Church Hill, Mississippi

Church Hill, Mississippi, is a small unincorporated community in Jefferson County, Mississippi. It is located on the bluffs of the Mississippi River, approximately 18 miles north of Natchez. At the center intersection of this small community is Wagner’s Grocery, built around 1837. Just across the intersection is Christ Church, completed in 1858. Closed in the […]

May 8, 2012; 6:15 AM • by Church Hill People's News

Church Hill, Mississippi, is a small unincorporated community in Jefferson County, Mississippi. It is located on the bluffs of the Mississippi River, approximately 18 miles north of Natchez.

At the center intersection of this small community is Wagner’s Grocery, built around 1837. Just across the intersection is Christ Church, completed in 1858. Closed in the late 1990s, the store was donated to the Church Hill historic society for preservation.

The genesis of the Church Hill community was a group of people known as the “Old Maryland Settlement” that moved to the Jefferson County area from Maryland after the Revolutionary War. For many years the town was simply known as the “Maryland Settlement” until the name was eventually changed to Church Hill around 1820.

The first church of the community, known as Christ Church, was constructed of logs in 1820. The current church was part of one of the oldest Episcopal groups, dating from the 1790’s, and its design was copied from the old country churches in England.

Church Hill is also known for having the largest fresh butterbean and pea shelling operation in the United States.