Another Spring Pilgrimage has come and gone and, despite a wet start, Natchez tourism officials say visitor numbers were healthy this year.

That’s a good thing, because our economy is dependent on those who come to our community and leave behind their vacation dollars.

To keep those tourism dollars coming, refining our offerings to tourists, meaning working to reach a broader audience and tell a more complete story of our history, could prove pivotal to growing our tourism economy. A step in that direction was accomplished through the revamping of the Historic Natchez Tableaux, which now tells a more inclusive story of Natchez from the prospective of all of its citizens.

Natchez has many more opportunities to present a more complete story of its history.

Perhaps one of Natchez’s most historically significant sites is the Forks of the Road. Located near the area of the triangle intersection of D’Evereux Drive, St. Catherine Street and Liberty Road, the site was one of the most active slave markets in the U.S.

Preserving and developing that land — creating some type of interpretive center on that sacred ground, where thousands of human beings were sold — is one way to present a more complete story of Natchez’s history.

Our area is rich in history, but we have other opportunities to tell a more complete story of its history, and such should be a focus for attracting more visitors in the future.