Mike Wolfe’s occupation has taken him all over the country. In terms of raw mileage, he’s probably circumnavigated the globe a few times over. Yet after all this time on “American Pickers” and all of the miles he’s covered, Mike Wolfe keeps coming back to one place. He cannot resist his love for a small city in southern Mississippi boasting a population of 15,000 people.
Did you guess it? The star of “American Pickers,” for plenty of reasons, can’t get enough of Natchez, Mississippi. No, it’s not his hometown. In fact, Wolfe hails from the Midwest. Is it chock-full of valuable antiques? Not particularly, though he did film segments for the current season of “American Pickers” there recently.
So what gives? Not that Natchez is anything but a delightful city, but what’s wrong with Vicksburg? Or Port Gibson? Any of the other towns near Natchez. Well, it all boils down to a combination of specific antebellum architecture, the main street layout, and, of course, the community itself.
“Natchez has always had a little piece of my heart,” the “American Pickers” star told the staff of The Natchez Democrat. “Obviously, I love history and I also enjoy architecture and Main Street communities and Natchez has some of all of that.”
‘American Pickers’ Star Mike Wolfe Identifies with the Culture
It goes a little deeper than the aesthetics alone. Mike Wolfe associates himself with the South in general. Though he’s an Illinois native, the “American Pickers” star identifies with the culture of states like Mississippi.
“I’m a Southerner by choice, not by birth,” Wolfe said. “I respect this area a lot because of how much you hold on to your history, family and community.”
And when locals can’t stop raving about how much they love their community, apparently, that goes a long way with Mike Wolfe.
“Everyone I’ve met talked about how much they love the community. Everyone has been extremely welcoming,” Mike continued.
He enjoyed his most recent trip to Natchez so much that he plans on coming back with the show in early 2021 to do future “American Pickers” shoots there.
Mike Wolfe Detailed the Most Pick-Rich Areas of the United States
As much as Mike Wolfe loves Natchez, the South, especially the areas further west like Mississippi, is not the best place to go if you’re looking for a high concentration of valuable antiques.
Instead, the “American Pickers” star has happened upon a general rule after many years of trial and error—the older the place, the better the pickings. Following suit, Wolfe sees New England as the best possible place for a serious picker to focus their energy. For that matter, the East Coast is a good bet in general.
“We just got done doing New Hampshire, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York,” Wolfe said. “We were on the road out there 18 days and we got some amazing things. The East Coast is where I’ve really made my living the last 10 years.”
