ABOUT US
MISSION STATEMENT
The Natchez Historical Society is a historical preservation organization, founded in 1954, and open to the public.
Our mission is to serve as a resource for the research, development, presentation, remembrance, and understanding of the formative history of the Natchez area.
Our mission to facilitate the memory and knowledge of the Natchez area’s history covers all the eras of its past, from pre-Colonial times to the modern. We are vitally interested in all the peoples who have made this place their home or sojourned here and made it what it has been and has become today. These include, among many others: native-Americans; European explorers; frontier settlers; planters; African-Americans, including the enslaved; merchants; soldiers; educators; artists and writers; as well as English, French, German, Irish, Italian, and Jewish immigrants.
We provide a forum for individuals interested in the history of the Natchez area to come together and share the exploration of our regional history with one another, scholars, and other experts. We aim for the end result of our work to be an understanding and appreciation of the opportunities, problems, and solutions of community-living during the Natchez area’s entire known history.
We hope that our achieving this aim on a continual basis will help animate the civic life of our region to make knowing choices in supporting the quality of life of all its citizens.
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Regular meetings of the Society include lectures and discussions held at the Historic Natchez Foundation, located at
108 South Commerce Street. Such events are scheduled on the fourth Tuesday of the months of January, February, March, April, May, September, October, and November. Notices of meetings are published in the local newspaper, on social media and also sent to members.
Our Annual Meeting occurs in January. Highlights include a respected speaker and the presentation of the Society's Historical Preservation Award.
In 2020, the Mississippi Historical Society selected the Natchez Historical Society to receive its 2020 Frank E. Everett, Jr. Award for outstanding contributions to the preservation and interpretation of local history.
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Recipient of the 2023-2024 Speaker Series grant from the Mississippi Humanities Council
THE SOCIETY
President, Karen Hill
Vice Pres., Adam Gwin
Secretary, Virginia Benoist
Treasurer, Al King
Collections, Norma Bearden
Hospitality, Cindy Galloway
Publicity, Roscoe Barnes III
Programs, Daye Dearing
Membership, Norma Bearden
Immediate Past President,
Maria Bowser
Board Members
Letter from the president
Hello,
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We are delighted to welcome you to the Natchez Historical Society. We are proud of our legacy as the oldest continuous settlement on the Mississippi River. Our organization is dedicated to promoting the study of the Old Natchez District, including the rich history of Natchez and Adams County, Mississippi. We offer popular educational programs throughout the year on notable people and events, that have impacted the historic character of Natchez. We also work with local officials to ensure the preservation of and accessibility to records and archives of the Old Natchez District. We hope you enjoy this website, and we appreciate your interest in Natchez and the surrounding region. We invite you to attend our monthly programs and consider becoming a member of the Natchez Historical Society.
Thank you.
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Sincerely,
Karen Krueger Hill
President, Natchez Historical Society
