The route generally traverses the tops of the low hills and ridges of the watersheddivides from … The route was to follow the old Natchez Trace as closely as possible. The path itself went through several different American Indian territories, including Chickasaw territory.. As time wore on, boats traveled up the Mississippi River, and the Trace was no longer needed as a route. Ancient History Encyclopedia Limited is a non-profit company registered in the United Kingdom. Indian history is abundant along the Natchez Trace Parkway. Today, people can enjoy not only a scenic drive but also hiking, biking, horseback riding, and camping along the parkway. It roughly follows the "Old Natchez Trace" a historic travel corridor used by American Indians, "Kaintucks," European … This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms. https://www.ancient.eu/Natchez_Trace/. Related Content Last modified May 30, 2014. Start planning your next cycling adventure. Eventually, plant growth overcame the lost path and it became wild again. Ancient History Encyclopedia Foundation is a non-profit organization. The visitor center is closed Thanksgiving, December 25th and January 1st. American Indians were not the only ones to use the path. Please support Ancient History Encyclopedia Foundation. By early February 1935, the Bureau of Public Roads began locating the route of the Trace … Tupelo, MS The Trace ran for about 30 miles through the northwestern part of Alabama in Lauderdale and Colbert Counties, passing through the state west of Sheffield near the town of Cherokee. This content is provided by Chickasaw.tv under a content sharing agreement. The Natchez Trace, "Old Natchez Trace" or "Chickasaw Trail" was a 450 mile (725 km) long trail connecting what were originally American Indian settlements on the Cumberland River (Nashville, Tennessee) and Tennessee River ("Wawmanona" Indian site near Florence, Alabama) with settlements near the Mississippi River (Natchez, Mississippi, Grand Villiage of the Natchez Indians). The Ancient History Encyclopedia logo is a registered EU trademark. (2014, May 30). Cite This Work. Natchez Trace The Natchez Trace is a prehistoric route that extended 440 miles from Nashville, Tennessee, through Alabama to Natchez, Mississippi, and provided a link between the Tennessee and Mississippi rivers. For only $5 per month you can become a member and support our mission to engage people with cultural heritage and to improve history education worldwide. Natchez Trace. The Natchez Trace Indian path is one of the oldest trails in North America, and the Natchez Road was one of the first federal roads. Books Some Rights Reserved (2009-2020) under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license unless otherwise noted. Visit our keyboard shortcuts docs for details. The Visitor Center is open during normal business hours seven days a week. Andrew Jackson led his troops along the trail to the Battle of New Orleans. A good bit of the Trace’s 19 th century traffic was from Kaintucks, traders who floated goods down the Mississippi River then traveled back north on foot. 2680 Natchez Trace Parkway The gentle sloping and curving alignment of the current route closely follows the original foot passage. The path itself went through several different American Indian territories, including Chickasaw territory. Native Americans would go deeper into the wild and make the Trace what it is today. The Devil's Backbone: The Story of the Natchez Trace, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. The last 12 miles were finished in 2005. Historians believe the Natchez Trace was originally formed by herds of bison traveling to salt licks near Nashville, TN from the Mississippi River. Natchez Trace Definition. It may have been the first federal road improved by the U.S. government. We have also been recommended for educational use by the following publications: Ancient History Encyclopedia Foundation is a non-profit organization registered in Canada. Our latest articles delivered to your inbox, once a week: Our mission is to engage people with cultural heritage and to improve history education worldwide.