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Old Town Overlook
Mile Post 263.9 |
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NPS Photo |
Old Town Overlook
Located At This Stop Hiking Trail Distance to Nearest Parkway Restroom 2.1 Miles North to Parkway Visitor Center 30.7 Miles South to Witch Dance Distance to Nearest Gas Stations 2.1 Miles North to MS Hwy 145 Then 1.2 Miles South 1.5 Miles South to MS Hwy 178 Then 0.5 Miles West |
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Old Town Overlook Old Town Overlook presents a medley of possibilities to enjoy. Will it be history, nature, agriculture, recreation? You can experience them all at this overlook that combines everything the Natchez Trace Parkway is about. Folks interested in nature and recreation can fish in the pond, watch turtles pile up and warm their shells in the sun, or imagine back more than 11,000 years ago and picture mastodons ambling to the creek. Walkers can stretch their legs on a short jaunt into the woods or down to Town Creek. Hikers can access the Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail and walk a little more than 2 miles south to the Chickasaw Village Site, or head northward for little less than two miles to the Beech Springs Trailhead. Over time, people have used this area in many ways. The human history of Old Town started with American Indians who settled here. The name Old Town was what the English called a large established Chickasaw village. Old Town was not always a peaceful bottomland. The 1914 DAR marker indicates that the Battle of Ackia took place near here, which is debatable, but we know that during the Civil War's Battle of Tupelo, on July 15, 1864, an intense battle was fought in the bottoms at the creek. Standing on the north side of the overlook, there are views of both natural and cultivated land protected by the Natchez Trace Parkway. The agricultural land is leased and planted with traditional crops to help conserve the rural beauty of the Parkway. (National Park Service) |
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Old Town Creek In the early 1800s, ordinary Americans could not be bothered with learning the names of Chicksasw villages on the Natchez Trace. One they call Old Town, and passed the name on to the stream running through this valley. It is one of the sources of the Tombigbee River, first called "River of the Chickasaw" and later the "Tombeckbe" by the French. (National Park Service) |
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Old Town Creek Near here, in 1795, the Chickasaw defeated the Creeks in a battle, described by Andrew Jackson as, "when the whole Creek Nation came to destroy your towns . . . a few hundred Chickasaw aided by a few whites chased them back to their nation, killing the best of their warriors and covering the rest with shame". (National Park Service) |
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Click 'Arrow' Above To Go To Next South Bound Stop |
Old Town Overlook
Mile Post 263.9 |
Click 'Arrow' Above To Go To Next North Bound Stop |
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