramatic. Kudos to the city planners and the residents that they have lovingly preserved these different historical faces.
