A gigantic map of all the cool plaques in the world. A project of 99% Invisible.

The Natchez Trace Parkway

A modern parkway today, the Natchez-to-Nashville Natchez Trace retains some of the mystery and natural beauty of the old roadway. The Natchez Trace began first as an animal trail and then became an Indian footpath linking tribes in a large • region between what is today Natchez, Mississippi, and Nashville, Tennessee. As a young United States pushed westward, the Trace connected the Old Southwest outpost at Natchez with civilization to the north and east. Flatboatmen and Keelboatmen traveled down the Mississippi River in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, sold their wares, and took what they could get for the lumber in their boats. The swift Mississippi made upriver travel nearly impossible then; so rivermen walked home northward on the Trace. Stories of settlers, mail carriers, soldiers, bandits, missionaries, and opportunists paint colorful images of the Old Natchez Trace. Today, the 450 mile parkway is operated by the National Park Service, providing a leisurely journey through one of history's most tumultuous times and places. 

Nearby Plaques On Google Maps