Natchez (Mississippi)

Natchez (Mississippi), city, seat of Adams County, southwestern Mississippi, on the bluffs above the Mississippi River; incorporated 1803. It is a shipping and manufacturing center situated in an area where cattle are raised and cotton, timber, petroleum, and natural gas are produced. Major products include tires, paper, metal items, textiles, processed food, and chemicals. Tourism is also important to the city's economy. Natchez is the site of the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians, including burial mounds and a museum, and a number of fine antebellum homes. The French built Fort Rosalie on the site of a Natchez village here in 1716. Natchez was the capital of the territory of Mississippi (1798-1802) and the first state capital of Mississippi (1817-21). The settlement grew because of its strategic position on the river and as the southern terminus of the Natchez Trace. Population 22,015 (1980); 19,460 (1990); 18,464 (2000); 16,966 (2005 estimate).