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We stayed at a campground next to the beginning of the Trace on the Mississippi end. Road construction is under way to Natchez, Mississippi, eight miles south of our starting point. |
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NATCHEZ
TRACE Deep cut here is part of famed Indian trail taken over by U S, 1803. Until the coming of steamboats, it was post route & chief artery of travel between Natchez & Nashville. |
OLD TRACE EXHIBIT SHELTER (Mile 9)
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OLD TRACE Across the parkway behind you is a portion of the Old Natchez Trace, a wilderness road that grew from wild animal and Indian trails. Traders, soldiers, "Kaintucks," postriders, circuit riding preachers, outlaws, settlers, and adventurers trampled a national road. Here is the Natchez Trace, a bond that held the Southwest to the rest of the nation, a channel for the flow of people and ideas, a memorial to the thousands whose footsteps stamped into the American land. |
| A NATIONAL ROAD |
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A NATIONAL ROAD Natchez in the extreme South-western corner of the United States was threatened by Spain in 1800 and later by France and Great Britain. |
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| "This road being
completed, I shall consider our southern extremity secured, the Indians in
that quarter at our feet and adjacent province laid open to us." James Wilkinson |
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President Jefferson in 1801 decided that a road from Nashville to Natchez was necessary for the safety and welfare of the nation |
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U S soldiers built the road. |
| THE NATCHEZ TRACE PARKWAY |
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THE NATCHEZ TRACE
PARKWAY This Parkway, a unit of the National Park System, commemorates the Natchez Trace (1800-1820). Along the Parkway there are historic structures, Indian mounds, roadside exhibits, nature and history trails, and museums which help to illustrate the history of the Trace. |
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MOUNT LOCUST From the original three routes this house grew with the family and region and by 1836, was the "Big House" of a medium sized plantation. |
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The high bluff is a deposit of loess, windblown topsoil, which the Old Natchez Trace cuts deeply in many places. |
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EMERALD MOUND The second largest temple mound in the United States. Erected by the predecessors of the Natchez Indians between 1300 and 1600 AD. |
| OLD NATCHEZ DISTRICT |
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POPULATION
IN 1800 United States 5,308,483 |
Old Natchez
District Freeman 5,361 Slaves 3,489 Total 8,850 Town of Natchez 500 |
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1. Natchez became a
French colony in 1716. It was connected
with the Choctaw Nation by an Indian trail.
2. The British held the District, 1763-1779, and established permanent settlements. They called this trail, later the Natchez Trace, the "Path to the Choctaw Nation." 3. Spain conquered Natchez in 1779 during the American Revolution but made no serious attempt at colonization. They called this trail "Camino de Cumberland a Natches." 4. When the Americans came in 1798, they improved the Indian trail to facilitate direct communication with Nashville. They later called it the Natchez Trace. |
| THE OLD TRACE |
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THE OLD TRACE The Trace quickly became an important highway and mail route which made communication between Natchez and Washington, D C, fairly safe and rapid. |
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Ohio Valley pioneers floated their products to Natchez or New Orleans in flatboats and returned home afoot or on horseback over the Trace. |
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After 1820, steamboats carried most Natchez traffic. Parts of the Trace were then abandoned and other parts used as local roads. |
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EMERALD INDIAN MOUND (Mile 10)
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Before you is the second largest temple mound in the United States. Only Monks Mound in Cahokia, Illinois is larger. This eight acre mound constructed from a natural hill, was built and used from about 1300 to 1600 by the Mississippians, ancestors of the Natchez Indians. Unlike dome shaped mounds constructed only for burials, Emerald Mound supported temples, ceremonial structures, and burials of a complex society's civic and religious leaders. |
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EMERALD MOUND has been designated a National Historic Landmark in 1969. This site possesses national significance in commemorating the history of the United States of America. National Park Service United States Department of the Interior |
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| Using primitive tools of wood, stone, and bone, the Indians loaded the dirt into baskets or skins which they carried on their backs or heads. A base for temple mounds, the great platform is believed to have also provided a place for ceremonies and games. Archeological tests in 1949 indicated that this platform mound was constructed in several stages. Beginning with the natural hilltop. Indians gradually transformed the hill into a flat topped pyramid. First leveling off the hill, they later added thousands of tons of earth from near the base. |
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Before you is a 30 foot secondary mound
on which once stood a temple containing sacred Indian images.
Archeological evidence indicates that at least two small mounds stood along the North and South sides of the primary platform. These mounds may have supported structures of wood plastered with clay. |
| On important occasions the mound was the scene of elaborate civic processions, ceremonial dances, and intricate and solemn religious rituals where worshipers sought favor of their gods. |
NATCHEZ TRACE STATE PARK (Off Road at Mile 11)
| On our way to the park, we passed some interesting sights... and the compulsion to stop and take some pictures was overwhelming. |
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If we ever pass this way again without the RV, we know where to spend the night. |
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This dam was paid for by the taxpayers of the State of Mississippi and the U S Department of Interior Land and Water Conservation Fund Program. Whittens Creek Dam 1983 Department of Natural Resources Charles L Blacook, Executive Director |
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LOESS BLUFF (Mile 13)
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| LOESS BLUFF This bluff shows a deep deposit of windblown topsoil known as loess (pronounced LOW-ess). It was formed during the Ice Age when glaciers covered the northern half of the United States. At this time nearly continuous dust storms swept in from the western plains and covered this area with wind blown dust to a depth of 30 to 90 feet. Here it rests on sands and clays of an ancient sea. It originally covered a vast region but in this area is now confined to a strip east of the Mississippi River from 3 to 30 miles wide extending from Baton Rouge into Tennessee. Where the old Natchez Trace passed over loess it formed sunken roads, in places 20 feet deep. |
TURPIN CREEK (Mile 12)
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MOUNT LOCUST (Mile 16)
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 MOUNT LOCUST PLANTATION |
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FARM DEVELOPMENT By 1810, the farm at Mount Locust was well established and still growing. Outbuildings, long since gone, were constructed to handle special functions. A kitchen removed the danger of fire from the main house. "Sleepy Hollow" provided sleeping quarters for travelers. Slave quarters housed the growing labor force. Barns stored the harvest from the land, and stables housed the livestock. |
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FIELDS The farm at Mount Locust by 1810 consisted of 1200 acres. The success of the farm depended on the ability of the family and their slaves to clear the land and raise crops. Corn, cotton, and hay were the most important crops raised during the early 1800's. |
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INNS ALONG THE
TRACE Mount Locust remains as the only one of more than 50 Inns that existed between 1785 and 1830 along the 500 mile Old Trace. It has been restored to its 1810 appearance, the time when travel on this historic road reached its peak. |
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THE OLD TRACE You are standing on a section of the Old Natchez Trace that linked Natchez, Mississippi, with Nashville, Tennessee. In the late 1700's and early 1800's, it was known as the "Path to the Choctaw Nation," yet its fame today comes as the route home for boatmen, farmers, and businessmen from the Ohio River Valley. |
| MOUNT LOCUST... A HOME |
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 MERCHANT - FARMER - INNKEEPER - MAGISTRATE - SHERIFF |
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His signature is on many early documents. In 1784, the recently married William Ferguson bought the Blommart tract, Mt Locust. As the Ferguson family grew, so did the house and its outbuildings. |
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A 1785 map identifies "Mr William Ferguson's dwelling house" (Mount Locust). Ferguson, a Virginian, migrated to Natchez in 1774. |
| John Blommart, a retired British naval officer, probably built Mount Locust about 1780. |
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Today the house is restored to show how it looked as a tavern on the Trace about 1820 |
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William Ferguson's widow married James Chamberlain in 1806. The Ferguson-Chamberland family lived at Mount Locust for over 150 years. |
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Archeologists uncovered the remains of a brick walk to "Sleepy Hollow," the guest house Ferguson built as business boomed. Travelers slept at Sleepy Hollow, but went to the main house for meals. |
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The kitchen was a separate building. Excavations in 1941 show its brick floor |
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Partial inventory of Mount Locust furnishings in 1801. Most furniture seems to have been made of local materials. Tableware and the looking glass probably were imported from Philadelphia. |
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Alterations can often be dated by the kind of nails and screws. |
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Original late 18th century... Pit saw or
whip (Hand Power)
Early 19th century additions... Mill sawn vertical power driven (Horse Power) Late 19th century... Circular saw additions (Steam Power) |
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Complicated joints in the older construction show skilled craftsmanship |
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Common woods used for construction were oak, sassafras, and yellow poplar |
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After 1795, the Mississippi was legally opened for American traffic. Settlers floated their products down river and sold them at Natchez or New Orleans. Most of them walked back over the Natchez Trace, because their boats could not go upstream. |
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During the American Revolution, Spain moved against Britain and seized Natchez in 1779. John Blommart was one who fought Spanish authority. As a consequence he was imprisoned and his property confiscated. A copy of the Confiscation Notice is shown. |
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The American Revolution caused several thousand British sympathizers to move into the Natchez District. The rich lands of Coles Creek , along the "Path to the Choctaw Nations" attracted many of them. |
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This area was part of West Florida. After the French and Indian War, Britain owned all of eastern North America except New Orleans. To encourage settlement land grants were made to veterans like John Blommart. |
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An 1812 almanac lists the taverns on the Trace. Mount Locust was at "Union Town." Laid out by Ferguson in 1799, the town had an inn, a tannery, and a few houses. | Mount Locust was one of more than 50 inns along the Old Trace. A few others still exist. |
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| MOUNT LOCUST AS A PLANTATION |
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Mount Locust about 1845. Tavern use ended about 1840, but cotton brought prosperity. House and plantation were again enlarged. There was a cotton gin and 51 slaves. When steamboats came to the Mississippi, travel on the Trace declined. At Mount Locust, cotton growing replaced the tavern business. | After the Civil War, the plantation slowly declined |
| NATCHEZ TRACE PARKWAY | A unit of the National Park System memorializing the early road from Nashville to Natchez. Along the Parkway are Indian mounds, historic sites, nature trails, and wayside exhibits which help tell the story of the Trace. |
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A spread eagle was the sign of the Washington Hotel at Washington, Mississippi. |
| During the American Revolution, Spain moved against Britain and seized Natchez in 1779. John Blommart was one who fought Spanish authority. As a consequence, he was imprisoned and his property confiscated. Shown here is the "confiscation notice". |
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COLES CREEK (Mile 17)
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BULLEN CREEK (Mile 19)
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BULLEN CREEK Before your very eyes an endless struggle is taking place. Trees are striving here for the essentials of life-water, sunlight, and space. Trying to get ahead, the hardwoods push upward, their crowns filling all the overhead space, shutting out sunlight from young seedlings. |
| Like their elders, this younger generation also has to fight for survival. The competition is keen and the hardwoods are winning over the pines. A 15-minute walk along this trail will take you from a mixed hardwood-pine forest (the loser), to a mixed hardwood (the winner). |
SPRINGFIELD PLANTATION (Off Road at Mile 20)
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SPRINGFIELD Erected 1786 - 1791 First structure with two story columns west of the Atlantic Seaboard |
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SPRINGFIELD South, 1/4 mile, is the site of mansion. Springfield, built by Thomas M Green, wealthy planter and prominent in public affairs. Here in 1791, Andrew Jackson was married to Rachel Robards. |
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CHURCH HILL, Mississippi (Off Road at Mile 20)
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CHURCH HILL Named for Christ Church, oldest Episcopal organization in state, dating from 1790's, becoming parish in 1820. Sometimes called "Maryland Settlement". Sergeant Prentiss taught school in this community. |
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CHRIST CHURCH
RECORDS: "Interrupted by the Civil War which desolated its churches... our own being an exception, for in 1864, it was entered by a bond of Yankee ruffians belonging to an Illinois regiment stationed at Natchez who danced in the chancel, played lewd aires on the organ and would up their sacrilege by stealing a part of the silver plate composing the communion service." |
| Beneath the chancel lies the body of Mrs B B ??? wife of the rector of the church who died when the building was constructed. Please feel free to visit the cemetery and note the ancient gravestones. Church records list among the causes of death, "congestive chill, putrefied liver, old age, non paralysis, congestion of the brain, childbirth, accidentally shot, whooping cough, consumption, drowned at Cole's Creek, scarlet fever, from burns, (10 months old), malaria, and typhoid fever." "August 20, 1883, William Collins died of Yellow Fever... buried at midnight." Servants were also communicants of Christ Episcopal Church. Church records reveal baptism dates. Graveside services were held for these beloved servants in their cemeteries on each plantation. Thank you for visiting Christ Episcopal Church and the Old Maryland Settlement. Settled by Tidewater people... it is one of the oldest communities in Mississippi. Now listed on the National Register of Historic Sites... we hope you will come again when restoration has been completed on the church. All donations will go toward this effort. |
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MUD ISLAND CREEK (Mile 22)
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SUNKEN TRACE (Mile 41)
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| SUNKEN TRACE Preserved here is a portion of the deeply eroded or "sunken" Old Trace. Hardships of journeying on the Old Trace included heat, mosquitoes, poor food, hard beds (if any), disease, swollen rivers, and soaking swamps. Take 5 minutes to walk this sunken trail and let your imagination carry you back to the early 1800's when people walking 500 miles had to put up with these discomforts and where a broken leg or arm could spell death for the lone traveler. |
INDIAN MOUND (Mangum Site & Grindstone Ford) (Mile 46)
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MANGUM SITE -
GRINDSTONE FORD Traveling the Natchez Trace takes you back in time. Two layers of history that shaped the Old Natchez Trace can be seen at Mangum Site, an ancient burial ground and a vestige of late prehistoric culture, and Grindstone Ford the threshold between civilization and wilderness on the Old Natchez Trace. |
| GRINDSTONE FORD |
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GRINDSTONE FORD This ford marked the beginning of the wilderness of the Choctaw nation and the end of the old Natchez District. Nearby Fort Deposit was a supply depot for troops clearing the Trace in 1801-1802, and troops were assembled here during the Burr conspiracy allegedly to separate the Western States from the Union. The site takes its name from a nearby water mill. The trail to your left takes you to the Old Trace and Grindstone Ford. |
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GRINDSTONE FORD River boatmen on foot or horseback crossed here, northbound, after floating cargoes down the Ohio and Mississippi to New Orleans. Soldiers splashed across from the north to protect the Natchez District from British and Spanish threats. For post riders, Indians, bandits, and preachers, Bayou Pierre was the line between civilization and wilderness. |
| MANGUM MOUND |
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MANGUM MOUND Excavation of this site tells us much about the people of the late prehistoric periods. The Plaquemine culture included the ancestors of the modern tribes of Mississippi and Louisiana. It was a society with elaborate agriculturally oriented religious ceremonies. From the burials on this mound we have learned that there was a high infant mortality and that upon the death of a chief, a brutal ritual was enacted in which his retainers were slain and buried with him. |
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Graves discovered atop this hill revealed clues to the lives of Indians who lived near here before Columbus sailed. The copper ornament, shows the influence of a religious cult that spread from the places shown in red to many places in the shaded area. Exhibits on the hilltop describe what archeologists found. |
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| PREHISTORIC
TRAGEDY This group burial suggests a custom of the Natchez Indians, who continued many of the traits of these people. Early explorers found that when one Natchez parent died, the other sometimes took the lives of the rest of the family, apparently as a gesture of grief and respect. |
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SERVANTS IN THE
HEREAFTER Human sacrifice was a custom of the later Natchez. When a "nobleman" died, his slaves were often strangled and buried with him. The discovery of several adults' skeletons in a single grave indicates this may have happened here. |
OWENS CREEK (Mile 52+)
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OWENS CREEK The sounds of a busy woodland stream and the quiet murmur of a lazy waterfall have long been stilled here. Only after heavy rainfall does water fill the stream and set the waterfall singing. Over the years the water table has dropped several feet, and the spring which feeds Owens Creek has all but disappeared. Little remains of a scene once familiar to early residents of the Rocky Springs community. |
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Picnic tables and a 2.5 mile hiking trail that leads back to Rocky Springs are available at this site. An interesting waterfall exists at this site. The falls was fed in earlier days by a fresh water spring but the water table has lowered, and unless heavy rains have recently fallen, the falls turns to a trickle. |
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