Kentucky History Drive

History is all around us.

Pioneers, Native nations, long hunters, soldiers and distillers. Explore the stories that made Kentucky, on a living map you can travel through time.

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Western Rivers: Mississippian Towns, Clark's Fort and the Trail of Tears

Along the lower Ohio and Mississippi: the Cherokee Trail of Tears at Mantle Rock, Civil War Paducah, the Mississippian town at Wickliffe, Clark's 1780 fort and the Confederate river fort at Columbus.

Stops

  1. 1. Mantle Rock Preserve

    PublicWinter 1838–39. The Nature Conservancy preserve; trail open daylight hours.

    During the winter of 1838–39 Cherokees forced west on the Trail of Tears sheltered under this sandstone arch while the icy Ohio blocked ferries; many died here. The arch was also a campsite for much earlier Native people. Sources: KHS marker #1675: Mantle Rock; NPS: Mantle Rock and the Trail of Tears; The Nature Conservancy: Mantle Rock

    Mantle Rock and the Trail of Tears, 1838–39 →

  2. 2. Lloyd Tilghman House & Civil War Museum (Paducah)

    PublicLimited hoursCivil War era. Museum; limited hours.

    The Paducah home of Lloyd Tilghman, later a Confederate general, now a Civil War museum. Sources: Wikipedia: Lloyd Tilghman House; Wikipedia: Lloyd Tilghman

    38.4 mi, about 60 min from stop 1
    Paducah at the Tennessee mouth →

  3. 3. Wickliffe Mounds State Historic Site

    PublicPaid admissionLimited hoursMississippian town c. 1100–1350. State historic site; museum seasonal hours, admission.

    A Mississippian-culture town near the Ohio–Mississippi confluence, linked to the Angel phase; the state park service runs a museum at the site. Sources: Wikipedia: Wickliffe Mounds; Kentucky State Parks: Wickliffe Mounds

    31.2 mi, about 41 min from stop 2
    Wickliffe Mounds Mississippian village Ballard County →

  4. 4. Fort Jefferson Memorial Cross (approximate fort site)

    PublicMarker onlyBuilt 1780. Memorial cross park and marker; the exact fort site is approximate.

    Virginia's small stockade at the mouth of the Ohio, built in 1780 by George Rogers Clark's Illinois Battalion; it was abandoned in June 1781. Sources: Wikipedia: Fort Jefferson (Kentucky)

    1.5 mi, about 4 min from stop 3
    No story yet for this stop.

  5. 5. Columbus-Belmont State Park

    PublicLimited hoursFortified 1861. State park; museum seasonal.

    Site of a Confederate fortification on the Mississippi, with a great chain stretched across the river to Belmont, Missouri, to block Union gunboats; the park remembers actions at Columbus and Belmont. Sources: Wikipedia: Columbus-Belmont State Park

    18.3 mi, about 32 min from stop 4
    No story yet for this stop.

Directions cover the public stops only. Access, fees and hours are general; verify before visiting. Context: Other Mississippian sites in the region, such as Rowlandton Mound in Paducah, are protected or private and are context only.

Route map