NOTE: You will find on this page the photographs of Sher Hogue. It is an honor to be allowed to use them. To enjoy more of Sher Hogue's Natchez photos, visit Sher Hogue's gallery. You will not be disappointed in the work of this excellent photographer!

In the year 1716, the French established a fort in the territory of the Natchez tribe. There were frequent encounters between the European settlers and the Natchez, who were influenced by the British to fight against the French settlers. On November 28, 1729, the Natchez attacked and killed 138 Frenchmen, 35 women and 56 children in Mississippi’s worst loss of human life resulting from an Indian attack. As a result, the Natchez tribe was annihilated with the exception of a relatively small number of tribe members who escaped and joined the Creeks and Cherokees.

In the late 1700s, Natchez was the starting point of the Natchez Trace, an overland route to points north. Riverboat men would pilot their craft to Natchez, sell its cargo, sell the shallow draft boat and head home overland, along the Natchez Trace.

On October 27, 1795, the Spanish signed the Treaty of San Lorenzo surrendering Natchez to the United States. The Mississippi Territory was created in 1798 with Natchez as its capital. After serving 19 years as the territorial capital, Natchez became the capital of the state of Mississippi when statehood was attained in 1817. In 1822, Jackson, being more centrally located, became the state capital.

Natchez became a bustling port capable of facilitating steamboat traffic. Through Natchez and its dock known as Natchez Under the Hill, local cotton crops were shipped to all points along the Mississippi River and indirectly around the world.

On May 7, 1840, the second deadliest tornado in US history struck Natchez, killing a total of 317 persons. Many of the dead were on flatboats on the Mississippi River at the time the storm struck.

Natchez eventually became Mississippi’s wealthiest city, with more millionaires per capita than any other Mississippi city. It was arguably the wealthiest city in the nation at one time. It is home to more antebellum structures than any place in the US.

During the Civil War, Natchez saw little of the action experienced by other Southern cities. It was occupied by the Union in 1863. General Ulysses S. Grant set up his headquarters in Rosalie Mansion. The town was spared the horrors of war that fell upon cities like Vicksburg and Jackson.

In spite of its peaceful co-existence with its occupying enemy, there were those citizens of Natchez who were defiant of the Union’s rule. In 1864, the Roman Catholic bishop, William Henry Elder, of the Diocese of Natchez defied a federal order that dictated that he should compel his parishioners to pray for the President of the United States. He refused. Union troops arrested the Bishop and he was sentenced to serve time in Vidalia, Louisiana, located across the river from Natchez. He was eventually released and returned to his duties as a bishop, where he stayed until 1880. In 1880, he was selected to be the archbishop in Cincinnati, Ohio!

In time, the railroad would bring about a decline in business among most river ports and Natchez was no different. By that time, Natchez had already earned its place in history.

In 1940, a century after the deadly Natchez Tornado, 209 people died in a fire at the Rhythm Night Club. This fire has been noted as the fourth deadliest fire in U.S. history.