#112 Natchez Trace Parkway

The Natchez Trace Parkway runs as a two lane road for 444 miles from Natchez, Mississippi to the suburbs of Nashville, Tennessee. It commemorates and old Native American route that was also used by the early settlers. Improvements in transportation made the obsolete. Today it is a 40mph meandering drive through three states, which also has a few historic sites along the way. I drove it in two and a half days, but a week could easily be spent driving this incredible National Park. The picture above is of part of the historic Trace. Many sections of this old road can be found near the modern paved route.

See the pages for the Natchez Trace Parkway here: One, Two, Three, Four, & Five.

#111 Natchez NHP

Natchez National Historical Park commemorates the history of Natchez, Mississippi.

The park consists of three distinct parts. Fort Rosalie is the site of a fortification from the 1700s, built by the French, and later controlled by the United Kingdom, Spain, and the United States. The William Johnson House (bottom picture) is the home of William Johnson, a free African American barber and resident of Natchez whose diary has been published. Melrose (top picture) is the estate of John T. McMurran, a lawyer and state senator who was a planter in Natchez from 1830 until the Civil War.

The fort is not open to the public. The other two units of the park include displays related to life in antebellum Natchez.

The collection at Melrose's two-story Greek Revival main house and its slave quarters includes painted floor cloths, mahogany punkah, a set of Rococo Revival parlor furniture, a set of Gothic Revival dining room chairs, and bookcases with books dating to the 1700s. These were collected from Natchez families including the McMurran family. The collection in the Johnson house includes furnishings from his life and family. Archaeological objects found in the park are also on display.

Natchez Trace Parkway

The Natchez Trace Parkway runs almost uninterrupted for 444 miles from Natchez, Mississippi to just outside of Nashville, Tennessee. It runs along almost the same path as the original Trace, which was used by first the Native Americans, then by the first Europeans. It is now administered by the National Park Service. It has no stoplights and a 40 MPH speed limit the whole way.

See pictures here-(follow the Next links at the bottom of each page to see all five pages of pics-http://www.eriksmith.com/deepsouth05/natchezNHTp1.htm