Greenwood LeFlore

"Today we are at French Camp, Mississippi on our journey up the Natchez Trace Parkway from Natchez to Nashville.

"The French Canadian, Lewis LeFleur, established the stand of French Camp along the old Natchez Trace in 1812. He married Rebecca Cravat, a French-Choctaw woman. Their son, Greenwood LeFlore, became a District Chief of the Choctaw Indians, and in the fall of 1830 was principal negotiator at the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek where the last of the Choctaw lands were traded away to the United States. In this treaty the Choctaw were given three years in which to leave Mississippi, but any Choctaw who would agree to submit to the white man's law could stay and receive 640 acres of land -- at least that was in principle, but in practice land agents made it very difficult for the Indians to stay and claim their land. LeFlore on the other hand was granted 2,500 acres of land for his role in the negotiations and others who negotiated for the Choctaw received similar rewards.

"LeFlore became a wealthy plantation owner near the city of Greenwood, Mississippi which was named for him. The county too was named for him, LeFlore, county. He built a beautiful antebellum mansion there, Malmaison, and served as a member of the Mississippi Senate.

"Join us next time when we'll travel on up the parkway and visit Jeff Busby Park. I'm Frank Thomas, your guide along the Natchez Trace, a road through the wilderness."

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