This sign overlooks the area on the Natchez Trace Parkway (seen in the background) where the mighty Twentymile canal starts to divest itself of the huge amounts of water it drains from it's beginning at Lebanon Mountain.We have long revered the canal for it's glorious swimming holes, most notably "Blue Mars" written about and remembered by many; the sun perch and bluegill that we caught and returned to the water to fight on a hook another day, and the many areas we would cool off in by wading on a hot Summer day.
The canal channel goes much further Southeast from here, but in doing so creates many smaller tributaries to shed the water.
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Photo by Carl Houston on 9-9-09.
Carl, I grew up less than a half mile from the "Twenty Mile" and spent many spring and summer days holding a cane pole while trying to catch bream out of "the canal". In the '50s and early '60s the canal would overflow its banks regularly after heavy rainfall, sometimes causing severe crop damage. I remember once that our school bus couldn't come across "the bottom" because water was overflowing the road. I believe it was the Army Corp of Engineers that completed a dredging or flood control project sometime around the mid to late '60s that eliminated much of the water shed problems but it also pretty much destroyed the fishing holes.
ReplyDeleteI still have some mollusks and shark teeth that I picked up in small holes in the shale floor of the canal over 50 years ago.
ReplyDeleteThe Frankstown area of the canal is still searched by amateur archaeologists regularly.
I remember the cool water in the Summertime, also. The rainy season did cause torrents of water to come under the Pratts-Friendship bridge!
Carl, I have seen that stop many times but never went by to see it. Thanks for the excellent photo and explanation.
ReplyDeleteWhat type of camera did you use for so good a picture?
Joe Roberts, Pickwick
WE have had 7 inches of rain in the last two days. Ol' Twentymile is doing its' job! I just came over it and it is really moving some water...
ReplyDeleteHi Joe; Good to hear from you. This photo was made with my favorite pocket camera, a 7MP Kodak. I made this while cycling down the Trace for a couple of days and took only the small camera to use while riding.
ReplyDeleteThere are many good stops on the Trace, so if you go, always take a camera.
ON A NICE DAY, I ALWAYS USE THE TRACE TO GO TO TUPELO. SOMETIMES IN THE CAR AND SOMETIMES ON THE HARLEY. IT IS AN ENJOYABLE EXPERIENCE.
ReplyDeleteRe: "Young Men from Baldwyn from the 1950s." The unidentified adult on the front row of picture of the young men of the Explorer post is J.C. Morris, Jr.
ReplyDeleteI finally stopped and saw this place yesterday after years of passing by.
ReplyDeleteThe rain of the last week had certainly made the bottoms wet, just as the preacher told about! 20 mile creek was full to the banks.