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The Natchez Trace Parkway
Shadows Of
Southern History
Centuries ago, before the sound of
engines, horse hooves, or any human
walking or running ever broke the quiet
of the forest, the Natchez Trace was a
busy place.
Its first wanderers were...
More
A
C
The Natchez Trace Parkway
Shadows Of
Southern History
Centuries ago, before the sound of
engines, horse hooves, or any human
walking or running ever broke the quiet
of the forest, the Natchez Trace was a
busy place.
Its first wanderers were
buffalo, deer, and other wildlife, following their migratory route from the
banks of the Mississippi River to salt
licks near modern-day Nashville.
As
time marched on, the Choctaw and
Chickasaw peoples adopted the path,
at first to follow the game, then later
for trade purposes.
As early European
explorers arrived, they too trod the
well-established trail on forays inland.
Even the gold-obsessed Hernando DeSoto
and his men are said to have clanked
along parts of the Trace in their search
for the shiny stuff.
As the United States expanded westward in the late 1700s, agricultural
and industrial output increased too,
and those goods produced in the Ohio
River Valley had to be delivered more
efficiently to the large seaports in New
Orlea
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