Mississippi-Alabama State Line

Natchez Trace: A Road Through the Wilderness

"Today on our journey up the Natchez Trace Parkway we leave the state of Mississippi and cross into Alabama, the 22nd state to join the Union. That was on Dec. 14, 1819. The Southern pine is the state tree. The state flower is a rose-like flower that grows on a bush, called a camellia. The state bird is the yellowhammer. And the motto? WE DARE TO DEFEND OUR RIGHTS. The state song is ALABAMA.

"After crossing the state line the parkway begins to drop off into bottom land. Down in the bottom we get to see Bear Creek as it parallels the parkway off to the west. In the bottom is the BEAR CREEK PICNIC AREA, where canoeists can access Bear Creek. Bear Creek flows into the Tennessee River about 15 miles to the north of here, and for about the last 10 of those miles Bear Creek is part of Pickwick Lake, one of the chain of lakes formed by dams built along the Tennessee River in the 1930s.

"At one time General Andrew Jackson was a close friend of Chief Tishomingo, the old and venerated Chickasaw Indian chief. On several occasions, these two friends, paddled canoes together where the mouth of Bear Creek opens into the Tennessee River at Eastport, Mississippi.

"Join us next time when we will visit the FREEDOM HILLS OVERLOOK. 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