Natchez Under-the-Hill

Natchez Under-the-Hill is the riverfront district below the bluff, reached by a steep road or the grand staircase from the top. Where it was once a rough and violent waterfront settlement, today it is a quiet strip of a few restaurants and bars, with the river just beyond the levee. The Silver Street Saloon and a handful of other establishments keep the block alive in the evening.

The real reason to come down is the river itself: the Mississippi at Natchez is nearly a mile wide, and watching it from the waterfront — the brown water moving fast, barge traffic passing, the occasional casino boat — puts the town's history in perspective. The view back up to the bluff with the columned mansions visible above is striking. Come at sunset if you can.

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A story
In the early nineteenth century, Natchez Under-the-Hill was one of the most notorious places on the Mississippi — a strip of taverns, gambling dens, and brothels that catered to flatboat men who had just sold their goods and had money to burn. Brawls were routine, river pirates operated openly, and the smell apparently was extraordinary. One traveller in 1805 called it 'the under world of Natchez.'

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