What a precious gift to the museum!
I'm happy to share my article about the Rhythm Night Club Memorial Museum. It will appear in the May 2022 issue of Good Grit Magazine (www.goodgritmag.com). It is titled, “Night of Pain, Days of Honor: The Story of the Rhythm Night Club Memorial Museum.”
This is the tragic story of the Rhythm Night Club fire that killed more than 200 people, including Walter Barnes and his band members, on April 23, 1940, in Natchez, Miss. This article shows what Monroe and Betty Sago are doing to tell the story of the fire and to keep the legacy of the victims – and survivors –alive.
NOTE: If you have any problems viewing or downloading the article, please send me your email address and I will rush you a pdf copy of the article.
#VisitNatchez #RhythmNightClubFire
See article (or download pdf) here or follow this link:
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| "Bowie's Sandbar Fight" on display at the Natchez Convention Center Photo by Sarah Sookraj |
Bowie was shot in the hip, and,
after regaining his feet, he drew a knife, described as a butcher knife,
and charged his attacker. The man hit Bowie over the head with his empty
pistol, breaking the pistol and knocking Bowie to the ground. Wright shot at
and missed the prone Bowie, who returned fire and possibly hit Wright. Wright
drew his sword cane and impaled Bowie. When Wright attempted to
retrieve his blade by placing his foot on Bowie's chest and tugging, Bowie
pulled him down and disemboweled Wright with his large knife. Wright died instantly.
Bowie, with Wright's sword still protruding from his chest, was shot again and
stabbed by another member of the group. The doctors who had been present for
the duel removed the bullets and patched Bowie's other wounds.
Bowie survived the fight, and he went on to fight in other battles. But it was on this day on the sandbar that the legend was born. By the end of the fight, four men were dead and four were wounded.
Bowie, who was born around 1796 in Kentucky and raised in Louisiana, died in 1836 in the Battle of the Alamo.
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| Photo by Sarah Sookraj |
The news of the sandbar fight made national headlines. Bowie and his knife became famous. Bowie’s brother, Rezin P. Bowie, is credited as the one who made the knife that Jim used to kill Wright.
Today, a life-size sculpture of his fight with Norris Wright is on display at the Natchez Convention Center. It commemorates “the fight that fueled the colorful legend of the Bowie knife,” reported the Clarion Ledger. The sculpture was created by award-winning artist and sculptor Roy W. Butler and was purchased from the Historic Arkansas Museum.
The actual site of the duel occurred on the southeast corner of Giles Island in Ferriday, according to Riley. That section is under water now. In 1827, the island was called Clermont Plantation. At one time the area was also known as Cowpen Point.
Giles Hunting Club hosts groups for corporate events, family reunions and other group gatherings for overnight stay. Riley enjoys telling the story. In fact, the club is described as the place “Where Legends are Born.”
For more information, call Jimmy Riley at (601) 431-2004 or visit https://www.gilesisland.com.
Historian Jeff Mansell of Natchez National Historical Park has featured Jim Bowie in two of the Natchez History Minute videos:
* “Sep 19 The Famous Sandbar Fight,” narrated by Adams County Sheriff Travis Patton, can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moBYVhj1Vzg
* “Mar 6 Jim Bowie Dies at the Alamo,” narrated by John Ashton Hicks, can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_rWkgvxa3A
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| Photo from Natchez History Minute video on YouTube |
Facebook post: Mayor Dan Gibson is at Natchez City Council Chambers.
NATCHEZ, Miss. – A short film documenting African influences on Mississippi River communities will be shown at the Natchez Museum of African American History and Culture at 6 p.m. Monday, April 18, 2022. The event, which is free to the public, is part of a docuseries that will feature five episodes with a focus on New Orleans, Donaldsonville, Baton Rouge, Natchez, and Gambia, West Africa.
The film series is titled, “Africans on the Mississippi – Cuttin’ Cane.” It was created and produced by Spencer Howard of LearningTree Productions LLC in association with the River Road African American Museum.
The first episode, scheduled for April, will feature New Orleans. Natchez will appear in Episode 4. A panel discussion will follow the screening.
“Natchez holds the distinction of being the oldest city on the Mississippi River and [having the] largest market for the buying and selling of stolen people known as “Forks of the Road,” Howard stated on his website. “The story of Natchez, Mississippi is a story that longs to be told as Africans on the Mississippi again takes the viewer straight through to the thing itself.”
Bobby Dennis, executive of the Museum, said the film will prove to be enlightening. “This film will give us a little bit more of the complete stories of the African Americans involved in the development of our area from New Orleans to Natchez,” he said.
According to Howard, the film “speaks of unspoken ancestry.” He said it has been lauded for its story line, location, visuals, music, sound and exceptional editing. It has been selected for screenings at eight film festivals. So far, he said, the film has won the IndieFEST Film Award and Best Web Series/TV Pilot by the Indie Short Fest Film Festival.
Dennis said the screening was sponsored in part by a grant from the Mississippi Humanities Council.
“The plantations are long gone but the descendants remain with fascinating stories to tell,” said Howard.
For more information, call Bobby Dennis at 601-445-0728, or visit learningtreeproduction.com.
By Roscoe Barnes III Natchez, MS, USA / ListenUpYall.com Aug 21, 2026 | 1:01 PM ArtsNatchez Gallery recently donated $500 worth of art sup...
