Natchez

Natchez, capital of Adams county, Mississippi, is on the east bank of the Mississippi River, 214 miles by rail and about 280 by water NNW. of New Orleans. It is built mainly on a high bluff, looking out far over the cypress swamps of Louisiana; the part of the city along the bank, where the heavy shipping business (mainly in cotton) is transacted, is known as Natchez-under-the-Hill. The public buildings include a Roman Catholic cathedral and a United States marine hospital. Natchez, which was settled by the French in 1716, derives its name from a former tribe of Indians (see MOUND BUILDERS). Pop. (1870) 9057; (1880) 7058; (1890) 10,101.