While most everyone around the nation was getting ready for Thanksgiving by cooking or travelling, the day before our expressly American holiday Friends of Raymond (FOR) completed its most recent improvement to the Raymond Battlefield and the Raymond Walking Trail with the addition of twelve new markers which tell the story of both nature and the American Civil War. Since the Thanksgiving holiday, indeed, was made official in 1863 during the Civil War, the project’s timing is most appropriate, as are the marker topics. After all, the Walking Trail is a three-quarter mile wander through both nature and history.

At the beginning of the walk the first marker discusses some of the history of the historic Natchez Trace (not exactly the same route as the modern Trace), and the historic road runs only a few hundred yards north of the Walking Trail. Nearby, a second marker discusses the now- extinct Carolina Parakeet while featuring a painting of the bird by John James Audubon, who once taught art at the Elizabeth Female Academy just north of Natchez on the Trace.

New Raymond Markers PDF or click image below