Last updated: October 10, 2024
Place
Tockshish, Milepost 249.6
NPS Photo
Quick Facts
Location:
Natchez Trace Parkway, Milepost 249.6
Significance:
Historic Settlement and Post Rider Stop
Amenities
3 listed
Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Parking - Auto, Wheelchair Accessible
Named for a Chickasaw word meaning "tree root," Tockshish was a community of American Indians and American settlers along the Natchez Trace. John McIntosh, British agent to the Choctaws, first settled there before 1770.
In 1801, McIntosh's settlement was designated as the second post office between Nashville, Tennessee and Natchez, Mississippi. It became a relay station where postriders exchanged weary horses for fresh ones. The post office is now gone; only the name recalls the time when hoof-beats marked the arrival of mail bags that had left Nashville bound for Natchez.
In 1801, McIntosh's settlement was designated as the second post office between Nashville, Tennessee and Natchez, Mississippi. It became a relay station where postriders exchanged weary horses for fresh ones. The post office is now gone; only the name recalls the time when hoof-beats marked the arrival of mail bags that had left Nashville bound for Natchez.