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Mount Locust
Mile Post 015.5 |
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Mount Locust
Located At This Stop Infomation Center Picnic Area Handicap Restroom at this Location Distance to Nearest Gas Stations 22.4 Miles North to US 61 Then 0.5 Miles North 15.5 Miles South to Library Rd Then 0.7 Mile West |
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Mount Locust John Blommart began what would become known as Mount Locust around 1780, but his stay was short. Blommart’s former business associate, William Ferguson, and his wife Paulina purchased Mount Locust in 1784 and built the Mount Locust historic house, which is now one of the oldest structures still standing in the area. William and Paulina owned and operated the farm until William’s death in 1801. A short time later Paulina married James Chamberlain, an overseer at Mount Locust, and they continued to build the growing plantation. Between 1785 and 1820, an increasing number of boatmen known as "Kaintucks," were floating flatboats down the Mississippi River to sell their goods at the markets in Natchez and New Orleans. Without an efficient way to navigate back up the Mississippi River, the boatmen walked north on the Natchez Trace to make their way home. The growing number of travelers compelled the Fergusons to turn their home into a "stand," which was nothing more than a crude inn. The family offered the boatmen a meal of corn mush and milk with meager sleeping arrangements on the porchesand grounds. The boatmen paid just 25 cents for the much-needed food and accommodations the stand provided. |
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The end of the plantation system after the Civil War led to a slow decline at Mount Locust. Eventually the National Park Service took over the property in 1938, with the last of the Chamberlain leaving in 1944. Overall, Mount Locust was a home to the Ferguson-Chamberlain family for five generations. |
Sleeping Quarters |
Dining Area |
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Mount Locust
Mile Post 015.5 |
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