168 JULY | AUGUST 2019y lifelong friend Lisa and I recently decided
it had been way too long since we had taken a
Lucy-and-Ethel road trip together. We only had a few days for
our getaway and decided to explore Mississippi’s portion of
the Natchez Trace from Natchez to Tupelo.
Around 12,000 years ago, bison and deer migrated from
the lush pastures of central and western Mississippi, through
the northwest tip of Alabama, and on to the mineral and salt
licks of the Cumberland Plateau around present-day Nash-
ville. Back then, Native Americans hunted them, following
their tamped-down trails. Later, the Choctaw and Chicka-
saw nations, settlers, postal riders, peddlers, preachers, trap-
pers, bandits, explorer-conquistadores—like Hernando de
Soto—and Kaintucks used the same route. Kaintucks were
an integral part of the Natchez Trace’s trail-blazing history.
They were rugged Kentucky boatmen who, from 1785-1820,
manually operated flat-bottom boats downstream from the
Midwest to Natchez and New Orleans, delivering essential
goods and livestock. Once there, they were unable to navigate
the strong currents running against them back north, so they
sold their boats along with their cargo, and as many as 10,000
a year walked the 444-mile wilderness trail to get back home
to Nashville.
In 1800, the U.S. government felt that, because they were
so isolated from the rest of the Union, the settlements of the
Mississippi River Valley, might form their own nation. They
ordered the Army to clear the preexisting trails, using it as a
postal and commerce route, and better connecting Nashville
to Natchez. Although it was initially called “The Columbian
Highway,” the name was later changed to “The Trace,” mean-
ing beaten path. After the War of 1812, it was called “The Nat-
chez Trace” because its Southern origin was in Natchez. Inns
called “stands” sprang up along the way until steamboats
emerged as the preferred method of travel, and many stands
closed.
In 1938, the Natchez Trace became part of the National
Park Service, and a new road paralleling segments of the Old
Trace eventually became the Natchez Trace Parkway. Today,
it’s a paved two-lane road, clearly marked with brown Na-
tional Park Service mileposts and historic-landmark signs.
The former settlements, now cities and towns with all the
amenities a traveler could want, are easily accessible from
t he pa rk w ay.
The speed limit along the Natchez Trace Parkway is 50
mph—less in some places—and is very strictly enforced. Lisa
was my speed-limit monitor, so we escaped getting a ticket
but passed several people who had been pulled over. Cars,
bicycles, motorcycles, campers, RVs, school buses, and tour
buses with permits are allowed on the parkway, as well as
non-commercial pickups with no more than a one-ton rated
capacity and used only for recreational purposes. Commer-
cial vehicles, especially tractor-trailers, are not permitted.
Anyone interested in exploring the Natchez Trace should
visit natcheztracetravel.com on the web; it’s an invaluablem
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10.3PHOTO BY G. DOUGLAS ADAMSPHOTO BY G. DOUGLAS ADAMS