Natchez Trace Parkway - Beautiful Drive through the Romantic Old South

Continuing our St. Valentine's Day look at some of the South's most romantic places, a drive down the Natchez Trace is an unforgettable experience.

The parkway shadows the route of the original Natchez Trace, a road deeply embedded in the romance of the Old South. It was blazed during the 1700s by "Kaintuck" boatmen making their way back home to the Cumberland and Ohio River Valleys from trips down the Mississippi River to New Orleans on flatboats. This was during the days before paddlewheel steamboats made their way up and down the great river.

Today's highway is a limited access national park that stretches from Natchez in Mississippi up to the outskirts of Nashville, Tennessee. As it winds its way through beautiful scenery in Mississippi, Alabama and tennessee, the Trace takes visitors past historic plantations, Indian mounds, the ruins of a school where John James Audubon once taught, battlefields, sites associated with the Trail of Tears, waterfalls, lakes, natural points of interest and much more. Visitors can even visit the grave of Meriwether Lewis of Lewis and Clark fame and the birthplace of Elvis Presley.

There are numerous hotels, bed and breakfast inns, campsites and other accommodations in the towns and parks along the parkway, which can be accessed at points all along its route. The National Park Service operates visitor centers and contact stations at multiple points on the parkway and rangers and staff are always available to answer questions.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/natcheztrace1.

Summer Escapes #10 - Natchez Trace Parkway

From its starting point at Natchez, Mississippi, to its ending point near Nashville, Tennessee, the Natchez Trace Parkway is a winding drive through the history and natural wonders of the South.

A modern national park area, the drive roughly follows the route of the original Natchez Trace, an important frontier trail used by "Kaintuck" boatmen as they made their way back home after floating their crops, furs or other items down the Ohio and Mississippi River on flatboats and keelboats. The path originated in the years before the American Revolution and all but vanished with the arrival of paddlewheel steamboats on the Mississippi River during the early 1800s. Despite its brief existence as a major "highway" of its time, the Natchez Trace played a critical role in American history.

Today, the paved parkway provides a beautiful winding drive through three states and commemorates the original roadway. Stops along the way allow visitors to explore old plantations, battlefields, Indian mounds, natural wonders, cemeteries, ghost towns and more. The road is beautiful during the summer, when the vegetation is at its greenest.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/natcheztrace1.

Mentone, Alabama - The Town on Lookout Mountain

One of the most picturesque communities in the South can be found just off Interstate 85 near Fort Payne, Alabama.

Named for a French community famed for its musical spring, Mentone is located on the Lookout Mountain Parkway. The beautiful scenic drive winds its way along the top of the mountain through some of the most spectacular country in the South.

The area is rich in folklore and history. Some believe that the Welsh explorer Prince Madoc came as far inland as Mentone in 1170 A.D. and built a fort at nearby DeSoto Falls. While the legend is questioned by most historians and archaeologists, it has persisted in this area of Alabama for many years.

In later years the Mentone site overlooked the Cherokee village of Wills Town, home of the famed Native American linguist Sequoyah. It was here that he invented the Cherokee Alphabet.

In 1863, the Union XX Corps crossed Lookout Mountain here during the Chickamauga Campaign. Cavalry forces also camped in the edge of town near DeSoto Falls.

The modern community came into existence during the 1880s. Noted in those days for its clear mineral springs, the site was selected as the location of a health resort. The beautiful old Mentone Springs Hotel began its existence as a health spa high on the mountain.

The town today is a quaint and colorful community, extremely popular with tourists during the spring, summer and fall and generally quiet during the winter. It offers dining, inns, unique shops and access to some of the most intriguing natural and historic sites in the region.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/mentone.

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.

Spring Travel Part Three: The Blue Ridge Parkway

Continuing our Spring Travel series on places of historic interest around the South, our post today features the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Stretching from the Great Smoky Mountains in North Carolina to the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia, the 469 mile long parkway winds its way across the crest of the Blue Ridge and is one of the most spectacular drives in the world.

The entire route is rich in history. Daniel Boone and other early frontiersmen explored these mountains and numerous groups of Native Americans lived along the route of the parkway. The National Park Service preserves a wide variety of historic sites as part of the parkway, ranging from pioneer cabins and Native American sites to historic village sites and one of America's most beautiful old gristmills.

To read more about the Blue Ridge Parkway, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/blueridge1.

The Blue Ridge Parkway - North Carolina and Virginia

Stretching from Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina north to Shenandoah National Park in Virginia, the Blue Ridge Parkway is America's most popular national park area.

Stretching 469 miles across the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains and reaching heights of over 6,000 feet, the parkway is more than just a road. It is a fascinating way to journey into the cultural and natural history of the South.

Our new Blue Ridge Parkway pages are now online at www.exploresouthernhistory.com. To learn more, just follow the link and scroll down the page to the Index section and look under both the Virginia and North Carolina headings.

Owl Creek Mounds - Natchez Trace Parkway

The Owl Creek Mounds, located off the Natchez Trace Parkway in Mississippi, are among the dozens of signficant historic sites to be found along the route of the unique national park.

The Parkway stretches from Natchez, Mississippi to the outskirts of Memphis, Tennessee and commemorates the original Natchez Trace, an important roadway used primarily during the late 1700s and early 1800s.

The Owl Creek Mounds, now maintained by the National Forest Service, are located just off the parkway south of Tupelo, Mississippi. Constructed during the Mississippian Era, they date back more than five hundred years.

To learn more, please visit our new Natchez Trace section at www.exploresouthernhistory.com. The section is not completed yet, but a number of sites - including Owl Creek - can now be explored online.