The oldest settlement on the Mississippi River. 
During the late 1700's, and into the 1900's, Under-The-Hill was
comprised of a wide flat area that extended several hundred yards
from the Mississippi River to beneath a high bluff on which Fort
Rosalie once stood, and on which the city of Natchez was later
built.
As trade opened on the Mississippi River, Natchez Under-The-Hill
began to grow. Houses, businesses, and warehouses appeared. The
Bluff City Railway built parallel tracks leading from the landing
up the bluff, to Natchez, for ease in transporting goods.
Enterprising individuals, equipped with only a cart and mule,
hauled freight from the landing to any part of the city for about
50 cents. By 1885 a mule-drawn trolley ferried passengers up and
down Silver Street, to the top of the bluff. A ferry was
established that linked Under-The-Hill with the small town of
Vidalia, Concordia Parish, LA, across the river.
For many years, Under-The-Hill was the busiest port between Ohio
and New Orleans.
The reputation of Under-The-Hill was, in part, less than
desirable. Arriving with the cotton, mail, coal, and molasses were
drunks, bandits, murderers, and other rabble-rousers who, each
evening, frequented the brothels, bars, and taverns that dotted
Silver Street. Fist and knife fights were considered the norm, and
muggings, shootings, and murders were a regular occurrence. One or
more murders per evening were not unusual.
Inevitably, port traffic at Under-The-Hill began to subside.
When the packet companies began to realize that passenger travel
accounted for less revenue than freight, scheduled passenger
excursions began to decline. Eventually, the railroad became the
primary means of transportation. Travel by rail was much faster
than the slow cumbersome paddle-wheelers, and much safer. Also,
freight did not have to be transported to and from the Mississippi
River. It could travel overland, cutting off up to hundreds of
miles on a journey.
The final decline of Under-The-Hill occurred after 1930, when
the US Army Corps of Engineers cut of an upstream loop causing the
river current to move faster and stronger than ever. The endless
battering on the soft loess soil created a steady erosion of the
landing, and the bluff behind it.
All that remains today, of Under-The-Hill, is the lone Silver
Street and one row of restored brick and wood buildings. Little
remains as evidence of it's century of importance as a port, or of
it's wild and bloody nights.
The cache is a Lock-n-Lock with a few nice items for FTF choice.
Enjoy your visit
BE CAREFUL WHERE YOU PARK YOUR VEHICLE. SOME PARKING AREAS
ARE LOCKED AT NIGHT.
Hint: Park up top
