Spring Travel Part Nineteen: Natchez Trace Parkway

Stretching from Natchez, Mississippi up to the outskirts of Nashville, Tennessee, the Natchez Trace Parkway is one of America's premier national park areas.

The parkway commemorates the original Natchez Trace, an important roadway that linked Tennessee with Natchez on the Mississippi River.

To drive the parkway today is a leisurely and fascinating journey. The park setting stretches up through Mississippi and Alabama and into Tennessee and can be accessed at numerous points along the way. There are scores of historic sites along the parkway, and signs point out others in nearby communities. Among them can be seen Native American mounds and village sites, battlefields, historic homes, lost communities and a wide variety of other points of interest.

To learn more about the Natchez Trace Parkway, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/natcheztrace1.

Emerald Mound - Natchez, Mississippi

This astounding Native American ceremonial mound is located just off the Natchez Trace Parkway outside of Natchez, Mississippi.

One of the largest "Indian mounds" in the eastern United States, Emerald Mound is believed to be more than 600 years old. It covers more than 8 acres and is topped by several smaller mounds.

Now protected by the National Park Service, the mound is one of the many historic points of interest along the Natchez Trace. If you would like to read more and see additional photographs, just go to www.exploresouthernhistory.com and look for the "Natchez Trace Parkway" heading.