Natchez Trace Parkway - Columbia | Centerville, Tennessee

This 25 mile section of the Natchez Trace Parkway  in the Columbia | Centerville, Tennessee area goes from milepost 416 (intersection with TN Highway 7) to milepost 391 (intersection with US Highway 421).

Traveling south to north you will encounter several sites that are part of the Natchez Trace Parkway and are overseen by the National Park Service:

• Fall Hollow Waterfall
  A path and a set of wooden bridges take you across the small creeks before they begin their tumbling descent.
• Swan View Overlook
  From here you can see the water tower in Hohenwald, Tennessee, the town with the highest elevation  between New Orleans and Chicago.
• Old Trace
  Before 1805 the Chickasaw Indians owned all the land in this area. Only the Natchez Trace, part of which is still visible at this location, made inroads into tribal territory. Treaties in 1805 and 1816 ceded portions of the area to the United States and then in 1837 the government removed the Chickasaws to the Indian territory in Oklahoma over the tragic Trail of Tears.
• Sheboss Place
  A widow operated an inn here on the Old Natchez Trace with her Indian husband who spoke little English. According to legend when travelers approached with questions about accommodations he would only point to his wife and say, "She boss."
• Tobacco Farm / Old Trace Drive
  Exhibited at this location is a typical early 1900s tobacco farm. A 10 minute walk takes you through a tobacco field to the barn where tobacco is hanging to dry. Also, from this location you can drive north on a two-mile section of the Old Natchez Trace and meet the parkway on the other end.
• Old Trace
  Here you can walk a 2000 foot long, preserved section of the Old Natchez Trace that follows a ridge 300 feet above the Duck River.
• Jackson Falls
  A steep trail (concrete) 900 feet long trail descends to Jackson Falls. Named for Andrew Jackson, the falls cascade down and into the Duck River.
• Baker Bluff Overlook
  Family farms on the other side of the Duck River are visible from the bluff. There is also a 1/3 mile-long trail along the bluff that sits high above the river and continues on to Jackson Falls.
  
• Gordon House Historic Site
  The Gordon House, owned by ferry operators John and Dorothea Gordon, is one of the few remaining buildings associated with the old Natchez Trace. In the early 1800s, Gordon made an agreement with the Chickasaw Chief George Colbert to operate a trading post and ferry on the Duck River.
• Water Valley Overlook
  A short road off the Trace takes you to the top of a ridge that offers 180 degree views of Water Valley.

For additional pictures, information and interactive maps of the Columbia | Centerville, Tennessee section of the Trace please see NatchezTraceTravel.com.

Also, just off the Trace you will find:

• Columbia, Tennessee
  Columbia has several antebellum homes open for tours every day, including the home of President James K. Polk. Columbia is known as the "Mule capital of the world" and honors this fact with Mule Day, a large celebration held annually every April.

Bed and Breakfast travelers will enjoy Creekview Farm Retreat Bed and Breakfast in the Fly / Santa Fe area,  Blue Moon Bed and Breakfast in Columbia and several Bed and Breakfast/Cabin options in the Hohenwald / Hampshire area.

Next section north on the Trace: Leiper's Fork | Fly
Next section south on the Trace:  Hohenwald | Summertown