Natchez Trace Parkway

{| style="clear:right; float:right; background:none; important!" |- |[[Image:Natchez Trace Parkway bridge.jpg|thumb|[[Natchez Trace Parkway Bridge]] over SR 96 in TN]] |- |[[Image:Biketrip2005 0038a.jpg|thumb|Rocky Springs Methodist Church]] |- |[[Image:biketrip2005 0036a.jpg|thumb|Rocky Springs Cemetery]] |- |[[Image:biketrip2005 0044a.jpg|thumb|Cypress Swamp]] |- |[[Image:biketrip2005 0070.jpg|thumb|Scenic Waterfall]] |- |[[Image:Tn River Bridge Natchez Trace.jpg|thumb|Bridge Over The Tennessee River]] |} The '''Natchez Trace Parkway''' is a [[National Park Service]] unit in the [[southeastern United States]] that commemorates the historic [[Natchez Trace|Old Natchez Trace]] and preserves sections of the original trail. [[Image:Natchez Trace Parkway Logo.gif|thumb|left|The Natchez Trace Parkway logo can be seen on signs and trail markings along the parkway.]] Its central feature is a two-lane [[parkway]] road that extends 444 miles (715 km) from [[Natchez, Mississippi]] to [[Nashville, Tennessee]]. Access to the parkway is [[Limited-access road|limited]], with more than 50 access points in the states of [[Mississippi]], [[Alabama]], and [[Tennessee]]. The southern end of the route is in Natchez at an intersection with Liberty Road, and the northern end is northeast of [[Fairview, Tennessee]], in the [[suburban]] community of [[Pasquo, Tennessee]], at an intersection with [[Tennessee State Route 100|Tennessee 100]]. In addition to Natchez and Nashville, the larger cities along the route include [[Jackson, Mississippi|Jackson]] and [[Tupelo, Mississippi|Tupelo]], Mississippi, and [[Florence, Alabama]]. The road is maintained by the [[National Park Service]], and has been designated an [[National Scenic Byway|All-American Road]]. ==History== Construction was begun by the federal government in the 1930s. For many years in the later 20th century, most of the trace had been complete, but owing to a lack of funds, two gaps remained, especially one, a several miles long bypass of [[Jackson, Mississippi|Jackson]], [[Mississippi]]. These final two segments, between [[Interstate 55]] and [[Interstate 20]] (in [[Ridgeland, Mississippi|Ridgeland]] and [[Clinton, Mississippi]], respectively); and between Liberty Road in the city of Natchez, Mississippi and [[U.S. Highway 61]] near [[Washington, Mississippi]], were finally completed and opened on May 21, 2005. The [[National Scenic Byway|All-American Road]] is maintained by the [[National Park Service]], to commemorate the original route of the [[Natchez Trace]]. ===Footpath=== The gentle sloping and curving alignment of the current route closely follows the original passage. Its design harkens back to the way the original interweaving trails aligned as an ancient salt-lick-to-grazing-pasture migratory route of the American [[Bison]] and other game that moved between grazing the pastures of central and western [[Mississippi]] and the salt and other mineral surface deposits of the [[Cumberland Plateau]]. The route generally traverses the tops of the low hills and ridges of the [[drainage basin|watershed]] divides from northeast to southwest. [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]], following the "traces" of bison and other game, further improved this "walking trail" for foot-borne commerce between major villages located in middle Mississippi and central [[Tennessee]]. The route is locally circuitous. However, by traversing this route the [[bison]], and later humans, avoided the endless, energy-taxing climbing and descending of the many hills along the way. Also avoided was the danger to a herd (or groups of human travelers) of being caught en-masse at the bottom of a hollow or valley if attacked by predators. The nature of the route, to this day, affords good all-around visibility for those who travel it. By the time of European exploration and settlement, the route had become well known and established as the fastest means of communication between the [[Cumberland Plateau]], the [[Mississippi River]], and the [[Gulf of Mexico]] settlements of [[Pensacola]], [[Mobile, Alabama|Mobile]], and [[New Orleans]]. In the early post-[[Revolutionary War]] period of America's (south) westward expansion, the Trace was the return route for American flat-boat commerce between the territories of the upper and lower [[Ohio River|Ohio]], [[Tennessee River|Tennessee]], and [[Cumberland River]] valleys. The Americans would construct flat-boats, load their commerce therein, and drift upon those rivers, one-way south-southwestward all the way to New Orleans, Louisiana. They would then sell their goods (including the salvageable logs of the flat-boats), and return home via the Trace (for the middle section of their return trip), to as far away as [[Pittsburgh]], Pennsylvania. Improved communications (steam boats, [[stagecoach]] lines, and [[Rail transport|railroads]]) and the development of ports along the rivers named above, (e.g., Natchez, [[Memphis, Tennessee]], [[Paducah, Kentucky]], [[Nashville, Tennessee]], and [[Louisville, Kentucky]]) made the route obsolete as a means of passenger and freight commerce. As a result, no major population centers were born or developed along the Trace, because of its alignment, between its termini Nashville and Natchez. The two cities of note, near or on the Trace's alignment ([[Jackson, Mississippi]] and [[Tupelo, Mississippi]]), developed only as a result of their alignment along axis of communication different from the Trace. To this day has there has not been constructed a dedicated rail alignment between Natchez and Nashville, even though the Trace's alignment would be the shortest distance between the two cities. Thus the Trace and its alignment come down to us today almost completely undeveloped and unspoiled along its whole route. Many sections of the original footpath are visible today for observing and hiking the Parkway's right-of-way. ===Civilian Conservation Corps=== The development of the modern roadway was one of the many projects of the [[Civilian Conservation Corps]] during the [[Great Depression]]. The road was the proposal of [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. Congressman]] [[T. Jeff Busby]] of Mississippi, who proposed it as a way to give tribute to the original Natchez Trace. Inspired by the proposal, the [[Daughters of the American Revolution]] began planting markers and monuments along the Trace. In 1934, the [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt]] administration ordered a survey. President Roosevelt signed the legislation to create the parkway on May 18, 1938. Construction on the Parkway began in 1939, and the route was to be overseen by the National Park Service. Its length includes more than 45,000 acres (182 km²) and the towering [[Natchez Trace Parkway Bridge]] in [[Williamson County, Tennessee]], completed in 1994 and one of only two post-tensioned, segmental concrete arch bridges in the world. (See the [[Federal Highway Administration]]'s [http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/eihd/images/natchez.jpg photo].) ==Historical sites on the Natchez Trace Parkway== There are numerous historical sites on the Parkway, including the [[Meriwether Lewis Museum]], the refurbished [[Mount Locust]] stand, and the [[Mississippi Craft Center]] in [[Ridgeland, Mississippi]], which focuses on promoting Mississippi's native art. Nestled between the Parkway and Old Port Gibson Road is the ghost town of Rocky Springs that thrived in the late 19th century. Today the old Rocky Springs Methodist Church, the cemetery and several building sites still exist and are accessible from the Parkway. Scenic Cypress Swamp is located at Mile Post 122. There are also several cascading waterfalls to view; for access, some require a bit of hiking from the parkway. In addition, parts of the [[Natchez Trace Trail|original trail]] are still accessible. The history of the Parkway and that of the entire Trace is summarized at the Natchez Trace Visitor Center in [[Tupelo, Mississippi]]. [[Emerald Mound]], the second largest Native American [[platform mound|ceremonial mound]] in the United States is located just west of the Trace and north of Hiway 61 near Natchez. It offers a unique look at the ingenuity and industry of native culture. Two smaller mounds rise from the top of the main mound and rise above treetops offering a wide view. Travelers can reach Emerald Mound with a five minute detour from the main trace hiway. Emerald Mound measures {{convert|770|ft|m}} by {{convert|435|ft|m}} at the base and is {{convert|35|ft|m}} in height. The mound was built by depositing earth along the sides of a natural hill, thus reshaping it and creating an enormous artificial plateau. Commercial traffic is prohibited along the entire route, and the speed limit is 50 miles per hour (80 km/h). See also the entry titled "Natchez Trace." Emergency Appropriations Act of June 19, 1934, allocated initial construction funds; established as parkway under National Park Service by act of May 18, 1938. The Ackia Battleground National Monument (established August 27, 1935, and now called Chickasaw Village) and Meriwether Lewis Park (proclaimed as Meriwether Lewis National Monument February 6, 1925 and transferred from the [[United States Department of War|War Department]] August 10, 1933) were added to the parkway by act of August 10, 1961. Total area of the Parkway is 51,746.50 acres (209.41 km², of which 51,680.64 acres (209.14 km²) are federal, and 65.86 acres (0.27 km²) nonfederal. The parkway headquarters is in Tupelo. The parkway also manages two battlefields: [[Tupelo National Battlefield]] and [[Brices Cross Roads National Battlefield Site]]. The parkway has nine district offices: Leipers Fork, Meriwether Lewis, Cherokee, Tupelo, Dancy, Kosciusko, Ridgeland, Port Gibson and Natchez. == External links == *[http://www.nps.gov/natr/ National Park Service: Natchez Trace Parkway] *[http://scenictrace.com/ The Natchez Trace Compact] * [http://www.ourarchives.wikispaces.net/General+Administrative+Files+of+Natchez+Trace+National+Parkway Guide to records (general administrative files) of Natchez Trace National Parkway] {{Protected Areas of Alabama}} {{Protected Areas of Mississippi}} {{Protected_Areas_of_Tennessee}} {{coord missing|Mississippi}}