Last updated: April 5, 2024
Place
Metal Ford, Milepost 382.8
NPS
Quick Facts
Location:
Natchez Trace Parkway, Milepost 382.8
Significance:
Historic Site and Old Trace
Amenities
6 listed
Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Parking - Auto, Parking - Bus/RV, Picnic Table, Scenic View/Photo Spot, Trailhead
“I was roused from this melancholy reverie by the roaring of Buffalo River, which I forded with great difficulty” – Naturalist, Alexander Wilson in 1811
At Metal Ford, milepost 382.8, travelers on the old Natchez Trace crossed the Buffalo River which was fordable except after heavy rains. The ford takes its name from its stone bottom, which reminded these earlier travelers of stone surfaced or “metaled” roads back home.
Also at this location is a short trail, 5 to 10 minute walk, which will take you to an old millrace, a river channel whose current fed Steele’s Iron Works to produce primitive pig iron in the 1820s.
At Metal Ford, milepost 382.8, travelers on the old Natchez Trace crossed the Buffalo River which was fordable except after heavy rains. The ford takes its name from its stone bottom, which reminded these earlier travelers of stone surfaced or “metaled” roads back home.
Also at this location is a short trail, 5 to 10 minute walk, which will take you to an old millrace, a river channel whose current fed Steele’s Iron Works to produce primitive pig iron in the 1820s.