Original portion of the Natchez Trace IMG 6998

Old Trace sign of Natchez Trace IMG 6999

The Natchez Trace, also known as the Old Natchez Trace, is a historic forest trail within the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

which extends roughly from

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

, to

Natchez, Mississippi Natchez ( ) is the county seat of and only city in Adams County, Mississippi, United States. Natchez has a total population of 14,520 (as of the 2020 census). Located on the Mississippi River across from Vidalia in Concordia Parish, Louisiana, ...

, linking the

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic counties of England, historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th c ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 36th-largest by ...

, and

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

rivers. The trail was created and used by Native Americans for centuries, and was later used by early European and American explorers, traders, and emigrants in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. European Americans founded inns, also known as "stands", along the Trace to serve food and lodging to travelers. As travel shifted to steamboats on the Mississippi and other rivers, most of these stands closed. Today, the path is commemorated by the

Natchez Trace Parkway The Natchez Trace Parkway is a national parkway in the southeastern United States that commemorates the historic Natchez Trace and preserves sections of that original trail. Its central feature is a two-lane road that extends 444 miles (715&nbs ...

, which follows the approximate path of the Trace, as well as the related

Natchez Trace Trail The Natchez Trace Trail is a designated National Scenic Trail in the United States, whose route generally follows sections of the Natchez Trace Parkway through the states of Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. The Natchez Trace Trail is not a ...

. Parts of the original trail are still accessible, and some segments are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Origins

Largely following a geologic ridge line, prehistoric animals followed the dry ground of the Trace to distant grazing lands, the

salt lick A mineral lick (also known as a salt lick) is a place where animals can go to lick essential mineral nutrients from a deposit of salts and other minerals. Mineral licks can be naturally occurring or artificial (such as blocks of salt that fa ...

s of today's

Middle Tennessee Middle Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of the U.S. state of Tennessee that composes roughly the central portion of the state. It is delineated according to state law as 41 of the state's 95 counties. Middle Tennessee contains the ...

, and to the Mississippi River. Native Americans used many early footpaths created by the foraging of

bison Bison are large bovines in the genus ''Bison'' (Greek: "wild ox" (bison)) within the tribe Bovini. Two extant and numerous extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American bison, ''B. bison'', found only in North A ...

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the re ...

, and other large

game A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (suc ...

that could break paths through the dense undergrowth. In the case of the Trace, bison traveled north to find salt licks in the Nashville area. After Native Americans began to settle the land, they blazed the trail and improved it further, until it became a relatively well-established path. Numerous

prehistoric Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The us ...

indigenous settlements in Mississippi were established along the Natchez Trace. Among them were the 2,000-year-old Pharr Mounds of the Middle Woodland period, located near present-day Tupelo, Mississippi. The first recorded European explorer to travel the Trace in its entirety was an unnamed Frenchman in 1742, who wrote of the trail and its "miserable conditions". Early European explorers depended on the assistance of Native American guides to go through this territory — specifically, the

Choctaw The Choctaw (in the Choctaw language, Chahta) are a Native American people originally based in the Southeastern Woodlands, in what is now Alabama and Mississippi. Their Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choctaw people are ...

and

Chickasaw The Chickasaw ( ) are an indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands. Their traditional territory was in the Southeastern United States of Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee as well in southwestern Kentucky. Their language is classif ...

who occupied the region. These tribes and earlier prehistoric peoples, collectively known as the Mississippian culture, had long used the Trace for trade.

Development

Even before the 1803

Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or ap ...

, President

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

wanted to connect the distant Mississippi frontier to other settled areas of the United States. To foster communication with what was then called the Southwest, he directed construction of a postal road to be built between

Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyond the we ...

's Wilderness Road (the southern branch of the road ended at Nashville) and the Mississippi River. The U.S. signed treaties with the

and

tribes to maintain peace, as European Americans entered the area in greater numbers. In 1801 the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

began trail blazing along the Trace, performing major work to prepare it as a thoroughfare. The work was first done by soldiers reassigned from Tennessee and later by civilian contractors. To emphasize American sovereignty in the area, Jefferson called it the "Columbian Highway." The people who used it, however, dubbed the road as "The Devil's Backbone" due to its remoteness, rough conditions, and the frequently encountered highwaymen found along the new road. By 1809, the trail was fully navigable by wagon, with the northward journey taking two to three weeks. Critical to the success of the Trace as a trade route was the development of inns and

trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically the location of the trading post would allow people from one geographic area to tr ...

s, referred to at the time as "stands." Many early United States settlements in Tennessee and Mississippi were created along the Natchez Trace. Some of the most prominent were

Washington, Mississippi Washington is an unincorporated community in Adams County, Mississippi, United States. Located along the lower Mississippi, east of Natchez, it was the second and longest-serving capital of the Mississippi Territory. History This area along t ...

(the old capital of Mississippi); "Old" Greenville, Mississippi (where

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

conducted domestic

slave trade Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

); and Port Gibson, Mississippi. The Natchez Trace was used during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...

and the ensuing

Creek War The Creek War (1813–1814), also known as the Red Stick War and the Creek Civil War, was a regional war between opposing Indigenous American Creek factions, European empires and the United States, taking place largely in modern-day Alabama ...

, as soldiers under Major General Andrew Jackson's command traveled southward to subdue the

Red Sticks Red Sticks (also Redsticks, Batons Rouges, or Red Clubs), the name deriving from the red-painted war clubs of some Native American Creeks—refers to an early 19th-century traditionalist faction of these people in the American Southeast. Made ...

and to defend the country against invasion by the British. Trail on the Natchez Trace IMG 7003

By 1817, the continued development of Memphis (with its access to the Mississippi River), and Jackson's Military Road (heading south from Nashville) formed more direct and faster routes to

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

. Trade shifted to either of these routes along the east or west of the area, away from the Trace. As author William C. Davis wrote in his book ''A Way Through the Wilderness'' (1995), the Trace was "a victim of its own success" by encouraging development in the frontier area. With the rise of

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...

culture on the Mississippi River after invention of the steam engine, the Trace lost its importance as a national road, as goods could be moved more quickly, more cheaply, and in greater quantity on the river. Before the invention of

steam power A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be tra ...

, the Mississippi River's south-flowing current was so strong that northbound return journeys generally had to be made over land. Although many authors have written that the Trace disappeared back into the woods, much of it continued to be used by people living in its vicinity. With large sections of the Trace in Tennessee converted to county roads for operation, sections of it continue to be used today.

Early 19th century

Though the Natchez Trace was used as a major United States route only for a brief span, it served an essential function for years. The Trace was the only reliable land link between the eastern states and the trading ports of Mississippi and

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...

. All sorts of people traveled down the Trace: itinerant preachers, highwaymen, traders, and peddlers among them. As part of the "

Great Awakening Great Awakening refers to a number of periods of religious revival in American Christian history. Historians and theologians identify three, or sometimes four, waves of increased religious enthusiasm between the early 18th century and the lat ...

" movement that swept the country in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the "spiritual development" along the Trace started from the Natchez end and moved northward. Several

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

preachers began working a circuit along the Trace as early as 1800. By 1812 they claimed a membership of 1,067 Caucasians and 267

African Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

. The Methodists were soon joined in Natchez by other

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

denominations, including

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul c ...

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

and

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their n ...

s. The latter accompanied the migration of Scots-Irish and Scots into the frontier areas. Presbyterians and their frontier offshoot, the Cumberland Presbyterians, were the most active of the three denominations in this country area. They claimed converts among Native Americans. The Presbyterians started working from the south; the Cumberland Presbyterians worked from the north, as they had migrated into Tennessee from Kentucky. Another view of the Sunken Trace IMG 7002

Another view of the Sunken Trace IMG 7002

As with much of the unsettled frontier, banditry regularly occurred along the Trace. Much of it centered around the river landing Natchez Under-The-Hill, as compared with the rest of the town atop the river bluff. Under-the-Hill, where barges and keelboats put in with goods from northern ports, was a hotbed of gamblers, prostitutes, and drunken crew from the boats. Many of the rowdies, referred to as "Kaintucks," were rough Kentucky frontiersmen who operated flatboats down the river. They delivered goods to Natchez in exchange for cash, and then sought gambling contests in Natchez Under-the-Hill. They walked or rode horseback the 450 miles back up the Trace to Nashville. In 1810 an estimated 10,000 "Kaintucks" used the Trace annually to return to the north for the start of another river journey. Other dangers lurked on the Trace in the areas outside city boundaries. Highwaymen (such as John Murrell and Samuel Mason) terrorized travelers along the road. They operated large gangs of organized

brigands Brigandage is the life and practice of highway robbery and plunder. It is practiced by a brigand, a person who usually lives in a gang and lives by pillage and robbery. Oxford English Dictionary second edition, 1989. "Brigand.2" first recorded us ...

in one of the first examples of land-based

organized crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...

in the United States.

Stands along the trace

The inns or stands as they were called along the Natchez Trace, provided lodging for travelers from the 1790s to the 1840s. These stands furnished food and accommodations, and contributed to the spread of news, information and new ideas. The food was very basic: corn in the form of

hominy Hominy (Spanish: maíz molido; literally meaning "milled corn") is a food produced from dried maize (corn) kernels that have been treated with an alkali, in a process called nixtamalization ( is the Nahuatl word for "hominy"). "Lye hominy" is a ...

was a staple, and in addition bacon, biscuits, coffee with sugar, and whiskey were served. Lodging was normally on the floor; beds were available only to a few due to many travelers and cramped conditions. Some travelers choose to sleep outdoors or on the porches. ;Stands on the old Natchez Trace, from Nashville south to Natchez ;''

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and th ...

'' * Joslin's Stand, Tenn. 1797 *

Gordon's Gordon's is a brand of London dry gin first produced in 1769. The top markets for Gordon's are the United Kingdom, the United States and Greece. It is owned by the British spirits company Diageo. It is the world's best-selling London dry gin. Go ...

Stand, with Gordon's Ferry across the Duck River, Tenn. 1802. * Keg Springs Stand, Tenn. 1812 * Sheboss Place, Tenn. * Dobbin's Stand, Tenn. 1808 *

Grinder's Stand Grinder's Stand was a stand, or inn, located on the historic Natchez Trace. A replica can be visited today at the Meriwether Lewis Park, located on the Natchez Trace Parkway in Lewis County, Tennessee, south of Nashville, southwest of Columbia, ...

, Tenn. 1808 *McLish's Stand, Tenn. 1806 *Young Factor's Stand, Tenn. 1805 *McGlamery's Stand, Tenn. *Toscomby's Stand, Tenn.1810 * George Colbert's Stand and Colbert's Ferry across the Tennessee River, Ala. 1806 Buzzard Roost Spring

* Buzzard Roost Stand, Ala. 1812 See:

Levi Colbert Levi Colbert (1759–1834), also known as ''Itawamba'' in Chickasaw, was a leader and chief of the Chickasaw nation. Colbert was called ''Itte-wamba Mingo'', meaning ''bench chief''. He and his brother George Colbert were prominent interpreters ...

*Levi Colbert's Stand, Ala. *Brown's Stand, Miss. 1815 *Old Factor's Stand, Miss. 1812 *Levi Kemp's Stand, Miss. 1825 *James Colbert's Stand, Miss. 1812 *Tockshish's Stand (McIntosh's Stand), Chickasaw Old Town, Miss.1797 *Wall's Stand, Miss. 1811 * Pigeon Roost Stand, Miss. 1800 *Mitchell's Stand, Miss. 1806 * French Camp, LeFleur's Stand, Miss. 1810 *Hawkins's Stand, Harkin's Stand, Miss. 1811 *Shoat's Stand (Choteau's Stand), Miss. 1811 *Anderson's Stand, Miss.1811 *Crowders Stand, Miss. 1813 *Doak's Stand, Miss. 1810. See: Treaty of Doak's Stand. *Ward's Stand, Miss. 1811 *Brashear's Stand, Miss. 1806. See:

Ridgeland, Mississippi Ridgeland is a city in Madison County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 24,047 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Jackson, Mississippi metropolitan area. History In 1805, the Choctaw Indian Agency, headed by Silas Dinsmoor, wa ...

. ;'' Jackson *Ogburn's Stand, Miss. 1810 *Hayes's Stand, Miss. 1815 *Dean's Stand, Miss. 1821 *Red Bluff Stand, McRover's Stand, Smith's Stand, Miss.1806 *Wooldridge's Stand, Miss.1806 * Grindstone Ford, Miss. 1797 ;'' Port Gibson * Coon Box Stand, Miss. * Greenville, Miss. * Uniontown, Miss. * Selserville, Miss. * Washington, Miss. ;'' Natchez'' Source:Webb, Stacy R. (2007). "Stand Owners & Traders Natchez Trace." ''MEHRA''.
Retrieved July 12, 2021.

Death of Meriwether Lewis

Meriwether Lewis National Monument and Gravesite

Meriwether Lewis Meriwether Lewis (August 18, 1774 – October 11, 1809) was an American explorer, soldier, politician, and public administrator, best known for his role as the leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery, wit ...

, of the

Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gr ...

fame, died while traveling on the Trace. Then serving as appointed governor of the Louisiana Territory, he was on his way to Washington, D.C., from his base in St. Louis, Missouri. Lewis stopped at

(near current-day

Hohenwald, Tennessee Hohenwald is a city in and the county seat of Lewis County, Tennessee. The population was 3,757 at the 2010 census. The name "Hohenwald" is a German word that means "High Forest". Meriwether Lewis, of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, died and ...

), for overnight shelter in October 1809. He was distraught over many issues, possibly affected by his use of

opium Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy '' Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which ...

. He was believed by many to have committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and ...

there with a gun. Some uncertainty persists as to whether it was suicide. His mother believed he had been murdered, and rumors circulated about possible killers.

and Lewis's former partner, William Clark, accepted the report of suicide. Lewis was buried near the inn along the Trace.Dee Brown, "What Really Happened to Meriwether Lewis?"
''Columbia Magazine'', Winter 1988, Vol. 1, No. 4, accessed Oct 17, 2010 In 1848, a Tennessee state commission erected a monument at the site. On the bicentennial of Lewis's death (2009), the first national public memorial service honoring his life was held; it was also the last event of the Lewis and Clark Expedition Bicentennial.

Notes

References

*

* *

*

External links

National Park Service: Natchez Trace Parkway

Natchez Trace Profile and Videos
- Chickasaw.TV
Natchez Trace Parkway
at byways.org
Lesson Plan: "Footprints in the Dust: The Natchez Trace"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Natchez Trace Natchez Trace, Historic trails and roads in Alabama Historic trails and roads in Mississippi Historic trails and roads in Tennessee Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area Native American trails in the United States