Page 364 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - USA

362  THE DEEP SOUTH

u Natchez Trace
Parkway
Visitor Center: Mount Locust. Tel (662)
680-4025. ∑ nps.gov/natr
Established as a National
Historic Parkway in 1938, this
450-mile (724-km) highway
linking Natchez with Nashville,
Tennessee (see pp266–7), was
originally an animal trail. Later,
it evolved into a footpath
and played a vital role in the
development of the country’s
Old gas station at the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum midsection by linking the Ohio
River Valley and the Gulf of
y Jackson state government. Jackson is Mexico. Pioneers used the route
* 171,000. ~ £ @ n 921 S also home to the Mississippi to transport their crops and
President St, (601) 960-1891. Agriculture and Forestry produce downriver by barge to
Museum, a very appealing Natchez, where they sold both
Founded on a bluff above the family attraction that celebrates their goods and barges for scrap
Pearl River, Mississippi’s capital the state’s rural heritage. lumber, and then returned
city was named after popular Among its exhibits are an north on foot.
national hero General Andrew 1850s homestead, complete Today, the Natchez Trace
Jackson (see p267). During the with livestock and gardens, Parkway is a scenic, year-round
Civil War, the city was torched and a 1930s small-town destination. No commercial
on three separate occasions by Main Street with traffic is permitted
Union General William Tecumseh a general store. in this haven for
Sherman, earning it the The Chimneyville hikers, motorists,
nickname “Chimneyville.” Crafts Gallery, a and cyclists, and
The few buildings that survive handicraft store the speed limit
are treasured landmarks today. on the grounds, Natchez Parkway sign is a leisurely
Of these, the old 1839 Capitol, displays and sells 50 mph (80 km/h).
now the Old Capitol Museum folk arts, including Choctaw The parkway preserves several
of Mississippi History, presents crafts. The expansive site also historical sites, such as Emerald
an overview of the state’s Civil has a lively cafeteria. The Mound. Situated near Natchez,
Rights history, juxtaposing stark adjacent Sports Hall of Fame it dates from AD 1400 and is the
black-and-white video footage honors the state’s beloved second largest Native American
of violent clashes between the athletes and college teams with ceremonial mound in the
police and protesters, with enjoyable interactive exhibits. country. A detour west, along
plainspoken commentary. Other sights in Jackson include Hwy 552, leads to the “Ruins of
Upstairs, the museum features the local zoo, Mynelle Gardens, Windsor,” where a ghostly set of
revolving exhibits on such the Mississippi Museum of 23 towering Corinthian columns
topics as author Eudora Welty, Natural Science, and the
a Jackson resident, or “Pride of Mississippi Museum of Art. All
the Fleet” about the battleship these attractions, plus the city’s
USS Mississippi. A small, growing reputation as a blues
20th-century room elaborates venue, make Jackson a pleasant
on the impact of the cotton and stop for visitors coming through
lumber industries on the state’s the Natchez Trace Parkway.
economy, ecology, and society.
Yet the city itself is the best E Old Capitol Museum of
historical exhibit. From the Mississippi History
Old Capitol building, it is a short Old Capitol, 100 S State St. Tel (601)
walk along Capitol Street to 576-6920. Open daily. Closed public
the Governor’s Mansion and the hols. ∑ mdah.state.ms.us/oldcap
Lamar Life Building, with its E Mississippi Agriculture &
clock tower and gargoyles. Forestry Museum
The Mississippi State Capitol, 1150 Lakeland Dr. Tel (601) 432-4500.
built in 1903, resembles the US Open 9am–5pm Mon–Sat.
Capitol in Washington, DC, and Closed Sun, Jan 1, Thanksgiving,
houses the legislative, judicial, Dec 25. & 7 ∑ mdac.state.ms. Natchez Trace Parkway, a historic
and executive branches of the us/departments/museum wooded trail
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp368–70 and pp371–3

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Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Catalogue template “UK” LAYER
(Source v2.6)
Date 12th July 2013
Size 125mm x 217mm