Migration Routes Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas

	Routes to the Southeastern Gulf Plains

Introduction			List of Migration Routes
Internet Resources			Contact Information
Intr oduction
While migrants settled the Old Northwest, President Thomas Jefferson purchased the Louisiana Territory from France in 1803. The immense new territory, a portion of which was explored and mapped by the famous Lewis and Clark expedition of 1804–1806, encompassed much of the interior land between the Mississippi River and the Pacific Northwest. Part of his planned program of expansion, Jefferson believed the Louisiana Territory provided the key to the future prosperity of the then-agrarian nation by bringing a seemingly endless supply of potential farmland within American territorial borders. In the south, technological advances in transportation such as steamboats assisted countless migrants moving up the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers into Arkansas and Missouri, where a staging ground for future migration into the trans-Mississippi West was established at Independence, Missouri, in 1827. It is highly unlikely that Jefferson realized just how quickly his vision would be put to the test. During the War of 1812 Indian resistance slowed migration into the fertile region lying between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River; yet, after the war thousands of Americans penetrated into the Old Southwest. The system of managed expansion that had proved so successful in the Old Northwest Territory was replicated in the South, and by 1836, several new states, including Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Arkansas, entered the union.

Migration Routes to the Gulf Plains States Generally these routes are defined as having their terminus in present day Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, as well as eastern Texas and Oklahoma.
*The* LINKS *in the following list* *will take you to either our web page or another identified resource with more information about that migration route. = denotes link to a “Road Trip” page
NAME		FROM / TO		COMMENTS
Arkansas Road		St. Louis, MO / Red River near Fulton, AR		see Southwest Trail
Atascosita Road		Refugio, TX / Liberty, TX		Established by the Spanish before 1757 as a military highway to East Texas. After the development of the cattle industry in Texas, the route was followed by cattle drivers from South Texas to New Orleans.
Chickasaw Trace		Nashville, TN / Natchez, MS		Name for the northern most leg of the Natchez Trace which ran through Chickasaw Nation and to Nashville Tennessee, aka. Chickasaw Trail.
Chickasaw Trail				see Chickasaw Trace
Choctaw-Chickasaw Trail				Name for the middle section of the Natchez Trace which ran through the Choctaw Nation.
Congress Road		Little Rock, AR / Memphis, TN		The segment of the Southwest Trail that ran from Little Rock through St. Francis to Memphis, TN, see Southwest Trail
El Camino Real de los Tejas*		Rio Grande R. / Natchitoches, LA		The old Spanish migration route extended from Guerrero in Mexico up into western Louisiana. This route also included anther route called the “Lower Road”. see Lower Road
Fayetteville Road		Versailles, MO / Fayetteville, AR		Originally a trail laid out in 1836 and referred to by those in Arkansas as the "Springfield Road".
Federal Road*		Ft. Wilkinson, GA / Ft. Stoddard, AL		A project that started in 1805 when the Creek Indians gave a permission for the development of a "horse path" through their nation for more efficient mail delivery between Washington, D.C. and New Orleans, Louisiana. aka The Traveler’s Road
Fort Smith Trail		Fort Smith, AR / San Antonio, TX
Gaines Trace		Muscle Shoals, AL / Fort Stoddert, AL		A road in the Mississippi Territory. It was constructed in 1811 and 1812. The portion from the Tennessee River to Cotton Gin Port was surveyed in 1807 and 1808 by Edmund P. Gaines, the road's namesake.
Great Indian War Path AL)		Tennessee / Mobile AL		That section of the Great Indian Warpath which started on the Gulf coast and extended north to Tennessee.
Great Osage Indian Trail				see Old Wire Road
Great South Road		Nashville, TN / Mobile, AL		Possibly a later name for Jackson’s Military Road
Jackson's Military Road*		Nashville, TN / New Orleans, LA		Built by Andrew Jackson during the War of 1812. After the war it was this 516 mile road was improved with federal funds, and it was named after Jackson.
King’s Highway		St. Augustine, FL / Texas		Originally created by the Spanish in 1632, in part using Native American trails. Utilized in the 17th century to connect the Spanish settlement of St. Augustine, Florida to Spanish colonies in Mexico.
La Bahía Road		Southwestern, LA / Goliad, TX		Originally an east-west Indian trail in southwestern Louisiana and southeastern Texas and eventually extended to Washington-on-the-Brazos and Goliad. Also known as the Opelousas Road.
Laredo Road		Cuero, TX / Zapata, Texas		This road terminated at Villa de Delores probably near present day Zapata, on the Rio Grande river. Also the general term for the San-Antonio-Laredo Road
Lower Road		Guerrero, MX /		Generally followed a route to the east of the El Camino Real de los Tejas to San Antonio where it where it went northeast to Cuero, Texas, then north where it intersected with the aforementioned El Camino Real.
Old Alabama Road		South Carolina / Alabama		Originally a Native-American Trail it became a stagecoach route and part of the New Orleans to New York Mail Line.
Old Military Road		St. Louis, MO / Red River near Fulton, AR		In 1831 President Andrew Jackson signed an act of Congress to improve the Southwest Trail. At that time the route became known as the Old Military Road.
Opelousas Road		Southwestern, LA / Goliad, TX		See La Bahía Road
Natchez Trace*		Nashville, TN / Natchez, MS		A native-American Indian Trail originally used by traders to return north after transporting their goods down the Mississippi river. By 1814, the trail had become a military road extending to New Orleans. aka Chickasaw Trail
Natchitoches Trace		St. Louis, MO / Red River near Fulton, AR		Another name for the Southwest Trail.
National Road		St. Louis, MO / Red River near Fulton, AR		Another name for the Southwest Trail.
Old San Antonio Road*		San Antonio, TX / Robeline, LA		During the Spanish colonial period, this was the primary overland trail from what is now Mexico, Red River Valley in what is now northwest Louisiana. This route mostly followed the original El Camino Real de los Tejas
Old Wire Road		St. Louis, MO / Fort Smith, AR		originally a trail laid out in 1836 it followed the Great Osage Indian Trail an old Native American route, referred to by those in Arkansas as the "Springfield Road" or the “Fayetteville Road”.
Path to the Choctaw Nation				Name for the southwestern segment of the Natchez Trace which terminated at Natchez.
Red River Road		St. Louis, MO / Red River near Fulton, AR		see Southwest Trail
Red River Trail		Kansas / San Antonio, TX
San Antonio–Laredo Rd.		San Antonio, TX / Laredo, TX		One of a several roads on southeastern Texas generally referred to as the Laredo Road.
Southwest Trail*		St. Louis, MO / Red River near Fulton, AR		aka, Arkansas Road, National Road, U.S. Road, Old Military Road, Natchitoches Trace, Congress Road and Red River Road.
Springfield Road				see Old Wire Road
Three Chopped Way		Burnt Corn, AL / Natchez, MS		The first east-west connection that tied together the two primary north-south roads, the Natchez Trace and the Old Federal Road.
Trails of Tears		Eastern U.S. / Oklahoma Territory		The Trail of Tears was the forced relocation and movement of Native Americans from their homelands to Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma) in the Western United States.
Traveler’s Road		Augusta, GA / New Orleans, LA		see Federal Road, as per 1815-1836 map
U.S. Road		St. Louis, MO / Red River near Fulton, AR		see Southwest Trail

	Internet Resources
	*We recommend that you use the following* *search engine and* *external links to obtain additional knowledge about this topic.*
· Arkansas Southwest Trail Research				·

Contact Information
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