Finally acting on the Treaty of San Lorenzo, Spain evacuated Natchez, ending the Spanish colonial period of Mississippi history.
Link to the catalogMarch 1798: Spain evacuates Natchez
Town and Fort of Natchez
April 7, 1798: Congress establishes Mississippi Territory
Mississippi Territorial Seal
Including portions of present-day Alabama and Mississippi, the territory was governed by a ruling council comprising a governor, secretary, and three judges (patterned after the 1787 Northwest Ordinance).
May 1798: President John Adams appoints Winthrop Sargent first territorial governor
A Massachusetts-born Federalist, Sargent served in the Revolutionary War and as secretary of the Northwest Territory.
October 1798: Coles Creek Church established in Woodville
Woodville Baptist Church
Known today as Woodville Baptist Church, it is one of Mississippi’s oldest churches.
Link to the catalog