If you see someone crossing the street near the Natchez Convention Center today, make sure you smile and wave.

Why? Wave because one of the participants in the Miss-Lou Regional Tourism Summit might just be the next Jefferson Davis Dixon.

What? You don&8217;t remember that name? You should.

Dixon might be described as the P.T. Barnum of early Natchez tourism. The man lived a fascinatingly interesting life, but one of his most impressive works was in marketing tourism in Natchez.

No, he didn&8217;t own Stanton Hall or help found the first Pilgrimage.

But he was, most likely, one of the first at capitalizing on the throngs of people who already came to Natchez.

In the 1930s, Dixon built an almost certainly historically inaccurate, but likely entertaining, replica of Fort Rosalie on the bluffs. About the only remaining portion is the log cabin building that now houses Fat Mama&8217;s Tamales.

What Dixon may have lacked in historical accuracy, he made up for with dauntless determination to make a buck.

And, while we fear having someone come in and make a mockery out of our historic downtown, it wouldn&8217;t hurt for the area to have a little more to do besides just see antebellum houses. While they&8217;ll always be the backbone of the area&8217;s tourism draw, who knows what a new, modern-day Jefferson Davis Dixon might dream up.

And don&8217;t forget to wave.