Feb. 23, 2003

Before leaving Natchez, I stopped at the Natchez Visitor Center, located at the corner of U.S. 84 and S. Canal St.  This huge building is a gold mine of information about the history of Natchez and local attractions. But the biggest treat for me was meeting up with Ora Frazier, who sat quietly behind an information window, reading a book. Mid-week, off-season travel being what it is, I was one of only a few people browsing around in this expansive building and almost felt guilty interrupting Ora’s peaceful reading.  But I was so glad I did.

Ora Frazier has lived in Natchez for 40 years, long enough to see a few changes in the area and certainly long enough to learn more of the local history than I could pick up in one quick visit.  She has a fascination for history and has spent years studying the South.

So when the city asked her to help add to the local offerings with a presentation for visitors, she was glad to oblige – on one condition: that it could be told from the African-American viewpoint.  They said yes, and thus started an extensive effort of research and writing on Ora’s part. The final product: Southern Road to Freedom, a show that’s presented three times weekly at the First Presbyterian Church during Spring Pilgrimage, a highly attended six-week tradition.

Ora let me take a photo and gave me a brochure, as well as her email address.  It was an honor and a joy getting to talk to her.  I’d love to see the show, which she started, researched, and wrote herself. Just a reason to go back to this area.

The second stop I made, after reluctantly pulling myself away from the visitor center, was a quick swing down Silver St. to Natchez-Under-The-Hill. This below-the-bluff section of land used to be much larger in “the olden days.” Floods and erosion from the mighty Mississippi have whittled the area down to one small row of buildings and a steamboat-style casino that sits on the water.

I got out to take a few pictures, grateful for the gloves and jacket I’d packed when I left California. I then settled into a corner table at The Magnolia Grill for a cup of excellent  broccoli-crab bisque and a killer view of the river. Stuffed with both soup and accompanying crackers, I finally left Natchez and headed north.

There are multiple reasons I took this route, aside from the fact I could see new towns and areas, since I’d never traveled south of I-40 or north of I-10 in this part of the country before.  But the Natchez Trace was the main lure for me, having heard it was both beautiful and historic. On the positive side, this was a great time to be there, off-season, without any crowds. On the negative side, I’m quite sure spring and fall would give a better show of natural beauty, as winter offers bare tree branches and a substantial lack of greenery. Still, it was wonderful, even the short portion I drove – from Natchez to Vicksburg.

Natchez Trace Parkway, which was started in the 1930s and still not quite complete at the time of my visit, parallels the old Natchez Trace. It’s maintained by the National Park Service, which puts out an information pamphlet about selected stops along the way. Marked by mileposts and accompanied by clearly posted historical information, it’s easy to pull off the parkway and explore these areas. I did exactly that, stopping, I think, at every single one.

The parkway runs next to the actual Trace itself, a trail worn into the ground by centuries of travel. This trail is thought to have started as a hunters’ path that stretched from Mississippi into Tennessee. The brochure from the park service indicates that the French knew the trail well enough by 1733 to map it as an Indian trail. This trail was used by many: Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Natchez tribes, as well as the French and Spanish who were seeking new territory.

Trade played a major part in the establishment of this 400+ mile pathway.  Farmers and traders used flatboats to float their goods down the Mississippi, then sold them for lumber after unloading their merchandise and walked back along the Trace. Local inns called “stands” cropped up along the way, offering food and shelter. But the dangers of traveling this route were still plentiful. Thieves often hid in wait for travelers who were returning from selling their hard-earned crops.

I stopped at Mount Locust, a restored inn at Milepost 15.5, where I parked my car in an empty parking lot and walked up a short trail to explore the historic house. I was greeted by Stacy Jacobson, a Natchez Trace Ranger, and given a private tour. The Park Service has done a remarkable job restoring this once-busy inn to resemble life in the 1800s. Rooms feature old tools, rope-woven beds, and clothing and hats similar to those worn by the travelers years ago.

Admittedly, Stacy and I took photos of each other wearing a hat that used to be some sort of fox, I think, though I don’t know for sure. We were laughing too hard. There are huge advantages to traveling during the off-season, when others are not there to observe – the opportunity for humor obviously being one.

From Mount Locust I continued north along the parkway, taking into account advice Stacy had given me to stop at two other marked areas. The first, Sunken Trace, at Milepost 41.5, offered a chance to walk along a sunken, eroded section of the original trace. I was here completely alone, and the experience of walking along this section, as so many others did years ago, was simply amazing, silence at it’s best, a hint of time travel.

The second stop was at Rocky Springs, an old townsite located a short distance from Milepost 54.8. Here I gained the real benefit of Stacy’s personal advice, as I followed her recommendation to hike back to an old church and, beyond that, into a cemetery. This was an eerie experience. Surrounded by tombstones, I now felt very much not alone.

I was losing daylight by this time, so I took a few hazy pictures and hiked back to my car. I left under moonlight, made a few phone calls to locate lodging, and headed up to Vicksburg for the night.