Natchez is the county seat of, and the largest and only incorporated city within, Adams County, Mississippi, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 18,464. One of Mississippi's oldest cities, it was founded by French colonists in 1716, antedating the current capital city, Jackson, by more than a century. Located along the Mississippi River, Natchez is the southern terminus of the Natchez Trace Parkway. The city is famous in American history for its role in the development of the Old Southwest, particularly with respect to its location on the Mississippi River. Natchez is the principal city of the Natchez, MS–LA Micropolitan Statistical Area.