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 to build makeshift flatboats to float goods down the Mississippi River, fighting the current coming back upstream was impossible. Keep in mind this was the era before steam power. The boatmen's, 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 had 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 2 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 3: Bottom of the Trace: The Natchez Trace Parkway - Bottom Half of Mississippi
The Mississippi portion of the Natchez Trace Parkway is 308.8 miles long. I have divided Mississippi approximately in half. This post covers the northern section of the Mississippi Trace from milepost #308 to #160.
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 own trip planning, you can download Natchez Trace Maps here. Copies of the Official Natchez Trace Map can easily be found along the Parkway. Please don’t travel the Trace without one. You will miss so much. Part 2 of the Mississippi Natchez Trace Parkway Highlights
#304.5 - Tishomingo State Park
In the northern section of Mississippi, the Natchez Trace Parkway travels through the middle of Tishomingo State Park.
The Well House
Considered Mississippi’s most scenic state park, it is located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains where massive boulders and rock formations blanket the forested hills. The major feature of the park is Bear Creek Canyon and its beautiful sandstone outcroppings.
The park was established in the 1930s as part of the New Deal. It has 13 miles of hiking trails, camping, fishing, and rock climbing.
One of the park’s historic exhibits is a restored 1840s log cabin set in a wooded area with a boulder-strewn brook and outdoor well. The Swinging Bridge, another popular landmark, is a 200-foot-long swinging bridge across Bear Creek. 
Tishomingo Swinging Bridge
#286.7 - Pharr Mounds
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Pharr Mounds site has eight burial mounds built 1,800 to 2,000 years ago during the Middle Woodland period. It is one of the largest Middle Woodland ceremonial sites in the southeastern United States.
#269.4 - Old Trace & 13 Confederate Gravesites
Natchez Trace - 13 Graves Panorama
At eye level, with stones facing towards the Old Natchez Trace, are the thirteen graves of Unknown Confederate Soldiers. Placed so that anyone passing by could see and pay their respects to these thirteen men, this is the most moving location along the 444-mile Natchez Trace Parkway.
13 Graves
It is a mystery how these thirteen Confederate soldiers came to be buried alongside the Trace. No battles took place near here. Could they have been wounded during the Shiloh or Corinth Battles and retreated along the Trace, or possibly guarding the Tupelo headquarters of J.B. Hood’s Army of Tennessee at the end of the Civil War? Or worse, did they die of starvation or one of the many diseases that raged through the army camps while trying to make their way home after the war?
We will never know. 
Unknown Confederate Soldier
#259.7 - Tupelo National Battlefield
Exit the Natchez Trace Parkway at milepost #259.7. One mile east on Main Street, the physical address is 2005 Main Street, Tupelo.
As a side note... Tupelo is the Birthplace of Elvis. If you visit the Battlefield, you might also want to spend a day or two exploring the Elvis Presley sites. 
Tupelo National Battlefield
#232.4 Bynum Mounds
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Bynum Mounds site has six burial mounds built 2,050 to 1,800 years ago during the Middle Woodland period. Five of the mounds were excavated in the late 1940s, and the two largest were restored for public viewing.
#193.1 - Jeff Busby Park
Atop Little Mountain
Jeff Busby Park is named to honor Thomas Jefferson Busby, the US Congressman who was responsible for getting the Old Natchez Trace survey done in 1934. Four years later, the Trace was designated part of the National Park System, preserving this important piece of Mississippi and American history.
The park is mainly a camping and picnic area with a scenic overlook at the top of Little Mountain. You can drive or hike to the top of Little Mountain. At 603 feet high, it is one of the highest points in the state. On a clear day, you can see about 20 miles. #180.7 - French Camp
Because of Lewis LeFleur's nationality, the area became known as “French Camp.” When the village grew up around the stand, it retained that name. Although the inn no longer exists, the small town of French Camp is still here along The Trace.
Today, French Camp is home to a Christian school, the French Camp Academy. They also run the French Camp Historic Village and the French Camp Bed and Breakfast. The French Camp Village is an official tourist attraction along the Natchez Trace Parkway. It has several historic buildings, including the Colonel James Drane House, LeFlore Carriage House, and a Blacksmith Shop. The Village is open to the public from 9 to 5 Monday through Saturday. 
Colonel James Drane House
The Colonel James Drane House was moved to its present location along the Natchez Trace Parkway in 1981. Colonel Drane was the most prominent early settler of Choctaw County. He served as a state representative, senator, and president of the Mississippi State Senate.
The house is one of only a few antebellum structures in the county. Constructed 1846-48 with a water saw, it has wooden pegs and square nails. The house was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 because the design is highly significant in the architectural history of Mississippi. Architecturally, it is described as a well-preserved wood-frame single-galleried I-house with a seven-bay façade and an open dogtrot on the lower story; it is an example of the blending of folk architecture with sophisticated ornamentation borrowed from the East Coast. 
Old Rusty Tractor
An old tractor sits in the yard at the French Camp Village. In the background is the Alumni Cabin Museum. The cabin, built in the 1880s, is full of Natchez Trace memorabilia, such as dresses, antiques, farm equipment, and photographs.
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.  Old Rusty Tractor Framed Art Print - Shown with Frame: EXL2 - Top Mat: Redwood - Inner Mat: Sable
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