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The Natchez Trace Corridor Initiative
The "Natchez Trace Corridor Initiative" is what we call it at the Land Trust. The title is a bit stiff, and it probably doesn't do justice to this significant Land Trust effort that will help conserve one of the world's most beautiful pastoral landscapes, a place where the natural and the man-made environments blend so harmoniously that it's difficult to tell them apart. It is a triangle shaped area of western Williamson County roughly between the Natchez Trace Parkway, Old Hillsboro and Hillsboro Roads, and Old Hickory Boulevard. Though it is in one of Tennessee's fastest growing counties, and development stands right on the edge of the corridor, the landscape, including the lovely Harpeth River, is amazingly pristine. By working with landowners who don't want to see this become another "anywhere USA," the Land Trust's initiative is helping preserve the area's distinct character. In fact, we already have more than 2000 acres there permanently protected by conservation easements. The term "Natchez Trace" today means to most people the Natchez Trace Parkway, the 7th most visited unit of our National Park system. Through Williamson County the Parkway follows the route of the old buffalo path and Boatman's Road that keeps to the ridge tops. When in 1801 the road from Nashville to Natchez became an official national road, the route was changed. Starting near Garrison Creek south of today's village of Leipers Fork, the U.S. government relocated the road off the ridges into the Harpeth Valley. It followed the route of today's Old Hillsboro and Old Natchez Trace Roads. The "corridor" as we use that term takes in both routes and the lands around them.
The Parkway viewshed is only one component of the initiative. In this relatively small area, there are nearly 30 properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Included are the Leipers Fork Historic District, the Warner Parks, and a splendid collection of some of the nation's most beautiful antebellum homes. The Natchez Trace Corridor is also laced with historic, sunken roads, lined by carefully laid stone fences that date to the earliest settlement of the region. There are three officially designated state scenic routes, and several prominent pre-historic sites, including Old Town along the Harpeth. The Land Trust is partnering with other organizations in this effort, such as the Heritage Foundation and the Harpeth River Watershed Association. Breedlove, Dennis, Young and Associates Inc., Littlejohn Engineering Associates, and Hawkins Partners Inc. have all contributed invaluable mapping and technical expertise to the project. In addition, Land Trust staffer May Leinhart spends most of her time working on the initiative.
Hopefully, decades from now, visitors to the area will see pretty much what they see today. A pleasing mosaic of hill and valley and field and forest, a lovely river gracefully curling through the area that is dotted with historic homes and a charming little Victorian-era village. |
Many visitors who drive, bike, hike, or ride horses along the Parkway don't realize that most of the pretty landscape they are enjoying is not part of the parkway. It's private property. So a key part of the initiative is working with landowners and the parkway staff to protect the parkway "viewshed" - the lands visible from the parkway.
