The Natchez Trace or “Trail” was a natural travel corridor between the Ohio River Valley and Natchez, Mississippi and further on down into New Orleans, Louisiana. Used for centuries by several Indian tribes the Trace became a natural return path home for settlers who floated goods and livestock for sale, down the Mississippi.
We did not walk more than a mile or so of the 450 mile long original walking trail, but we did drive and explore historical stops between mile marker 360 and 410.
Our first stop was the Tobacco Farm where tobacco has been grown since the early 1900’s. William Coleman now tends the crop of Burley tobacco, investing 250 hours per acre. (wheat requires 3 hours an acre to grow)
It is harvested and air dried in this barn that was built from trees harvested from the same plot of land. This type of tobacco is mainly used in cigarettes, but a small percentage is used for pipe and chewing tobacco.
Holly wow this is a lot of tobacco! And the smell….if cigarettes smelled like this barn full of dried tobacco I wouldn’t mind them at all. Earthy, and a bit like spice cinnamon. Mmm.
From here we were able to drive on a wide part of the original Trace walking path.
Hey Rene, we are two trackin’!!!!
We came out at the parkway and headed on to the Gordon House, one of the few remaining buildings associated with the Old Natchez Trace.
Captain John Gordan lived here and was the ferry operator providing travelers with safe passage across the Duck River. Apparently they weren’t into building bridges back then.
The grounds provided boatmen on their way home a place to stay for the night. For the foot traveler it was a landmark letting them know that they would soon be in Nashville, where human comforts could be found.
Anyone who has been hiking and/or backpacking for any significant time/distance can imagine what it was like for foot travelers.
For those of you who live next to or around multiple waterways understand how flooding and erosion can change the path of a stream or river. In a classic example Duck River captured the waters of Jackson Branch.
This merging of two waterways created a beautiful waterfall as a result. In the upper left of the pic you can see the water coming down from the Jackson Branch, making the turn and heading on down to the Duck River.
Some of the stops along the Trace impart some fun, interesting information, like the Sheboss Stand.
Back in the early 1800’s traveling the Natchez Trace was quite the adventure.
There were Indians, outlaws and wild animals to deal with in the sprawling wilderness. People needed to find food and supplies.
The Chickasaw tribe permitted inns or “stands” to be erected along the trail at 1-day intervals.
However only Indians could be the proprietors of such establishments.
Legend has it that the widow Cranfield operated one of these stands with her Indian second-husband. He did not speak much English and when travelers approached with questions he would point to his wife and say “She boss”. The exact location of the Sheboss Stand is not known however.
See, I told you fun info!
Enough sight-seeing for one day. My washer/drier needs fixin.
Oh….I almost forgot!!! Bernie says “Happy Halloween”!
