NATCHEZ &8212; A downward economic spiral with no bottom in sight began two decades ago. An oil industry that had been in boom times suddenly went bust. Hundreds of workers lost jobs and left the Natchez area to look for new options.

Then, one by one, the old smokestack industries pulled out, the unkindest cut of all being the demise of the International Paper Natchez mill in 2003.

In November 2004, Leland Speed, director of the Mississippi Development Authority, addressed those issues in a Natchez speech, pointing out that the state during the past 10 years had lost 67,000 manufacturing jobs.

Natchez saw Armstrong Tire & Rubber Co., which employed hundreds, pull out in the late 1980s. Ultimately purchased by Titan Tire, the plant stands empty today.

Johns Manville, another manufacturer dating to the mid 1900s smokestack era in Natchez, closed in 2002, another loss of jobs.

Speed advised Natchez leaders in economic development that &8220;economic salvation doesn&8217;t come from Washington, Jackson or off a corporate jet. It has to happen right here from within. And most jobs are going to be a few at a time.&8221;

Mississippi has only one Natchez, Speed said.

&8220;The whole state can work off that uniqueness and your reputation in the world.&8221;

Speed said Natchez has a future in attracting new residents who will seek the quality of life found in Natchez.

He cited the book &8220;Boomtown U.S.A.&8221; to point out migration patterns in the United States. First, there was movement from the farm to the city; then from the city to the suburbs.

&8220;Now people from the city and suburbs are moving to selected communities that offer a high quality of life.&8221;

Meanwhile, in 2006, the oil industry is in revival, as local geologists and drilling companies and all the ancillary businesses are thriving.

Geologist Courtney Aldridge recently has hired three new people and moved to new, larger offices because of the work now available in his field.

R.W. Delaney Construction provides trucking and transportation of heavy oil and gas equipment; dismantles oil rigs, moves them and puts them back together. The company has grown from 35 employees in 1988 to more than 100 today.

Manufacturing jobs such as those lost at IP, Johns Manville and Armstrong have not been replaced. However, the prospect of a coal gasification plant built by Rentech, a Colorado-based company, has raised hopes about manufacturing jobs.

And in Vidalia, the Fortune 500 company, Engelhard has purchased the former Alcoa plant, providing a new measure of security and optimism for workers there.

Construction companies are busy. Downtown restoration continues, with a new coffee and ice cream shop opening in one newly restored Franklin Street building and a cook wear shop and cooking school soon to open in another renovated building on Main Street.

Tourism, after rebounding slightly following the Sept. 11 terrorism attacks, dropped off again after Hurricane Katrina destroyed the Mississippi Gulf Coast and parts of New Orleans. However, tax receipts from hotels and restaurants are up from previous years, partly from hurricane evacuees who found refuge in Natchez.

The timing looks as right as ever.