The end of an era in Natchez was announced Thursday when officials of Callon Petroleum, now headquartered in Houston, announced the company will be closing its Natchez office next year.

Callon Petroleum has been a backbone of the business community in Natchez for some 70 years.

The company’s success founded in Natchez, however, ultimately became the reason it left the area. Recent exploration efforts onshore in Texas apparently made the move to Houston necessary.

Therefore, Callon Petroleum has slowly but surely branched out of the area, moving some key company officers to the Houston area more than a decade ago and moving the company headquarters to Houston last year.

We are sorry to see Callon Petroleum close shop in Natchez.

The Callon family members have been longtime, dedicated supporters of the community since the company was founded in 1950 — actively participating in nearly every local charity and organization in the past decades.

When other companies started to move to Houston, the Callon family resisted because of its love and dedication to the community. Only after the unexpected death of CEO Fred Callon in 2017 did officials make the decision to relocate the company’s headquarters to Houston.

We are sorry for the Callon Petroleum employees who will no longer be employed with the company and hope they can find gainful employment here in Natchez.

If the former employees do not find employment here, we wish them the best in their future endeavors.

We wish the company well as it forges on in to the future.