Official Natchez Trace Parkway FB page! Drive through exceptional scenery and 10,000 years of history. Enjoy over 100 miles of hiking trails, camping, boating, and more.

Tags : #NationalPark, #LandmarkHistoricalPlace, #Landmark&HistoricalPlace

Location :

2680 Natchez Trace Pkwy, Tupelo, Mississippi 38804

Contacts :

Directions to the Natchez Trace Parkway vary greatly depending on what part of the tri-state Parkway you are trying to reach. There are more than 50 roads that access the Parkway in Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. For specific questions concerning how to get to a certain portion of the Parkway, please call the Visitor Center at 1-800-305-7417. Below are listed some of the more common ways that travelers may access the Parkway.

In Natchez, Mississippi - The southern terminus of the Parkway is accessed off of Liberty Road in Natchez, Mississippi. Technically, this is starting your trip from the historical "beginning" of the Old Trace, in Natchez, at milepost zero.

In Jackson, Mississippi - There are two major access points in the Jackson area. One access is from I-20, and the other from I-55.

In Tupelo, Mississippi - U.S. Highway 78 (future I-22) accesses the Parkway.

In Cherokee, Alabama - U.S. Highway 72 accesses the Parkway.

Southwest of Nashville, Tennessee - The northern terminus of the Parkway (milepost 444) intersects with Tennessee Highway 100 about 17 miles southwest of downtown Nashville. Travelers can also follow I-40 west of Nashville to exit 192, McCrory Lane. Travel on McCrory Lane for about 5 miles to the entrance to the Natchez Trace Parkway.

It should be noted that the list above is only meant to highlight some of the more popular access points to the Parkway. Please keep in mind that there are over 50 roads that access the Parkway.

Anynomous

23 May 2019

#OnThisDay May 23, 1836, The Treaty of New Echota was ratified by the United States Senate by just one vote.
Most Cherokees opposed removal. Yet a minority felt that it was futile to continue to fight. They believed that they might survive as a people only if they signed a treaty with the United States.
In December 1835, the US sought out this minority to effect a treaty at New Echota, Georgia. Only 300 to 500 Cherokees were there; none were elected officials of the Cherokee... Nation. Twenty signed the treaty, ceding all Cherokee territory east of the Mississippi to the U.S., in exchange for $5 million and new homelands in Indian Territory.
In 1838, the United States government forcibly removed about 15,000 Cherokee people from their homelands in Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina, and Georgia, and sent them to Indian Territory, present-day Oklahoma.
Hundreds of Cherokee died in concentration camps, on flat bed boats, and during the 800-mile walk west. Harsh weather, poor food supplies, and the spread of sickness affected these traveling groups. Once in Indian Territory, the Cherokee reconstructed their lives and rebuilt their nation, proving resilience. The Trail of Tears is a story of racial injustice, intolerance and suffering but it is also one of American Indian tenacity and survival.
Today the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail crosses over the Natchez Trace Parkway at 4 different locations. These routes are known as the Water Route, Drane Route, Bell Route and the Benge Route.
Go to www.nps.gov/trte to learn more!
Photo: Treat of New Echota signature page. National Archives
See More
Anynomous

22 May 2019

"Once let the black man get upon his person the brass letter, U.S., let him get an eagle on his button, and a musket on his shoulder and bullets in his pocket, there is no power on earth that can deny that he has earned the right to citizenship." ~Frederick Douglass
#OnThisDay in 1863, The United States War Department issued General Order 143, creating the United States Colored Troops (USCT). By the end of the Civil War, roughly 180,000 men of African descent served in the Ar...my (roughly 10% of total soldiers in the Army) and another 19,000 served in the U.S. Navy. These men served heroically and honorably and 40,000 USCT soldiers made the ultimate sacrifice.
At the Battle of Brices Cross Roads when Federal forces were overpowered and started to retreat, the 55th and 59th US Colored Troops (USCT) were sent into battle to cover the retreat and slow down the pursuing Confederates. Nearly half of the 600 Federal soldiers who died at Brices Cross Roads were from the USCT regiments.
See More
Anynomous

21 May 2019

#OnThisDay, May 21, 1542, Hernando de Soto died of a fever at the age of 46. Hernando de Soto’s men were anxious to conceal his death from the American Indians of Arkansas and northern Louisiana. According to one source, de Soto's men hid his corpse in blankets weighted with sand and sank it in the middle of the Mississippi River during the night. The actual site of his burial is unknown.
De Soto and his conquistadors spent the winter of 1540-1541 near the present-day Natchez... Trace Parkway in an abandoned Chickasaw village. During the spring of 1541 de Soto demanded 200 porters from the Chickasaw Nation. The Chickasaw’s refused de Soto’s request and attacked the Spanish camp. The Spanish lost about 40 men and most of their supplies.
His expedition through the Southeast US can be summed up by one of the Spanish survivors “Our quest for new colonies and treasures of gold was a failure. As survivors we were happy to just escape with our lives.”
The Hernando de Soto site along the Natchez Trace Parkway is located at milepost 243.4 north of Houston, MS. Historians believe the Spanish camp was farther west off the Parkway.
Photo: 1.) Engraving of Hernando de Soto's burial. 2.) Hernando de Soto sign at milepost 243.3 along the Natchez Trace Parkway 20 miles south of Tupelo MS.
See More
Anynomous

21 May 2019

#OnThisDay May 21, 2005, the Natchez Trace Parkway was officially completed as a 444 mile roadway.
What is your favorite spot and memory about the Natchez Trace Parkway?
The Natchez Trace Parkway is a 444-mile recreational road and scenic drive through three states. It roughly follows the "Old Natchez Trace" a historic travel corridor used by American Indians, "Kaintucks," European settlers, slave traders, soldiers, and future presidents. Today, people can enjoy not only a sc...enic drive but also hiking, biking, horseback riding, and camping along the parkway. The Natchez Trace Parkway averages roughly 6 million recreational visitors every year!
For more information about the Natchez Trace Parkway check out our website at www.nps.gov/natr
Photo: Vintage Cars driving down the Natchez Trace Parkway. Copyright photo: Marc Muench/NPS
#NatchezTrace #NatchezTraceParkway
See More
Anynomous

18 May 2019

#OnThisDay May 18, 1938, the Natchez Trace Parkway was established as a unit of the National Park Service.
The Natchez Trace Parkway is a 444-mile recreational road and scenic drive through three states. It roughly follows the "Old Natchez Trace" a historic travel corridor used by American Indians, "Kaintucks," European settlers, slave traders, soldiers, and future presidents. Today, people can enjoy not only a scenic drive but also hiking, biking, horseback riding, and camp...ing along the parkway. The Natchez Trace Parkway averages roughly 6 million recreational visitors every year!
What is your favorite spot and memory about the Natchez Trace Parkway?
For more information about the Natchez Trace Parkway check out our website at www.nps.gov/natr
Photo: Vintage VW Beetle driving down the Natchez Trace Parkway. Copyright photo: Marc Muench/NPS
#NatchezTrace #NatchezTraceParkway
See More
Anynomous

13 May 2019

#OnThisDay May 13, 1863, US Grant and his Federal army advanced toward Jackson, Mississippi.
After the Federal victory at the Battle of Raymond, 15 miles south of Jackson, Grant divided his army and sent two corps under William T. Sherman and James McPherson to drive the Confederates out of Jackson, which they did by May 14. Grant also sent John McClernand’s corps west to close in on Pemberton in Vicksburg. On May 16, Grant defeated Pemberton at Champion’s Hill and drove the ...Confederates back into Vicksburg. With the threat from the east neutralized, Grant sealed Vicksburg shut and laid siege to the city. Vicksburg surrendered on July 4, 1863.
The old Natchez Trace was used by the Federal army to transport men and materials from the Port Gibson area to the Battle of Raymond and beyond. General Ulysses S. Grant made his headquarters at the Rocky Springs Church at milepost 54.8.
Follow our friends at Vicksburg National Military Park at www.nps.gov/vick for more information and insight into the Vicksburg Campaign of 1863.
Photo: Print titled “Battle of Jackson, Mississippi--Gallant charge of the 17th Iowa, 80th Ohio and 10th Missouri, supported by the first and third brigades of the seventh division.” Sketched by A.E. Mathews, 31st Reg., O.V.I. Library of Congress.
See More
Anynomous

12 May 2019

#OnThisDay May 12, 1863, Federal forces commanded by Maj. Gen James B. MacPherson defeat Brig Gen. John Gregg’s Confederate brigade at the Battle of Raymond.
The Federal force outnumbered the Confederates 10,000 to 3,000, but mistaken intelligence combined with an unusually thick haze of smoke and dust led Gregg to believe he was facing roughly equal odds. He ordered an attack across Fourteenmile Creek that staggered the men of MacPherson’s lead elements, but Gregg's soldier...s were eventually forced back by the weight of Union numbers. The Battle of Raymond gave Grant the initiative he needed to drive a wedge between Vicksburg and Confederate re-enforcements, and forced the Confederates to confront Grant again at Champion Hill four days later.
The old Natchez Trace was used by the Federal army to transport men and materials from the Port Gibson area to the Battle of Raymond and beyond. You can visit the Battle of Raymond site along the Natchez Trace Parkway at milepost 78.3.
Follow our friends at Vicksburg National Military Park at www.nps.gov/vick for more information and insight into the Vicksburg Campaign of 1863.
Photo: Pen and ink drawing, Opening the Battle of Raymond, by Theodore Davis depicts DeGolyer's Michigan Battery as they returned Confederate fire.
See More
Anynomous

10 May 2019

Update: The tree is cleared and the roadway is open in from of the Parkway Visitor Center.
Caution: The rain has made our spring trees top heavy. This tree just fell across the southbound blocking the southbound lane in front of the Parkway Visitor Center at milepost 266.
Anynomous

08 May 2019

#OnThisDay, May 8th 1541, Hernando de Soto and his Spanish conquistadors reached the Mississippi River south of present-day Memphis, TN. Historians believe Hernando de Soto’s expedition were one of the first Europeans to reach the Mississippi River.
After building boats, de Soto and his expedition crossed the Mississippi River under the cover of night. From there the conquistadors headed into present-day Arkansas, continuing their fruitless two-year-old search for gold and si...lver in the American wilderness.
De Soto and his conquistadors spent the winter of 1540-1541 near the present-day Natchez Trace Parkway in an abandoned Chickasaw village. During the spring of 1541 de Soto demanded 200 porters from the Chickasaw Nation. The Chickasaw’s refused de Soto’s request and attacked the Spanish camp. The Spanish lost about 40 men and most of their supplies.
Hernando de Soto himself died in May of 1542. The de Soto expedition is controversial, he is thought of by some as a great military leader. Many others view him as destructive, brutal and arrogant. His expedition through the Southeast US can be summed up by one the Spanish survivors “Our quest for new colonies and treasures of gold was a failure. As survivors we were happy to just escape with our lives.”
The Hernando de Soto site along the Natchez Trace Parkway is located at milepost 243.4 north of Houston, MS. Historians believe the Spanish camp was farther west off the Parkway.
Photo: 1.) Engraving of Hernando de Soto from the Library of Congress. 2.) Hernando De Soto sign at milepost 243.3 along the Natchez Trace Parkway 20 miles south of Tupelo MS.
See More
Anynomous

08 May 2019

Travel Alert: Closure of Old Trace at the Tobacco Barn at milepost 401.9.
The Old Trace Drive at milepost 401.9 is closed today, May 8, 2019, for road maintenance. It should open back up this evening.