Natchez Trace State Park

Natchez Trace State Park
Natchez Trace State Park
	Natchez Trace State Park location within Tennessee
Location	Western Tennessee
Nearest city	Wildersville
Coordinates	35°47′11″N88°15′49″W / 35.7863°N 88.2636°W Coordinates: 35°47′11″N88°15′49″W / 35.7863°N 88.2636°W
Area	10,154 acres (41.09 km2)
Website	Natchez Trace State Park

Last updated April 26, 2019

Natchez Trace State Park is a state park located in western Tennessee. It was named for the Natchez Trace woodland path that was an important wilderness road during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The 48,000-plus acre park features several wilderness trails, camping, sporting, horse-back riding, and water front activities.

State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, or recreational potential. There are state parks under the administration of the government of each U.S. state, some of the Mexican states, and in Brazil. The term is also used in the Australian state of Victoria. The equivalent term used in Canada, Argentina, South Africa and Belgium, is provincial park. Similar systems of local government maintained parks exist in other countries, but the terminology varies.

Tennessee is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th largest and the 16th most populous of the 50 United States. Tennessee is bordered by Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina to the east, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi to the south, Arkansas to the west, and Missouri to the northwest. The Appalachian Mountains dominate the eastern part of the state, and the Mississippi River forms the state's western border. Nashville is the state's capital and largest city, with a 2017 population of 667,560 and a 2017 metro population of 1,903,045. Tennessee's second largest city is Memphis, which had a population of 652,236 in 2017.

The Natchez Trace, also known as the "Old Natchez Trace", is a historic forest trail within the United States which extends roughly 440 miles (710 km) from Nashville, Tennessee, to Natchez, Mississippi, linking the Cumberland, Tennessee, and Mississippi rivers.

History

Background

Natchez Trace State Park gets its name from the Natchez Trace, a Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee woodland highway that was an important wilderness road for the American frontiersmen during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It had been in use as a trade path by the American Indians, however, for hundreds of years before that.^[1] A western spur of the trace ran through part of the modern-day park.^[2]

Natchez, Mississippi Sole incorporated city in Mississippi, United States

Natchez is the county seat and only city of Adams County, Mississippi, United States. Natchez has a total population of 15,792. Located on the Mississippi River across from Vidalia in Concordia Parish, Louisiana, Natchez was a prominent city in the antebellum years, a center of cotton planters and Mississippi River trade.

Nashville is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Tennessee. The city is the county seat of Davidson County and is located on the Cumberland River. The city's population ranks 24th in the U.S. According to 2017 estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, the total consolidated city-county population stood at 691,243. The "balance" population, which excludes semi-independent municipalities within Davidson County, was 667,560 in 2017.

Native Americans, also known as American Indians, Indigenous Americans and other terms, are the indigenous peoples of the United States, except Hawaii. There are over 500 federally recognized tribes within the US, about half of which are associated with Indian reservations. The term "American Indian" excludes Native Hawaiians and some Alaska Natives, while Native Americans are American Indians, plus Alaska Natives of all ethnicities. Native Hawaiians are not counted as Native Americans by the US Census, instead being included in the Census grouping of "Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander".

The park

The 10,154-acre (4,109 ha) park was built during the New Deal on land bought from residents who could no longer farm the land due to erosion.^[2] Along with many acres of woodlands, the land included four lakes. A swimming beach and a 47-room resort inn and restaurant complex were built. Today, the park includes cabins, a group lodge, camping areas, picnicking sites, playgrounds, a ball-field, a regulation pistol firing range, hiking trails, a wrangler camp, 250 miles (400 km) of horse riding trails, a park store, and an archery range.

New Deal Economic programs of U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt

The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1936. It responded to needs for relief, reform, and recovery from the Great Depression. Major federal programs included the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), the Civil Works Administration (CWA), the Farm Security Administration (FSA), the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933 (NIRA) and the Social Security Administration (SSA). They provided support for farmers, the unemployed, youth and the elderly. The New Deal included new constraints and safeguards on the banking industry and efforts to re-inflate the economy after prices had fallen sharply. New Deal programs included both laws passed by Congress as well as presidential executive orders during the first term of the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Park activities

Cub Lake (58 acres (230,000 m²)) offers swimming, jon-boats and paddle boats. Boats are rented between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Cub Lake offers a free public swim beach.

A pedalo or paddle boat and “ped-a-leau is a small human-powered watercraft propelled by the action of pedals turning a paddle wheel.

The large recreational lake, Pin Oak Lake at 690 acres (2.8 km²), features two boat ramps. Water skiing in the park is allowed on this lake only. Other activities are fishing, picnicking, swimming, R.V. camping and more. Over-night guests are not required to have a permit. The Pin Oak Lodge offers a swimming pool for inn and cabin guests.

Browns Lake, 167 acres (0.68 km²), and Maples Lake, 90 acres (360,000 m²), each have a single boat ramp. Jon-boats, life jackets and paddles are made available on a first-come, first-served basis, and permits are available at both sites.

Natchez Trace Park has 250 miles (400 km) of riding trails in the south end of the park.

Location

Natchez Trace is located in Carroll, Henderson, and Benton counties, near the unincorporated community of Wildersville. Interstate 40 bisects the park, which is roughly equidistant from Memphis and Nashville, Tennessee.

Carroll County, Tennessee County in the United States

Carroll County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2010 census, the population was 28,522. Its county seat is Huntingdon. The county was established by the Tennessee General Assembly on November 7, 1821, and was named for Governor William Carroll.

Henderson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2010 census, the population was 27,769. Its county seat is Lexington. The county was founded in 1821 and named for James Henderson, a soldier in the War of 1812.

Benton County, Tennessee County in the United States

Benton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2010 census, the population was 16,489. Its county seat is Camden. The county was created in December 1835 and organized in 1836.

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References

↑ The Natchez Trace; Tennessee Yesterday website; accessed April 2014.
1 2 The Natchez Trace; Tennessee State Official Website; "Environment – Parks;" accessed April 2014.

External links

Natchez Trace State Park

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[1] The Natchez Trace; Tennessee Yesterday website; accessed April 2014.

[parks-2] 1 2 The Natchez Trace; Tennessee State Official Website; "Environment – Parks;" accessed April 2014.