![]() ![]() ![]() In the eighteenth century, European settlers further improved the trail, widening the foot path enough for horses and wagons to pass, and used it as a trade route and an easy passage between the Tennessee, Cumberland, and Mississippi rivers. ![]() Early French explorers undoubtedly used the trail on their forays into the fertile hunting grounds along the Mississippi River. ![]() Native American hunting parties took advantage of the well-worn trail and followed the “traces” of the herds. This ancient trail meandered between high ridges and deep valleys, avoiding steep terrain and providing a relatively level and easy northeast-southwest route for herds migrating through the region. It was used for untold years by herds of bison and other grazing animals to move between salt licks located near Nashville and the verdant southern grasslands along the Mississippi River. The trail became commonly known as the Natchez Trace in the late eighteenth century, but it has a long history dating back thousands of years. The Trace ran for about 30 miles through the northwestern part of Alabama in Lauderdale and Colbert Counties, passing through the state west of Sheffield near the town of Cherokee. The Natchez Trace is a prehistoric route that extended 440 miles from Nashville, Tennessee, through Alabama to Natchez, Mississippi, and provided a link between the Tennessee and Mississippi rivers. ![]()
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