Kosciusko

"Today on our journey up the Natchez Trace Parkway from Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee we are visiting the town of Kosciusko, Mississippi, one of the oldest remaining settlements on the Natchez Trace. It was originally known as Red Bud Springs, an Indian campsite. In the late 1700s a tavern was established to accommodate the growing number of travelers making their way up the old Indian trail, heading toward their homes in the Ohio River Valley.

"In 1830 the Choctaw Indians gave up their lands with the signing of the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit creek. In 1833 the county was established. It named Attala County for the heroine of a novel by the famous French writer Francois Rene Chateaubriand. The novel Atala was about two Indian lovers that came from different tribes. Red Bud Springs became the county seat and was renamed in honor of a freedom fighting polish General and engineer during the American Revolutionary war who served with distinction at the Battle of Saratoga in 1777. This General's name was Thaddeus Andrzej Bonawentura Kosciusko -- the namesake of present day Kosciusko, Mississippi.

"Join us next time when we'll explore a struggle in nature that's taking place along Hurricane Creek. 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