My Mississippi Manifest Destiny: The Natchez Trace Part One

Daddy's gone south on the Natchez Trace
If he can't show the money
Then he don't show his face
Mark Knopfler, "Daddy's Gone to Knoxville," 2002.

After a brief respite, My Mississippi Manifest Destiny is back. The Natchez Trace Parkway commemorates the trail that ran from Nashville, Tennessee to Natchez, Mississippi.

After leaving Corinth, I was able to hook up with the Trace twenty miles north of Tupelo. This is the hilly part of Mississippi, it's in the foothills of the Appalachians.

The origins of the Trace goes back thousands of years, bison and other large mammals would migrate along the pathway seeking salt licks, naturally Native Americans took an interest in the route because of the attractive hunting possibilities.

An unnamed Frenchman was the first European to travel the entire Trace, and was not impressed by the poor condition of the trail. Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto the first recorded European to see the Mississippi River, was very likely the first European to cross the Trace; during the winter of 1540-41, his expedition wintered near present day Tupelo.

Tennessee became a state in 1796, and by 1800, the Natchez Trace became an important trade route, especially after the federal government cleared the Trace so it could handle wagon traffic. During the War of 1812, General Andrew Jackson used the Trace to march his army to fight the British at the Battle of New Orleans.

The glory days of the Natchez Trace were from 1800 to 1825. The travelers were called "Kaintucks," a crude derivation of Kentuckian, although the Kaintucks didn't all come from Kentucky. Based on my research for this post, I believe most didn't.

For many the Trace was a one-way route, they'd pilot flatboats down the Mississippi to Natchez or New Orleans, sell their goods, and walk back north on the Trace. Inns and general stores, called "stands" were located along the route to greet the hikers, but so were bandits and and other ruffians. It was the American frontier at its best--and worst.

Like man-made waterways such as the Erie and the Illinois-Michigan canals, the Trace became a victim of its own success and was superseded by new commerce routes as Mississippi, which became a state in 1817, was settled and towns were established. By 1830, the Trace was abandoned, and for the most part nature reclaimed the trail. The bison were gone, and so were most of the Native Americans. On the right is a cleared version on the original Trace.

In the early 20th century interest in the old Trace picked up, the Daughters of the American Revolution began putting up markers along the trail. In the 1930s, Mississippi Congressman Thomas Jefferson Busby convinced Franklin Roosevelt to build the commemorative Natchez Trace Parkway as as Civil Conservation Corps project. The road, which is administered by the National Park Service, was constructed in phases, and was finally completed in 2005.

Trucks are not allowed on the Natchez Trace Parkway, and the speed limit, 50 miles per hour, is by all accounts strictly enforced; I saw a strong police presence on the road to Natchez. There are towns just off the exit ramps along the parkway, but only one gas station on the highway itself, roughly at the midpoint of the Mississippi portion. So keep a close eye on your car's gasoline gauge.

The road is well-maintained, but there are a lot of soft shoulders. If you are thinking of taking a pleasure drive on the Trace, I don't recommend driving at night--there are no street lights along the parkway, and besides, it's much more enjoyable in the daytime when you can see the countryside your driving through.

Next: More of the Natchez Trace

Previous My Mississippi Manifest Destiny posts:

$aving$ in Tupelo
Where Elvis bought his first guitar
Elvis Presley's birthplace
The Battle of Tupelo
Corinth
Shiloh Part Four
Shiloh Part Three
Shiloh Part Two
Shiloh Part One
Carl Perkins
The Varsity Theatre in Martin, Tennessee
Lincoln and Kentucky
Metropolis

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