Natchez Trace – 2020
Original Trace Road Map
National Park Service Natchez Trace Parkway Maps
(Downloads to Four Map Sections)
June 2nd – 3rd
We left home
on Tuesday morning, June 2, 2020 headed for Lincoln State Park in Southern
Indiana, approximate 3 hour drive. Most
of our drive was through forest and farmland along US 231. We passed through
Jasper, IN with its German Heritage and beautiful buildings.
We arrived
at Lincoln State Park on Lincoln Lake.
This is the childhood home of Abraham Lincoln. We decided to go a day early and had to stay
at a different site the first night.
Nancy Hanks, mother of Abraham Lincoln
Bronzed foundation and fireplace of the original childhood home of Lincoln
Just outside
the state park is the National Park Service monument to Abraham Lincoln and his
family. Due to Covid-19 the visitor
center was closed, but the grounds were open.
Lincoln’s mother is buried in the small graveyard. We spent about an hour walking the grounds.
June 4th
We rose
early and continued south on US 231 and US 421 toward Tennessee and the start
of the Natchez Trace Parkway. We crossed over the Ohio River near Owensboro,
KY. From Owensboro we traveled along US
431 and I-40 West to pick up TN 100 just outside Nashville. We stopped for gas just prior to entering the
Natchez Trace Parkway. The famous
Loveless Café (Hwy. 100) was closed, but they had a biscuit store in the gas
station. We picked up a half dozen of their
famous biscuits and assorted jams. Yum! Yum!
The Natchez
Trace Parkway starts on the Southwest corner of Nashville and travels 444 miles
along the two lane parkway to Natchez, MS.
The Parkway is part of the National Park Service. There are campgrounds run by the NPS as well
as numerous Tennessee and Mississippi State Park.
We stopped
to photograph the double arch bridge of TN-96.
Other stops included the War of 1812 Memorial. We missed the stop for the Gordon House, but
were able to google and read the story later.
The home was red brick, built in 1818.
We stopped and I attempted a hike to Jackson falls. A large tree had fallen across the
trail. After hiking back we discovered a
spot to park and go to the falls, but decided to continue, think that the
spectacular falls were later on the Parkway.
We were wrong Jackson Falls was the oft pictured falls. We will have to return. We continued on the Trace, past tobacco
barns, farm fields and forest. We
continued South to Meriwether Lewis Monument and gravesite. We also stopped at the location of the
Grinder Stand. Stand’s were usually
Inn’s were people traveling along the original Trace could spend the night and
get a meal.
Double Arch Bridge on the Natchez Trace Parkway
War of 1812 Monument
Trail Tears crosses the Natchez Trace Park throughout Tennessee
Tobacco Barn
Bureal site of Meriwether Lewis
Log Home where Meriwether Lewis died of questionable causes
We exited
the Parkway onto TN 64 to David Crockett State Park. Davey Crockett moved here in 1817 and started
a gristmill, powder mill, and distillery.
He died in 1836 at the Battle of the Alamo. We had a great campsite and
had heavy storms during the night. The
next morning we drove deep into the park to see Crockett Falls, the covered
bridge and beautiful lake before heading back to the Trace. The drive through the park was one of the
routes of the “Trail of Tears”. We would
follow and cross several times in Tennessee.
June 5th – 6th
We crossed
into Alabama in the Northwest corner of the state.. We stopped at the Tennessee River
Overlook. This part of the river was
also part of the “Trail of Tears” for a couple of the groups headed to
Oklahoma. We continued south through an
area devastated by a large tornado in late March. The Sunken Trace Boardwalk was closed due to
damage.
John Coffee Memorial Bridge over the Tennessee River
Bear Creek Mound
We exited
the parkway and drove to the Corinth Civil War Interpretive Center located in
Corinth, MS. Though the NPS had the
building closed, a park ranger was outside and share some information and I
toured the grounds. We retraced our path
back to the Trace and continued to Tishomingo State Park for the next two
nights. Mississippi required all campers
to be self-contained, so after the inspection we headed to our campsite. Our campsite was right on the lake.
On Saturday
we got back on the tTrace to explore and crossed the Tenn-Tom Waterway, Locks,
and Dam. We exited the Trace for Brices
Cross Roads National Battlefield Site off MS 370.
Marker for the corner of 4 Mississippi counties
On the way
back we stopped at Parr Mounds, eight (8) domed mounds built across 90
acres. They were built in 1-200 AD by
Nomadic Indian Hunters where they buried the dead and possessions.
Today was
our 45th Wedding Anniversary.
We had a special breakfast with a veggi omelet wrap and fruit and a dark
roast coffee in the press. We packed up
and again headed South to the Confederate burial site located along a portion
of the Old Trace. There are 13 grave stones.
We drove
into Tupelo, MS to the Tupelo National Battlefield. It is a small park, so the stop was short and
I took several photos. We headed to
Tombigbee State Park and dropped the trailer off at our campsite. We called in a food order at Harvey’s of 2
orders of blackened catfish over smoked cheddar and jalapenos grits and sautéed
spinach, with bread pudding for desert.
We took it back to the campground and found a nice shady place to have
dinner. After our early dinner we headed to the birthplace and museum of Elvis
Presley. We both walked the grounds
which were beautiful.
We headed
south again on the Trace, stopping at Chickasaw Council House, Tockshish,
Monroe Mission, Hernando De Soto Monument, and the Owl Creek Mounds.
Owl Creek Mounds
It was
raining when we arrived at Davis Lake
Campground, a National Forest Service Campground in the Tombigbee National Forest. Our campsite was right on the lake.
We decided to take a drive to Starkville, MS and visit Mississippi State University. We spent about 45 minutes driving around campus. On the Trace we stopped at the Chickasaw Agency, Witch Dance, and Bynum Mounds. The 9th was a beautiful day and we spent it sitting along the shore bird watching. This campground was amazing.
We decided to take a drive to Starkville, MS and visit Mississippi State University. We spent about 45 minutes driving around campus. On the Trace we stopped at the Chickasaw Agency, Witch Dance, and Bynum Mounds. The 9th was a beautiful day and we spent it sitting along the shore bird watching. This campground was amazing.
Mississippi State University
New baseball stadium. The building to the right of the entrance is a 4-5 story suite tower
Blue Heron
Hurricane Cristobal still in rotation over the south and our campsite at Davis Lake
Sarah loving her camping trips
Davis Lake Recreation Area in the Tombigbee National Forest
June 10
Back on the Trace
for 200 miles with stops at Pigeon roost, Jeff Busby – Little Mountain scenic
drive, French Camp, Bethel Mission,
Hurricane Creek, Upper Choctaw Boundary, Ross R. Barnett Reservoir, West
Florida Boundary, Boyd Site, Reservoir Overlook, Brashears Stand, Choctaw
Agency, Osburn Stand, Cowles Cemetery, Jackson, MS, Battle of Raymond, Dean
Stand, Red Bluff Stand, Lower Choctaw Boundary, and Owen Creek Waterfall. Many of the stops along the Trace are signs referring
to places and locations along the original Natchez Trace. There are a few places where you can drive on
the Old Trace, and places that you can walk to where the old wagon wheel ruts
can be seen. Our next camping stop was
Grand Gulf Military Monument. The
campground was nice and there was only one other camper there. The museum was closed, and we didn’t get a
chance to walk the grounds. We couldn’t
drive down to the Mississippi River as it was over its banks by ½ to ¾ miles
nearly up to the road to the park and campground. We did drive the loop and saw Confederate gun
placements on top of the hill.
Driving along the Trace
Ross R. Barnett Reservoir
Owens Creek Waterfall
Sunken Trace (Old Trace Road)
Grand Gulf Military Monument
Mississippi River over its banks
Natchez Trace Parkway
June 11th – 12th
We had a 35
mile drive to our last campground on the Natchez Trace. Along the way we stopped at Mangum Mound,
Sunken Trace, Port Gibson, MS, Mount Locust (closed and gated), Mount Locust
was one of our favorite places when we drove the lower portion of the Trace in
2019. There is an old home, visitors
center, and the grounds are beautiful.
It was disappointing to see it closed.
We spent 2 nights at Natchez State Park.
We drove into Natchez and saw the beautiful antebellum homes. Some were still closed. We stopped at Natchez Brewing Company and
picked some Crowler’s of different IPA’s and stopped at Fat Mama’s Tamales for
a six pack of tamales. We drove across
the Mississippi River to Vidalia, Louisiana to the visitor center along the river.
On Friday,
we completed the last 10 miles of the Trace at 11:50 a.m., 444 miles from start
to finish. We visited what was left of
the Elizabeth Female Academy and stopped at Emerald Mound, the second largest
Temple Mound in the US and National Historic Landmark. It covers 8 acres and is 35’ high. Two smaller mounds sit atop. We stopped at several churches built in the
early 1800’s. Later we drove to the
Grand Village of the Natchez Indians State Historic Site.
Elizabeth Female Academy Site
Picture from Louisiana side
Picture from Mississippi side
Tiffany Glass
We also
drove down to Natchez Bluffs and Under-the-Hill Historic District. These buildings were restored along the banks
of the river
Adams County Courthouse - Natchez, MS
First Presbyterian Church of Natchez
Molly
Chico
Susan's brother Jerry with his Covid-19 beard
Back Home in Indiana
Thanks for the great trip.Lots of wonderful pictures.
ReplyDeleteFrank
Thank you
DeleteJohn, that was a great trip for you and Susan and an inspiration for all of us to take the time to delve into all the facets of our history. Although I've never been in that area, I was always drawn to the stories - Abe Lincoln, Merriweather Lewis, The Trail of Tears. Oh my goodness, visiting would be akin to standing on hallowed ground. My great grandfather was with Sherman. Two of my Dad's brothers took part in the centennial reenactments of the civil war battles both their grandfathers fought in. Your trip stirs up so many memories. Thanks JD!
ReplyDelete