Natchez, Established in 1716 as Fort Rosalie, it survived a massacre (1729) by Natchez Indians for whom it was later named. Natchez is the oldest city on the Mississippi River
It passed from France to England in 1763 at the conclusion of the French & Indian War and was a haven for loyalists during the American Revolution.
In 1779 it was captured by a Spanish expedition under Bernardo de Glvez and remained under Spanish dominion until 1798 when the United States took possession and made it the first capital (1798–1802) of the Mississippi Territory.
During the ensuing years it burgeoned as and cultural centre of a vast and rich area. During the American Civil War It was bombarded by a Union gunboat and was occupied in July 1863.
Rosalie Mansion - In 1716 the French built a fort on the bluffs of Natchez and named it Rosalie in honor of the Countess of Pontchartrain. In 1820 Peter Little, who came to Natchez from Pennsylvania in 1798 at the age of 17, purchased a portion
of that land on which to build his home. He decided to keep the name Rosalie in honor of the fort and its settlers.
Rosalie in 1823, and Peter and Eliza moved into their new home. Even though they never had children of their own, the sound of children filled their home for many years. In 1816 Eliza helped found the Natchez Childrens Home, and many of those children found a loving home at Rosalie.
Antebellum is a term that means, before the war, so, in the case of Mississippi, it would mean before the Civil War. The homes built in the deep South before the Civil War were some of the largest, most homes ever built.
The homes are built in the Greek/Classical Revival or Federal Style and are characterized by pillars, large porches (often both porches and balconies), gabled roofs, and symmetrical, evenly spaced windows. Inside, the homes are very grand, with large entryways, sweeping staircases, and formal interior design styles, incorporating old South antiques and pieces imported from Europe .
In the 1810s there were 20 boats on the river; by the 1830s there were more than 1200. By the 1820s, with the Southern states joining the Union and the land converted to cotton plantations to methods were needed to move the bales of cotton, rice, timber, tobacco, and molasses. The steamboat was perfect. America boomed in the age of Jackson. Population moved west, and more farms were established. In the 1820s steamers were fueled first by wood, then coal, which pushed barges of coal from Pittsburgh to New Orleans.
