Tim Jackson - Guide to the Natchez Trace Parkway

GUIDE TO THE NATCHEZ TRACE PARKWAY

Copyright 2020 Tim W. Jackson and Taryn Chase Jackson

Copyright 2005, 2011 F. Lynne Bachleda

All rights reserved

Published by Menasha Ridge Press

Distributed by Publishers Group West

Printed in China

Third edition, first printing

Editor: Ritchey Halphen

Cover design and cartography: Scott McGrew

Photos: Tim W. Jackson and Taryn Chase Jackson, except as noted on-page and as follows: Front cover,

Proofreader: Emily C. Beaumont

Indexer: Galen Schroeder/Dakota Indexing

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Jackson, Tim W., author. | Jackson, Taryn Chase, author. | Bachleda, F. Lynne, author.

Title: Guide to the Natchez Trace Parkway / Tim W. Jackson and Taryn Chase Jackson, prior edition by F. Lynne Bachleda

Description: Updated and revised, Third edition. | Birmingham: Menasha Ridge Press, 2020. | Includes bibliographical references. | Summary:

The historical riches, cultural avenues, and exploratory possibilities of the Natchez Trace Parkway are numerous. This parks natural beauty doesnt come from dramatic mountainous overlooks. Instead, you will find mostly flat terrain rendered in a balanced, subtle palette. In the spring, roadside stretches of clover, wildflowers, grassy fields, and dogwood blossoms wave. Summer is often crowned with pure blue skies and a healthy green, divided only by the yellow-striped roadway. In the fall, the soft, gray Spanish moss gives way to the russet of maples and oaks. In winter, the sturdy dark green of mature cedars takes on promising significance. Provided by publisher.

Identifiers: LCCN 2019029930 (print) | LCCN 2019029931 (ebook) | ISBN 9781634042819 (paperback) | ISBN 9781634042826 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Natchez Trace ParkwayGuidebooks. | Natchez TraceGuidebooks. | Automobile travelNatchez Trace ParkwayGuidebooks.

Classification: LCC F217.N37 B33 2020 (print) | LCC F217.N37 (ebook) | DDC 917.62/93504dc23

LC record available at lccn.loc.gov/2019029930

LC ebook record available at lccn.loc.gov/2019029931

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DISCLAIMER Although Menasha Ridge Press and the authors have made every attempt to ensure that the information in this book is accurate at press time, they are not responsible for any loss, damage, injury, or inconvenience that may occur in the course of using this book.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The support of the National Park Service staff at the Natchez Trace Parkways Tupelo headquarters has been invaluable, and once again they provided crucial updates for the third edition of this book. Our thanks also go to those who have previously written about the Trace and the Parkway (please see for more information).

Tim W. Jackson and Taryn Chase Jackson

DEDICATION

With gratitude to the Natchez Trace Parkway employees who conserve and maintain this delightful scenic drive and all of its wonders

Introduction

In 1962, when Dr. Dawson Phelps presented himself at the Great Smokies information desk, to the inquiry Where are you from? he confessed with some pride to being a Park Service man stationed at the Natchez Trace. To his astonishment the ranger replied, I certainly feel sorry for you! To Dr. Phelpss Why? the ranger replied, Because you have nothing for visitors to see.

John S. Mohlhenrich, former chief park interpreter for the Trace, in his revision of Dawson Phelpss
Administrative History of the Natchez Trace Parkway (1965)

OVERVIEW

T hat Smoky Mountains ranger couldnt have been more wrong. Most federal parks or landmarks are devoted to a limited number of themes. The graceful Natchez Trace Parkway ribbon of time, however, has many threads. It can transport you back 9,000 years to the time of Paleo-Indian hunters, drop you into a Civil War battle, urge you to contemplate the Nile of the Western Hemisphere, encourage you to empathize with foot-weary 19th-century travelers yearning for home, and teach you about contemporary farming practices. The historical riches, cultural avenues, and exploratory possibilities of the Natchez Trace Parkway are numerous.

This parks natural beauty doesnt come from dramatic mountainous overlooks but instead from mostly flat terrain rendered in a balanced, subtle palette. In the spring, roadside stretches of clover, wildflowers, grassy fields, and dogwood blossoms wave. Summer is often crowned with pure blue skies and a healthy green, divided only by the yellow-striped roadway. In fall the soft gray Spanish moss gives way to the russet of maples and oaks. In winter the sturdy dark green of mature cedars takes on promising significance. The road alternately holds you in the close embrace of its shady refuge or shoots you into light-filled pastures and croplands. This is a hypnotic environment, a soothing melody of forest and field.

The most famous period for this path was from around 1790 to 1820, when it served as one of the primary passageways through the southwest territory of what was then a relatively new country. Farmers, boatmen, diplomats, ladies, preachers, bandits, soldiers, murderers, and slaves used it to travel between Nashville, Tennessee, and Natchez, Mississippi. By 1800 it was also a United States postal route traversed on horseback by courageous men who risked their lives at breakneck speeds. But the Trace has been around for much, much longer than a mere two centuries.

If youre in a hurry, then perhaps you should choose another route: driving at 50 mph is a legal requirement on most stretches, but this slower pace will also help you relax and notice the Parkways many sights. For those of us enjoying the ride, few things are more irritating than a vehicle riding too close behind, just waiting for an opportunity to zoom past. Also, bikers are often plentiful during warm weather, so its wise to pay attention and give cyclists the proper amount of space. Using your imagination, you can replicate some of the same experiences that others before you have had here for millennia. After all, many of the vistas have not changed substantially. Ultimately, this is the affirming power of the Trace: along this distance, powerfully strong human and natural links still exist across time.