a day / 442 miles / 14 hours 43 minutes
Native Americans, Kaintuck boatmen, post riders, government officials, and soldiers all moved across this trail, creating a vital link between the Mississippi Territory and the fledgling United States. Pass through forests, cypress swamps, and farmland to meander through the rock-studded hills of Tennessee, cotton fields in Alabama, and Mississippi's rural countryside.
Day 1
9:00 - 15.3 miles / 30 minutes - 9:30
Named for a nearby 1801-02 US Army post, this area is a trailhead for horseback riders and hikers.
10:05 - 3.2 miles / 6 minutes - 10:11
From 1801 until traffic on the trace declined, the Gordons ran a ferry across the Duck River here. The house was built about 1818.
10:31 - 37.6 miles / an hour 15 minutes - 11:47
Exhibits describe the daily life of the Chickasaw Indians, as well as the early history of this village site.
12:17 - 21.9 miles / 43 minutes - 13:00
This one-acre site commemorates the last major Civil War battle
in Mississippi. The engagement at Tupelo, July 14-15, 1864, was
part of the effort on the part of Union forces to keep General
Nathan Bedford Forrest in northeast Mississippi and away from
General William T. Sherman's supply line running from Nashville to
Chattanooga.
Federal forces under General A.J. Smith occupied the town of
Harrisburg, present day Tupelo. Forrest and his commander General
Steven D. Lee, realizing that Smith could take control of the
Mobile and Ohio Railroad, moved troops to Harrisburg for a two-day
battle that would ultimately end in a draw. The Union objective had
been achieved, and Sherman's supply line in eastern Tennessee
remained open, allowing Sherman to continue his march to the
sea.
The site contains two cannons, a monument to the battle, and an
interpretive wayside.13:20 - 0.4 miles / - 13:21
The six burial mounds and associated habitation area at the Bynum site were built during the Middle Woodland period, between 100 B.C. and 100 A.D.
13:41 - 33.7 miles / an hour 7 minutes - 14:49
With buildings dating back to the late 19th century and a visitor center with information about the area, Kosciusko is a perfect place to visit to understand the Natchez Trace Parkway.
15:59 - 9.7 miles / 19 minutes - 16:18
Take a short trail to Buzzard Roost Spring and read exhibits telling the story of Chicksaw Chief Levi Colbert.
16:28 - 4.3 miles / 8 minutes - 16:37
Emerald Mound, one of the largest ceremonial mounds in the United States, is a massive, flat-topped earthen structure that rises 35 feet high and covers eight acres along the Natchez Trace Parkway. It was given to the National Park Service in 1950 and in 1989 was assigned the highest value bestowed upon American historic places: National Historic Landmark status.
On either end of Emerald's huge main platform, are secondary flat-topped mounds, which were probably the sites of a temple and the residence of a priest or ruler. Early drawings of Emerald suggest that three smaller mounds flanked the sides of the great earthwork. Built and occupied between 1250 and 1600 AD, this former Mississippian town as home to the ancestors of the Natchez people, whose remnants the French would encounter in the early 1700s. Emerald Mound, at its zenith, was most likely the setting
for large religious and civic rituals.17:37 - 300.7 miles / 10 hours a minute - 16:38
Mount Locust, standing on a land grant of 600 acres, dates from the English occupation of the Natchez District during the years 1763-1779 when it was part of British West Florida. The home was one of the original stands, or hotels of sorts, along the Natchez Trace during its early years. Fully restored now, Mount Locust offers visitors a taste of what life was like on the Natchez Trace during its golden years.
17:08 - 14.8 miles / 29 minutes - 17:38