Answers

1.        What was the Natchez Trace?

a. Location. The early trail system that became known as the “Natchez Trace” ran between the areas that became Natchez, Mississippi and Nashville, Tennessee. From Natchez northward, it followed the lower route of“Path to the Choctaw Nation,” which led to the center of the Choctaw Nation near present-day Philadelphia, Mississippi. The path branched at the “Forks of the Road” north of Greenville, Mississippi to lead to the center of the Chickasaw Nation near present-day Pontotoc, Mississippi. Originally, it followed the Chickasaw “Peace Path” or hunting path northward through present-day West Tennessee up to the area of Paducah, Kentucky. In 1782, Chickasaw Chief Piominko proposed that Nashville settlers work with the Chickasaws to create a shorter path from Nashville to the Chickasaw Nation. The “Piomingo’s Trace” or “Mountain Leader’s Trace,” as shown on early Tennessee maps, shortened the route through Middle Tennessee and crossed the Tennessee River near present-day East Port, Mississippi. In 1801, President Thomas Jefferson entered into treaties with the Chickasaw Nation and Choctaw Nation to convert the bridal path to a wagon highway. Officially called “The Columbian Highway,” it would become the first federal highway built for wheel travel—-improvements on the Natchez Trace began two years earlier than improvements on The National Road into Ohio.

b. Description. In 1809, the Natchez Trace was a dirt road. Wagon travel on the road was difficult in the wet-weather winter and early spring seasons. Trees were cut to create a path eight-feet wide and tree limbs and brush were cut another two feet either side of the main path. Ramps were cut on the banks of streams for wagons to travel through the streams. Larger streams were bridged. Ferry boats floated wagons across the Duck River and Tennessee River.

2.       What was the northernmost point on the Natchez Trace and the southernmost point on the Natchez Trace?

Nashville, Tennessee was the northernmost point and Natchez, Mississippi was the southernmost point. Settlers in Nashville called the road “The Natchez Road” or “The Nashville to Natchez Road.” Settlers in Natchez called the road the “Natchez to Nashville Road.” They also called it “The Natchez Trace.”

3.       What were some of the reasons people traveled on the Natchez Trace in the early 1800’s?

White settlers traveled the route to move from the Northeast to what was then the southwestern frontier. Traders traveled the road to trade with the Chickasaws and Choctaws. Chickasaw and Choctaw Indians traveled the road to hunt and trade. Chickasaws raised horses and traded them with settlers. Chickasaws and Choctaws, some of the earliest producers of beef cattle, also herded cattle along the road to market. Shawnee and Creek Indians traveled the West Tennessee branch between their nations.

4.       How did the Natchez Trace of 1809 compare to roads today?

The 1809 road is described above. Early roads for automobiles were also constructed eight-feet wide, but the lanes have gradually been widened to ten feet (the Natchez Trace Parkway) and twelve feet wide (modern interstates highways) and widened to more than one lane. Travelers in 1809 could find inns about every twenty miles. The inns were called “stands” in part because they sold food and travel supplies that travelers needed. Springs that provided fresh drinking water were major attractions in 1809, and inns were often built near springs. Today, travelers can find fresh drinking water and travel supplies at convenience stores. Like the auto repair shops of today that provide a staff of auto mechanics, many inns provided a blacksmith who could repair wagon wheels..

5.       What conditions at their home in Pennsylvania caused Sara to risk bringing her sons to the southwestern frontier to find a new home?

Sara, who was a widow, concluded that her sons would never have an opportunity to achieve their potential in a city in the East. In 1809, a settler who did not own a farm or know a needed skill or trade, made a living working for menial wages. The United States was a young nation, and its economy had not developed. When President Jefferson imposed embargoes on trade, the economy nearly collapsed. Legislatures passed bills to give debtors additional time to pay debts. Land speculation (buying land in large tracts cheap and selling tracts at higher prices to settlers) in Tennessee and the Mississippi Territory provided the opportunity to make money. President Madison may have been one of the investors in land sold in the Chickasaw Nation.

6.       Sara heard that people could get rich by buying land in the old Southwest. Was that true?

Chickasaw Chief George Colbert said that many settlers who traveled the Natchez Trace did not appreciate the costs or hazards. By the time they arrived at Colbert’s Ferry, many were sick and they had run out of money. Some settlers eventually acquired farms and their grandchildren or great-grandchildren achieved their dreams in the 1900’s, but often not from land speculation or farming. A few planters, such as Andrew Jackson, acquired enough wealth to buy land to speculate. Jackson earned enough money from land speculation in the Mississippi Territory to build his Hermitage plantation house. Like other planters, Jackson used slave labor to maintain his wealth by the operation of a cotton plantation.

7.       Why did travelers band together in Nashville to travel the Natchez Trace?

Orinthologist Alexander Wilson traveled the Natchez Trace in 1810 on a trip to New Orleans to sell his bird illustrations. He described warnings he received in Nashville about the risk of being killed by bandits on the Natchez Trace. Wilson ignored the warnings and traveled alone, but many travelers banded together for safety—-”safety in numbers’ as described in the book. Sometimes numbers alone were not enough. A group of bandits attached soldiers returning from the Battle of New Orleans in 1815 and nearly killed them.

8. Why was the Natchez Trace attractive to bandits?

The federal rangers who road the road were too few to provide law enforcement. Travelers heading south to find a new home often carried money and valuable possessions with them. Boatmen, who floated down the Mississippi River to sell farm goods, often returned home carrying large sums of money on the Natchez Trace. In 1804, President Jefferson sent additional troops to ride the road to protect settlers. In 1811, the Tennessee legislature appropriated additional funds to provide additional law enforcement on the road because of the number of travelers that had been attacked.

9. Why did travelers call the Natchez Trace “The Devil’s Backbone?”

In the early 1800’s settlers and travelers often called dangerous areas “The Devil’s _______.” Dangerous passages on the Cumberland and Mississippi rivers were called “The Devil’s Elbow” and “The Devil’s Shoe.” Part of the Natchez Trace ran along the ridgelines that reminded travelers of a human backbone or spine.