We had planned to drive the Natchez Trace Parkway from Natchez MS all the way to Nashville, but a 2-week northern Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee detour was required to avoid tornados in the area (post here).
We finally got back to the Natchez Trace Parkway at about its midpoint, which worked out great!
First stop was the visitor center to learn about the parkway.
The Natchez Trace Parkway is a 444-mile highway that runs from Natchez MS, through the northwestern corner of Alabama, to its termination in Nashville TN. This road was first used by Native Americans – the Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Natchez natives.
Spanish explorers and French explorers used the trail, often clashing with the Native Americans. Later, boatmen known as “Kaintucks” used the Trace. “Kaintucks” sailed their goods and supplies down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers all the way to Natchez MS and New Orleans LA to sell. They returned home on foot via the Natchez Trace Parkway. Mail carriers, merchants and settlers also used the trail. The Trace was designated a postal road in 1801 which improved the road and led to the development of many inns (called stands) and towns alongside. It wasn’t until steamboats made it possible to travel back north up the river that the Trace declined. By the start of the Civil War, most sections of the Trace had been abandoned, however, battles occurred near the Parkway where population centers had grown. It was all but forgotten until 1905 when the Mississippi chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution announced they would commemorate the Parkway. WWI cut short their “pave the Trace” movement but in 1938 FDR authorized the creation of the Natchez Trace Parkway National Park but it was not completed until 2005.
The ribbon of highway was smooth as silk and its sweeping turns allowed us to cruise along at a steady speed while enjoying the lush greenery of hardwood trees, the dainty white dogwoods, the pink Eastern Redbud tree, and patches of wildflowers that were popping up in April on either side of the road.
There were multiple attractions along the route and many could be seen quite easily from the road’s turnouts. We stopped at:
The Pharr Mounds:
Archeologists discovered that these large dome shaped mounds were used as burials by Natives about 1-200 A.D.
Dogwood Valley:
An easy 10-minute stroll through some dogwood trees.
Colbert Ferry and Old Trace:
Colbert Ferry is now a bridge across the Tennessee River but at one time, George Colbert made a lot of money running the only ferry across the river in the early 1800s. Supposedly $75,000 was the price for Andrew Jackson to ferry his army across.
At the Old Trace stop, thirteen unknown Confederate soldiers were buried – a site not that uncommon across southern states.
Steel’s Iron Works:
The remains of an 1820’s charcoal burning furnace and its required air blasting machinery used to manufacture pig-iron were at this stop.
Merriweather Lewis:
Near our campground were a cabin and monument to mark where Merriweather Louis (of Louis and Clark fame) died in 1809. Some say it was suicide. Others say he died under “mysterious circumstances”. We hiked to it from the campsite on a rainy day.
Gordon House:
Another ferry operator on the Duck River built this house in 1818.
Double Arch Bridge:
This stop provided a great view of the 1527 ft. long, two lane bridge that carries travelers 145ft over the highway below and the town of Birdsong Hollow.
We also veered off the Parkway to see a few other nearby towns including:
Tupelo MS:
The birthplace of Elvis Presley, which was a concession after we changed our plans to spend 3 days in Memphis. In researching Memphis, we found it was ranked as the most dangerous city in the US in 2021 according to a 24/7 Wall St. study that used FBI data. Its homicide rate was terrible, has been getting worse, and violent crime is on the rise.
It’s so unfortunate as between Elvis, the Civil Rights history, and its legendary music, Memphis has the potential to be a great travel destination like Nashville, but by any measure it almost always makes the top 10 worst cities for violent and property crime. Surprisingly, New Orleans is often right there with it but the difference for us was that in NOLA, we safely parked the RV and stayed in a hotel. In Memphis we’d planned to simply park the RV in the city with our belongings and Bailey in as we explored around town. Although, Tupelo was a very far cry from the Memphis experience I’d hoped for, it was interesting to hear about his humble beginnings before his meteoric rise to fame fueled by his musical talent, photogenic appearance, and magnetic / charismatic personality. Elvis has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Country Music Hall of Fame, and the Gospel Music Hall of Fame and was the first singer to have his concert broadcast worldwide by live satellite. It’s obvious why he became known as The King.
Oxford MS:
A quaint town with a tidy town square and gorgeous homes. It is also home to Ole Miss.
Franklin TN:
If money were no object. Franklin is the 7th largest cities in Tennessee and is growing fast. The town was named after Benjamin Franklin in 1799. It’s just over 20 miles outside of Nashville and again this year, the county Franklin is in (Williamson County) made the nation’s top 10 richest with a median income of $104,367. Over half its 489,000 residents are college educated. The Franklin city website claims that “Franklin is a unique blend of history and progress. You’ll find the best of both worlds here: small-town charm and big-city sophistication” which I think is a very good description. The town was picture perfect. Part of the reason for this wealth is that Justin Timberlake, Chris Stapleton, Keith Urban/Nicole Kidman, Tim McGraw/Faith Hill and Brad Paisley and likely more celebrities own homes in this county.
Miley Cyrus is from Franklin. Basically, what Beverly Hills and Malibu are to Hollywood, Franklin is to Nashville (on a smaller scale). The only thing not to love about Franklin, may be the price tag – $840,000 average home price!
Writing this after the fact, it’s difficult to imagine how we saw all this in less than week while travelling on the Natchez Trace Parkway, but the reality is, it didn’t feel rushed as the stops were frequent but short and the parkway drive was serene.
Next stop, Nashville. Bye serenity!
