On May 8, 1840, one of the deadliest tornadoes in American history struck Natchez and killed about 300 people, most of them boatmen and passengers on steamboats docked at the waterfront. Already suffering from the economic Panic of 1837, Natchez spent much of the 1840s rebuilding, and all existing historic buildings at Natchez Under-the-Hill date from after 1840. Industry on the bluff and waterfront grew rapidly after rail service began in 1882, and by 1910 three railroad companies were operating in Natchez with depots on or near the bluff for easy transfer of goods to and from steamboats and barges on the river; the Bluff City Railroad, also opened in 1882, carried goods from the top of the bluff to the landing below. The Blue Cat Club, named for the blue catfish of the Mississippi River, hosted the first professional performance of Jerry Lee Lewis when he was 13; born in 1935 in nearby Ferriday, Louisiana, he grew up performing in the Pentecostal Church, was the club's most popular entertainer in 1955, and after auditioning for Sun Records in Memphis recorded "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" and "Great Balls of Fire," each of which sold a million copies by the time he was 22. As railroads ended the steamboat era and river commerce declined, Natchez Under-the-Hill declined as well; between 1900 and 1940 most business below the bluff was tied to the ferry between Natchez and Vidalia, and after a bridge was built in 1940 the district became almost a ghost town before historical tourism and steamboat travel brought new visitors in the 1970s and legal gambling returned to the waterfront in 1990.