Road Trip — Natchez Trace Parkway – Natchez to Clinton Mississippi
Posted by Karen on 21-Jul-2008
(Click the photo for all 167 photos)
I start the morning in Natchez with a visit to an antebellum mansion because I can’t leave town without seeing some of the wonderful stuff here. I drive over to Natchez National Historic Park, Melrose and take a walk around the grounds. They offer tours of the main house, but the next one isn’t for another hour, so I pass on it. The Melrose Plantation was built in the late 1840′s and was owned by four different families until 1990 when the National Park Service bought it to continue its preservation as part of the Natchez Historical Historic Park. The main building is a Greek revival mansion and you can just imagine mint juleps being sipped on the porch. There are outbuildings that were the kitchen and laundry and slave sleeping quarters on the second floor. There is also another slave quarters building that holds an exhibit on slavery. Other buildings are a cottage, a stable and a carriage house. The formal gardens look like they have seen better days, but it was the shadiest spot on the plantation to sit.
In the visitor center I bought a book, Guide to the Natchez Trace Parkway by F. Lynne Bachleda, which turned out to be the best decision. The book details all the stops along the parkway and identifies what are considered to be the top 20 sites to see. And the first one it identified was the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians here in Natchez, so I headed over to see it before starting up the parkway. The Grand Village contains some mounds that were used by the Natchez Indians and some sample structures. I also took a walk down the nature trail to find a geocache and boy is it hot in Mississippi, even under the trees!
Back to the air conditioning of the rental 4-Runner SUV, and after a little lunch, I head off up the Natchez Trace Parkway. The parkway is a 440 mile route from Natchez, Mississippi to just south of Nashville, Tennessee. The entire route is part of the National Park System and has history markers along the entire route. Every mile, there is a marker showing you where on the trail you are; they are numbered from south (0) to north (440), which is the directions I’m traveling. Below are the stops I made along the way:
- Mile 0 – Natchez Trace Parkway Entrance – the entrance sign, I’m officially on the route!
- Mile 4.8 – Elizabeth Female Academy – The first woman’s college in Mississippi opening in 1818.
- Mile 8.7 – Old Trace Exhibit Shelter – Sections of the old Trace, walked by the pioneers, can still be accessed and walked along.
- Mile 10.3 – Emerald Mound (Trace Top 20 Site) – An ancient indian ceremonial mound, used by the Natchez ancestors from 1250 to 1600, covering nearly 8 acres.
- Mile 15.5 – Mount Locust (Trace Top 20 Site) – Dating from 1780, it is the only remaining inn from about 50 that were along the Trace and one of the oldest buildings in Mississippi. There was a Park Interpretive Staff member there and we chatted. The house has been restored to the state it was in during the 1820s when it was a frontier house.
- Mile 41.5 – Sunken Trace (Trace Top 20 Site) — Another section of the old trace where you can walk in the footsteps of the pioneers. Also hanging around here, were two of the prettiest and friendliest pure white kittens, that I presume had been abandoned. I gave them a bit of food and felt bad that I couldn’t help them more.
- Mile 45.7 – Grindstone Ford – Marked where you left the Natchez District and entered the Choctaw Nation territory.
- Mile 45.7 – Mangum Mound – A ceremonial mound from the pre-Natchez Indian culture.
- Mile 61.0 – Lower Choctaw Boundary – The old southern boundary of the Choctaw lands, before a treaty moved it north 60 miles, opening the territory to white settlers and marking the beginning of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Indians being forced out of Mississippi.
- Mile 73.5 – Deans Stand – The spot where a historic stand (inn) stood. There was an old cemetery not to far from the history marker.
- Mile 78.3 – Battle of Raymond – Battle site during the Civil War’s Campaign of Vicksburg. The Confederates were driven back and about 1,000 men from both sides lost their life near here.
And time to head off the Trace Parkway a few miles and find a motel in Clinton.
