Natchez in Adams County, Mississippi — The American South (East South Central)

St. Catherine Creek

Photographed by Cajun Scrambler, May 27, 2017

1. St. Catherine Creek Marker

Inscription. In the early 1700's, French colonists established a plantation called the "St. Catherine Concession" on this creek about two miles upstream from the Grand Village. The name was applied to the creek during the French colonial period in the Natchez area.

For the Natchez Indians, St, Catherine Creek supplied water for drinking and bathing. Gravel and early clay deposits provided materials for tool-making and pottery.The stream was also used for transportation in small, wooden dugout canoes.

When the Natchez Indians knew the creek, it flowed into the Mississippi River almost 10 miles south of its present outlet. In the late 1800's, landowners downstream from the Grand Village excavated a new channel to divert the creek away from the plantations and into the Mississippi River just south of Natchez. This drastic change in the stream's rate of descent to the level of the Mississippi River quickly led to serious erosion problems upstream from the new channel. The creek's accelerated flow caused it to cut deeply into its bed; subsequent caving along its banks widened the channel. Today St. Catherine Creek continues to erode its bed during periods of heavy rainfall.

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This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Colonial Era • Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Waterways & Vessels.

Location. 31° 31.374′ N, 91° 22.687′ W. Marker is in Natchez, Mississippi, in Adams County. It can be reached from Jeff Davis Boulevard near South Temple Road. Located inside the Grand Village of the Natchez. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 400 Jeff Davis Boulevard, Natchez MS 39120, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Southwest Mississippi and in Natchez Trace Corridor.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Deep South,

and in the Great River Road Region.

Globally, it is in North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the Viceroyalty of New France,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this

Photographed by Cajun Scrambler, May 27, 2017

2. St. Catherine Creek Marker

marker: Historic Use of Ceremonial Mounds (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); Conflict with the French (about 600 feet away); Native Structures (about 600 feet away); Historic Plaza (about 600 feet away); Three Archaeological Excavations (about 600 feet away); Road to Fort Rosalie (about 700 feet away); Historical Archaeology - the Chief's House and Temple (about 700 feet away); Abandoned Mound (about 700 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Natchez.

More about this marker. Located inside the Grand Village of the Natchez. Free to enter.

Also see . . . Grand Village of Natchez Indians. Mississippi Department of Archives and History website entry (Submitted on July 30, 2017, by Cajun Scrambler of Assumption, Louisiana.)

Credits. This page was last revised on September 9, 2025. It was originally submitted on July 30, 2017, by Cajun Scrambler of Assumption, Louisiana. This page has been viewed 1,054 times since then and 69 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on July 30, 2017.