We headed out early today as we had to get propane and gas for the RV and wanted to get an early start up the Trace. We drove up as far as we did on Saturday, and that was to Port Gibson, and then the fun began. Our first stop was at mile marker 41.5 and a section of the Trace called Sunken Trace and it is a preserved portion of the deeply eroded or "sunken" Old Trace. Hardships of journeying on the Old Trace included heat, mosquitoes, poor food, hard beds (if any), disease, swollen rivers, and sucking swamps. As you walk this trail let your imagination carry you back to the early 1800's when people walking 500 miles had to put up with these discomforts and where a broken leg or arm could spell death for the lone traveler.
Then it was on to mile marker 45.7 the Grindstone Ford and Mangum Indian Mound and the fun began. We ran into a group of bikers from just outseide of Rochester that takes bike trip all over the U.S. and they were riding the whole Natchez Trace. We went to see Grindstone Ford first which marked the beginning of the wilderness of the Choctaw nation and the end of the old Natchez District. Nearby Fort Deposit was a supply depot for troops clearing the Trace in 1801-02, and troops were assembled here during the Burr conspiracy allegedly to separate the Western States from the Union. The site takes its name from a nearby water mill. Riverboat men on foot or horseback crossed here, northbound, after floating cargoes down the Ohio and Mississippi to New Orleans. Soldiers splashed across from the north to protect the Natchez District from British and Spanish threats. For post riders, Indians, bandits, and preachers Bayou Pierre was the line between civilization and wilderness. Also located at the site was an old graveyard with about 10 or 12 graves dating back to the 1820's.
This where the fun began as we were driving to the Mangum Indian Mound. We drove out of the turnaround of the Grindstone and headed back the road we came in on and took a right turn to the Mound site and all of a sudden we see a sign "LOW CLEARANCE 11'4"............oh oh we are 12'3" so we couldn't make it but we had already driven down the road about 150'. Darn, now what to do? We I tried bvacking the Rv out with the car on it but no luck as with the dolly it just doesn't go where you want it to. Well time to unload the car and then back out. We unloaded it and after a few forwards and backwards I was able to back the dolly down a section of the road where it came to a "Y" and then pull on the grass and turn around and head back to the entrance. Load the car back up and we were off again. Why the "LOW CLEARANCE sign was at the head of the road we will never know. Overall though the drive was very nice as the speed limit is 50 mph and there are no trucks allowed. If we saw 20 cars all day it would be a lot and it was a nice peaceful, quiet, relaxing drive. They say you should stop and get out and stretch your legs every once in awhile just for that reason.
Next was mile marker 52.4 and Owens Creek Waterfall. The sounds of a busy woodland stream and the quiet murmur of a lazy waterfall have long been stilled here. Only after a heavy rainfall does water fill the stream and set the waterfall singing. Over the years the water table has dropped several feet, and the spring that feeds Owens Creek has all but disappeared. Little remains of a scene once familiar to early residents of the Rocky Springs community. We were lucky as after the rain of last Friday the stream was running as well as the waterfall and it was lovely.
On to what remains of the Town of Rocky Springs at mile marker 54.8. Rocky Springs was once a thriving rural community. First settled in the late 1790's, the town grew from a watering place along the Natchez Trace, and took its name from the source of that water, The Rocky Spring. In 1860 a total of 2,616 people lived in this area covering about 25 square miles. The population of the town proper included 3 merchants, 4 physicians, 4 teachers, 3 clergy and 13 artisans, while the surrounding farming community included 54 planters, 28 overseers and over 2000 slaves who nurtured the crop that made the town possible.....cotton. Several businesses were established at different times, among them carpenters, wheelwrights, a well digger, cabinet makers, a cotton gin maker and blacksmiths. The Civil War, yellow fever, destructive crop insects, and poor land management brought an end to this once prosperous rural community. From the time this land was settled, few farmers practiced good soil conservation measures. After 1820, subsistence farming gave way to a plantation economy where even the hillsides were cleared and planted. A letter written in 1863 while the Civil War raged stated "My slaves, horses, and mules are carried off, my fences torn down and my crops destroyed. During the summer and fall of 1878, yellow fever struck the area. Pastoe J. W. Sandwell on November 18, 1878 wrote that there were 180 yellow fever cases and 43 deaths. Although Rocky Springs tried to recover after the yellow fever epidemic of 1878, in the early 1900's the boll weevil struck, devastating the cotton crop. After this final disaster, the population declined rapidly and the last store in the area closed its doors during the 1930's. After looking around the town and the old church we left to go back to the RV.
We then drove to mile marker 61.0 and the Lower Choctaw Boundary. There was a line of trees there that have been a boundary for 200 years and was established in 1765 and marked the eastern limits of the Old Natchez District. Since 1820 it has served as the boundary between Hinds and Clairborne Counties, Mississippi. Also located there was Red Bluff Stand. "John Gregg at the lower Choctaw Line respectfully informs the public, and travelers particularly, that he keeps constantly on hand a large and general supply of GROCERIES, ground Coffee ready to put up, Sugar Biscuit, Cheese Dried Beef, or Bacon, and every other article necessary for the accommodation of travelers going through the nation, on very reasonable terms. He is also, prepared to shoe horses on the shortest notice". Established in 1802, this hostelry on the Indian boundary was for several years the last place a northbound traveler could get provisions. That was the last marker we stopped at as we can see the last one before Jackson, MS from our campgrounds. We are staying at Springridge RV Park in Clinton, MS which we found out is more a mobile home park than a RV park, but that really is no problem. We got here about 1:30 and were set up about 2:00 and then had lunch and went out looking around. There seemed to be a lot of damage from the tornado that went through here last Friday and there is 19,000 people still without power. We got a few pictures driving along the Trace of the trees down and we must have seen 15-20 spots where the Trace must have been blocked because of trees being blown down and falling across the road. We got back and it was time for dinner and I'm doing the blog now. Well it's been a long day so we'll say good night and until tomorrow and we love you all.
Picture List: 1-Raggs Resting with Nan, 2,3-Sunken Trace, 4,5-Grindstone Ford, 6-Owens Creek Waterfall, 7,8,9-Cemetery at Grindstone Ford, 10,11-Safe and Cistern that stood at Drexler's Store in Rocky Springs, 12-Safe from the Rocky Springs Post Office, 13-Rocky Springs Methodist Church Circa 1837 (still using it for services), 14-Lower Choctaw Boundary Historic Marker, 15,16-Damage from the tornado they had along the Trace last Friday.
No comments:
Post a Comment