Old Town Overlook

Natchez Trace: A Road Through the Wilderness

"The next stop along the parkway is in Tupelo Mississippi. It is OLD TOWN
OVERLOOK, where there's another marker erected by the Mississippi Daughters of the American Revolution. This one was presented to the City of Tupelo on November 19, 1914. The inscription mentions the Battle of Ackia. This is a partial quotation from that monument.

'Bienville fought the Battle of Ackia with the Chickasaw Indians near this spot May 26, 1736. Of the rage that repulsed him let it be recorded here, they die well who die for faith and home and native land.'

"Of course the entire story doesn't end with the Battle of Ackia, but it was the beginning of the end for the French in this region, because after Bienville's defeat at the hands of the Chickasaws, French influence within the region declined rapidly.

"This exhibit overlooks the flood plane of OLD TOWN CREEK as the Natchez Trace begins to make its way up into the Northeast hill section of Mississippi, and what are the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. OLD TOWN CREEK is one of the source streams of the Tombigbee River, which was first known as 'THE RIVER OF THE CHICKASAW'

"Join us next time when we will visit the TUPELO VISITOR CENTER. For Natchez Trace a road through the wilderness, I'm Frank Thomas."

For more about Natchez Trace: A Road Through the Wilderness, visit eddieandfrank.com