Mill and overlay asphalt repair work continues on the ramps to I-55 resulting in nightly closures from 6:30 p.m. to 6 a.m. Closures move as work progresses. Crews are also working from milepost 101 to 102.5 during daylight hours. More
3/19/2025 Closure update for Chisha Foka Multi-Use trail rehabilitation
All of the trail north of Old Canton Road is open. The Choctaw Agency parking lot is closed and contractors are working on the sections of trail adjacent to it. More
Mount Locust Inn/Stand and Visitor Center Closed - Grounds Open Wednesday-Sunday
Due to storm damage, the visitor center is closed. The historic inn/stand is also closed due to serious structural concerns. The grounds are open Wednesday through Sunday, 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM. You can still view the stand but cannot enter.
Map depicting the Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Natchez nations along the Natchez Trace.
NPS Hadley Exhibit Natchez Trace Parkway Visitor Center
The Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Natchez are some of the most historically significant and influential groups of people to have lived along the Natchez Trace. These American Indian nations were some of the first to establish the Natchez Trace, ushering in an era of trade and travel through this region for centuries.
Along what is now the Natchez Trace Parkway, the Chickasaw people lived in the northmost region, the Choctaw were in the central area, and the Natchez were the southermost of these three tribes.
When you visit Natchez, MS you are visiting the heart of the ancient Natchez homelands. This great nation once thrived in this area, traversing the waterways, establishing trade and travel along the Natchez Trace, and excelling in warfare and diplomacy for years.
The early Chickasaw people used fire as a tool, but it was also part of their community and spiritual life. This video connects to the stories and use of fire, both historically and by the Natchez Trace Parkway fire managers of the Chickasaw Village Site.
The widow Cranfield operated an inn, known as a stand, here with her second husband, an American Indian, who spoke little English. According to legend, when travelers approached with questions about accommodations, he would only point to his wife and say, "She boss."
Unfortunately there are no remnants of Sheboss Stand visible at the site and exact location of the house is unknown.
Sites:Natchez Trace Parkway, Trail Of Tears National Historic Trail
The detachment of 1,090 people led by John Benge crossed on an unimproved path near Sheboss Place, Milepost 400.2 on the Natchez Trace Parkway, when they crossed into Hickman County, Tennessee. The Benge detachment ended their journey near present-day Stilwell, Oklahoma, on January 17, 1839.
Before 1805 the Chickasaw owned all the land in this vicinity. When the Chickasaw ceded the land to the United States in the early 1800s the Natchez Trace became a boundary. In 1837 the Chickasaw were removed from their homeland. Chickasaw Removal is the most traumatic chapter in Chickasaw history. As a result of Congress’ Indian Removal Act, the Chickasaw people were forced to remove to Indian Territory.
Sites:Natchez Trace Parkway, Trail Of Tears National Historic Trail
John Bell led one detachment from Cherokee Agency at Charleston, Tennessee, westward across the southern part of Tennessee to Memphis and then to Indian Territory. This route is now Highway 64 and crosses the Natchez Trace Parkway here at milepost 370.
This early early interstate road building venture produced a snake infested, mosquito beset, American Indian traveled forest path. Lamented by the pious, cussed by the impious, it tried everyone's strength and patience.
When the trail became so water logged that wagons could not be pulled through, travelers cut new paths through the nearby woods as a detour.
Sites:Natchez Trace Parkway, Trail Of Tears National Historic Trail
Three detachments of Cherokee, totaling about 2,800 people, traveled by river past this location to Indian Territory. The first of these groups led by Lieutenant Edward Deas left on June 6, 1838 by steamboat and barge from Ross Landing, present-day Chattanooga, Tennessee. They followed the Tennessee River, Ohio River, Mississippi River and the Arkansas River and arrived near Fort Coffee on June 19, 1838.
George Colbert used to live atop this ridge overlooking the Tennessee River. As one of the many inns that dotted the Trace between Nashville and Natchez, it provided travelers with food and lodging. At this site you can take a short walk up to the ridge where the home once sat. An additional 20-minute stroll will take you along the Old Trace to the bluff overlook of the river.
Near the bubbling waters of Buzzard Roost Spring, Levi Colbert (Itawamba Minko, "Bench Chief") built one of the many inns, called stands, along the Natchez Trace. Trace travelers no doubt talked about Levi's stand. It was nicer than most, and offered respite from the miles of footsteps that defined a Trace journey.
About 900 years ago, mound building began along Bear Creek, this site already had been used by semi-sedentary groups for thousands of years. Typical of a Mississippian period village, a ceremonial building sat on Bear Creek’s flat top, providing a focus for spiritual life.
It was a solution. Water dissolved the limestone. It was a solution. The Cave Spring provided shelter from the weather. It was a solution. The water quenched parched travelers.
800 305-7417
The Parkway Visitor Center near Tupelo, MS, is open 9am-4:30pm seven days a week. The visitor center is closed Thanksgiving, December 25th and January 1st.
