An afternoon tour across the river from Vidalia to Natchez. Natchez sits 217 feet above the river on a bluff.

In my last blog, I told the story about how it became part of the USA in 1796 by Andrew Ellicott place an American flag marking the most western territory of the USA.

Our visit is to the Ellicott Hill House which is located where the flag was placed in 1798. This house was also built in 1798 and is the oldest house in Natchez. The Natchez Ladies garden club bought the house in 1934 to preserve it and the history. A quick tour through the building shows furniture and fixtures from the era.

A delicious part of this tour is eating Hot Tamales! Did you know the Delta Tamales are very popular along the Mississippi River. There is even a Tamale Trail which runs on the River Road. We are provided a recipe for making the tamales and an overview of the Natchez native people -a sad story – the French wiped them out. The Garden Club Ladies provided us with a sampling of the Delta Tamales.

Now for some information about Natchez. During the Civil War, they made a deal with Grant’s Army to let the Union Officers live in the first floor of their homes while the family’s lived on the second floor. The Rosalie Home built in 1820 was headquarters for Ulysses S Grant starting in 1863. Because Natchez doesn’t flood, the plantation owners from all around built their opulent mansions here. There are over 40 mansions still standing. Natchez became the largest exporter of cotton in the world in the early 1800’s. While we didn’t tour the homes, we drove around catching glimpses of some of these grand homes. In the 1850’s more millionaires per capita lived in Natchez than anywhere else in the US including New York.

Several church’s, a basilica, and a synagogue are still standing from the 1830’s. Guess which is which!

Quaint carriage tours and a walk around Main Street were available but we did not have any time to participate.

Back across the bridge to Vidalia and our ship. Storms are coming in!