Near Mathiston in Choctaw County, Mississippi — The American South (East South Central)

The Old Natchez Trace

Photographed by Duane Hall, August 5, 2015

1. The Old Natchez Trace Marker

Inscription. In the early 1800's many thoughtful Americans believed that isolation and the difficulties of communication would force the Mississippi Valley settlements to form a separate nation. Hoping to hold the frontier, Congress in 1800 established a post route from Nashville to Natchez.
The Trace, then a series of Indian trails, had drawn from the Secretary of State the bitter comment, “The passage of mail from Natchez is as tedious as from Europe when westerly winds prevail.” To speed the mail, President Jefferson ordered the Army to clear out the trail and make it a road.
Post riders, carrying letters, dispatches, and newspapers, helped bind the vast, turbulent frontier to the Republic. However their day passed by the mid-1830's when steamboats, running from New Orleans to Pittsburgh, robbed the Trace of its usefulness as a main post road.

Erected by National Park Service.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Communications • Roads & Vehicles. In addition, it is included in the Former U.S. Presidents: #03 Thomas Jefferson, and the Natchez Trace series

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lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1800.

Location. 33° 28.514′ N, 89° 12.309′ W. Marker is near Mathiston, Mississippi, in Choctaw County. It is on Natchez Trace Parkway (at milepost 198.6), 3.1 miles north of Mississippi Highway 9, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Ackerman MS 39735, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Central Mississippi and in the Black Prairie.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Deep South.

Globally, it is in North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 10 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Pigeon Roost (approx. 4.9 miles away); The Great Eastern Hardwood Forest (approx. 5.4 miles away); Jeff Busby Park (approx. 5.4 miles away); The Natchez Trace Parkway (approx. 5.7 miles away); Eupora

Marker Next to Remnant of the Old Trace image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Duane Hall, August 5, 2015

2. Marker Next to Remnant of the Old Trace

(approx. 5.8 miles away); Natchez Trace at Mathiston (approx. 6.2 miles away); Charles Lindbergh Landing Site (approx. 7.8 miles away); Webster County Courthouse (approx. 10.1 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Mathiston.

Also see . . . Natchez Trace Parkway. Official National Park Service website. (Submitted on August 21, 2015.)

View to Northeast From Natchez Trace Parkway image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Duane Hall, August 5, 2015

3. View to Northeast From Natchez Trace Parkway

Marker is on right (east) side of parkway

Remnant of Old Trace near Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Duane Hall, August 5, 2015

4. Remnant of Old Trace near Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on August 21, 2015, by Duane Hall of Abilene, Texas. This page has been viewed 753 times since then and 36 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on August 21, 2015, by Duane Hall of Abilene, Texas.