NATCHEZ — Old invoices, photos and business cards poured in to the Historic Natchez Foundation after Director Mimi Miller requested them in March in order to honor St. Catherine Street’s rich history.

“It is the most ethnically diverse street over the history of (Natchez’s) time,” she said. “No one street symbolizes slavery and freedom as much as St. Catherine Street.”

Miller said much of St. Catherine’s history could be attributed to its location.

“St. Catherine Street was a major artery in and out of Natchez by land forever, even when it was still a territory,” Miller said. “Businesses congregated along the street, and the slave market was right on the edge of the city limits.”

Plaques bearing historic information, like the ones on the new Natchez Trails, will be placed on St. Catherine, she said. But unlike the ones already standing, some of the plaques on St. Catherine will honor individual families and buildings.

So far, Miller said, she’s gotten many photos from collections and close to 150 from Natchez locals. After they’re scanned, they’re returned to their owners.

At a meeting Thursday night at the Holy Family Catholic Church, Miller showed slides that displayed scanned images of photos, receipts and other historic memorabilia she’s collected so far.

Some of the photos depicted the Rhythm Night Club after it burned, while others showed the first state hospital in 1812 and images of people who were well known in the community, like seamstress Laura Davis.

“She didn’t sew for just anybody,” Miller said. “She made things you could buy in New York.”

Davis, who went on to be a Civil Rights activist in Jackson, made a dress that was even worn by a queen.

Holy Family Catholic Church, Zion Chapel and Forks of the Road are some of the places Miller said would have plaques dedicated solely to themselves.

Cynthia Dollar, whose family is part of the Stallones — a family that played a significant role in Natchez history — said she contributed a number of photos to the project and has more on the way.

“My grandfather started the first certified plumbing company with a license,” she said. “One of his brothers owned a grocery store and the other owned a liquor store.”

Smokye Joe Frank, who worked with the downtown trails project, said he went to mass in the Holy Family building when he was a child, and he lived where the Stew Pot is today.

Frank contributed a number of photos to the project and identified people in others.

“All the old Italian women wore black all the time,” he said. “If you were a widower and you were going to mass, you wore black.”

That knowledge helped Frank identify two women as Italians in an old photo, further displaying St. Catherine’s diversity.

Frank said he got the photos he contributed from his mother and grandfather. His uncle had taken pictures from 1915 to the 1930s.

“We’re having a lot of fun putting (the project) together, but we still need more photos,” Miller said. “We’ll scan anything you bring in. We’ll use them in many other ways over the years, I can assure you.”

The plaque designs must be sent to the fabricator in September, Miller said, and she’s already started laying out photos.