Travel back in time on the 444-mile Natchez Trace Parkway. This All-American Road travels from Natchez, Mississippi, to Nashville, Tennessee, and clips the northwestern corner of Alabama along the way.
The Parkway was a long time coming; it officially opened in 2005 after being under construction and planning for 67 years! President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Natchez Trace Parkway into law on May 18, 1938, establishing it as a unit of the National Park System and officially protecting this historically significant highway of the Old Southwest. Seven segments of the Old Trace are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This scenic drive roughly follows and commemorates the historic Old Natchez Trace and is jam-packed with over 10,000 years of history! Along the way, you can hike preserved sections of the Old Trace, read historical markers telling the stories of the people back in the day, see historical buildings, Indian ceremonial and burial mounds, and breathtaking scenic overlooks; there are rivers, lakes, swamps, picnic areas, hiking trails, and campgrounds. It’s not a road you can drive in a day or even a week if you wish to see it all. This is a pleasant, leisurely drive through beautiful country with a maximum speed limit of 50mph. Relax, take your time, and enjoy the drive. A Brief History of the Natchez Trace
The Trace began as a series of random Indian trails connecting the Natchez, Mississippi, area to what would eventually become Nashville, Tennessee. Animals created the first corridor traveling from the Mississippi River to the salt licks in the Nashville area. When the Indians came along, they followed these same trails when hunting those animals for food.
By the early 1800s, these trails had evolved into America’s first National Road, linking two bustling hubs of commerce. While it was easy enough to build makeshift flatboats to float goods down the Mississippi River, once there, it was impossible to fight the current coming back upstream. Keep in mind this was the era before steam power. The boatmen, AKA Kaintuck's solution, was to scrap their boats in Natchez, sell the lumber and everything else, and walk home along the Trace. In addition to the Kaintucks' traffic, the road was used for troop movements, a postal service, and general travel between the two frontier towns. By this point, these Indian paths were so highly traveled that deep gullies were worn into the ground. Some of this Sunken Trace is as much as 30 feet below the land around it! It was quite dangerous, fraught with bandits and angry Indians that preyed on the now wealthy Kaintucks flush from selling their goods. There were also mosquitoes, poison ivy, and poisonous snakes that thrived in the swampier areas. Those swamps made for deep mud that could be found along much of the trail. The Trace was by no means an easy road; it took these travelers about six weeks to travel on foot or four weeks by horse. By the 1820s, the invention of the steamboat had come to the Mississippi River, and travel on the Natchez Trace all but stopped. You would think that traffic would still be visible with this being a national road. However, newer and better roads were being built. By 1830, Jackson’s Military Road was completed between Columbia, Tennessee, and Madison, Louisiana. In 1840, Robinson Road, which ran between Columbus and Jackson, was in use. Eventually, the railroads came along, offering even better and faster alternatives than traveling the Natchez Trace. The Trace was all but forgotten.
This is Part 3 of a 3 part post, you may also be interested in reading:
Part 1: Top of the Trace: The Natchez Trace Parkway - Tennessee and Alabama Part 2: Middle of the Trace: The Natchez Trace Parkway - Top Half of Mississippi
The Mississippi section of the Natchez Trace Parkway is 308.8 miles long. I have divided Mississippi approximately in half. This post covers the southern section of the Mississippi Trace from milepost #160 to the end at Natchez.
The Natchez Trace Parkway's milepost markers are on the east side of the road. I am traveling the Trace backward, counting down the mile markers. For your trip planning, you can download Natchez Trace Maps here. Copies of the Official Natchez Trace Map can also be found along the Parkway. Please don’t travel the Trace without one, you will miss so much. Part 3: Natchez Trace Parkway Highlights
#122.6 - River Bend
With its views of the Pearl River, River Bend is one of the prettiest picnic spots along the Natchez Trace. It's well worth a quick drive-through.
The Pearl River was discovered in 1698 by the French Explorer Pierre LeMoyne Sieur d’Iberville. He sailed into the mouth of the river and found pearls, which he named the “River of Pearls.” The last 75 miles of the Pearl River have been the boundary between Mississippi and Louisiana since 1812. #122 - Cypress Swamp
see here. Go slowly and be observant to find wildlife, such as frogs, snakes, and alligators. I haven’t spotted any snakes yet, I probably won’t like it as well here once I do, but I have spotted alligators on every visit. Usually, it’s just a couple, but I counted five on one rainy afternoon. They like to hang out in the center of the swamp. You won’t see them from the boardwalk. Be sure to walk at least halfway down a side path, if you want a chance to find one without walking the entire loop.
There are a couple of swamp hikes along the trail, but this is the one to do if you are limited in time. #106.9 Boyd Site
Six small burial mounds built during the Late Woodland and Early Mississippian periods (circa 800 to 1100 A.D.) are located here.
Mound 2 is near the parking lot. This elongated mound is 110 feet long x 60 feet wide and 4 feet high. An excavation in 1964 revealed that it is three mounds in one. The first two mounds were built side by side, with the third being built in the middle, creating a more oblong mound. These mounds were constructed in phases: phase one during the Late Woodland period and the second phase considerably later during the Mississippian period. #54.8 - Rocky Springs
The Methodist church, built in 1837, and a small graveyard are all that remains of Rocky Springs, Mississippi. In the late 1790s, this town grew up around Rocky Spring, a watering hole, along the Natchez Trace. By 1860, 2616 people lived here; the settlement included three merchants, four physicians, four teachers, three clergy, and 13 artisans, and it supported 54 cotton planters with 28 overseers and over 2000 slaves in an approximately 25 square mile area.
During the Civil War, the town started declining; a letter in 1863 states, “My slaves, horses, and mules are carried off. My fence is torn down and my crops destroyed.” In the summer and fall of 1878, yellow fever struck the area; there were 180 cases and 43 deaths. Although Rocky Springs attempted to recover from the yellow fever epidemic, the boll weevils migrated through in the early 1900s, devastating the cotton crops, and the natural spring started to dry up. After that, the population declined rapidly, ending this once-prosperous rural community. The last store closed its doors in 1930. The church still held services until 2010, when its congregation became too small. Rocky Springs is now considered a ghost town. #52.4 Owens Creek Waterfall
This is a pretty little waterfall that flows over a stone ledge. The natural spring that once fed Owens Creek has dried up, so it takes a good heavy rainfall for these falls to flow.
#41.5 Sunken Trace
With the exposed tree roots and surrounding land towering over me, this section of the Trace felt eerie. I don’t know if it was the informational board at the trailhead that triggered my thoughts, my overactive imagination, or a combination of both, but it was as if I could feel the spirits of the travelers passing me as I hiked through this narrow channel.
This deeply eroded section of the Sunken Trace is only about a hundred yards long. Your instinct will be to read the sign and then follow the path straight to a narrow, short, but steep trail down. If you walk this complete trace section, it gently curves back around and leads up to the parking lot. A less able person might find it easier to walk backward or take the easier way in and out. If so, after reading the signage, turn left and walk to the end of the sidewalk off into the grass to the right. Don’t pass this stop up; other than the drive-able sections of the trace in Tennessee, this is the most easily accessible section of the Old Trace that is most authentic to what the Kaintucks experienced. #37 Exit Trace for Side Trip to Rodney Ghost Town
If you have time, visit Rodney, Mississippi. Here's my blog post about Rodney so you can decide: Rodney Ghost Town: A Mississippi Just Off the Trace Drive
#15.5 Mount Locust Plantation & Inn
Constructed in 1780, Mount Locust is the only surviving stand from the historic Natchez Trace and one of the oldest homes in Mississippi.
Originally built by John Blommart, he was jailed, losing his home and fortune after leading a failed rebellion against the Spanish. William Ferguson and his wife, Paulina, purchased the house in 1784. They operated the farm until William died in 1801. Shortly after William passed, Paulina married one of the farm’s overseers, James Chamberlain. They continued to farm the land. By 1785, the Natchez Trace was in heavy use by the Kaintucks on their way home from Natchez, and Mount Locust just happened to be located a day’s walk from town. Such a perfect location right on the Trace. I imagine many men stopped here begging for food and lodging, knowing it would be their last chance before hitting the wilderness. The Fergusons decided to turn their home into a stand (inn).
Corn was a plantation staple; the family offered a meal of corn mush and milk and allowed the men to sleep on the porches and grounds for .25 cents. While pretty crude offerings, this was considered a luxury to the Kaintucks.
Although James passed away sometime after 1810, Pauline and her 11 children continued to live comfortably and successfully ran the farm and stand. By the mid-1820s, with the invention of the steamboat, traffic on the Trace was all but gone. Pauline’s stand became an inn, catering to the residents of Natchez who were looking for a little rural solitude. Pauline died in 1849, at the age of 80, twelve years before the Civil War. The children continued to live here, but with the end of the plantation, Mount Locust began a slow decline. Five generations of Chamberlains lived at Mount Locust, with the last one leaving in 1944. In 1954, the park service restored Mount Locust to its 1820 appearance.
If you plan to visit, check with the Park Service for hours. When I wrote this, the hours were Thursday through Sunday from 9 to 4:30.
#10.3 Emerald Mound
Emerald Mound is a massive ceremonial mound and the second-largest in the United States, after Monk’s Mound in Cahokia, Illinois.
Named Emerald Mound in the 1850s because it sat on the property of the Emerald Plantation. This mound was built during the Mississippian Period between 1200 to 1730. It is 35 feet high and covers 8 acres, measuring 770 feet by 435 feet at its base. Two secondary mounds sit atop the central mound, bringing the overall height up to 60 feet tall. #8.7 Old Trace
I love old cemeteries! This was my favorite family plot along the Trace. It’s not listed anywhere in the Parkway information, but if you hunt around, you can find small plots like this all along the Trace. I thought this cemetery was hauntingly beautiful.
There is not much else to see at this pull-off. The Old Trace here isn't too impressive, but if you are interested in visiting this little cemetery, it is straight up the mowed path behind the informational board.
Not every image makes it into my blog. If you enjoyed the photos in this article, please check out my Tennessee, Alabama & Mississippi Collections for more pictures of this beautiful state, or visit my Gallery with over 4000 images of locations around the United States.
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AuthorI am the 8th photographer in 4 generations of my family. Back in 2006, my husband accepted a job traveling, and I jumped at the chance to go with him. Categories
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February 2025
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