As we continue to celebrate our history and place historical marker signs in our city, how about this one?  I never knew this until recently, but this is an amazing piece of history that occurred along the east side of Tchulahoma Road just north of Church Road.  Who knew one of the oldest structures in DeSoto County history still stands and functions in Southaven?!

The following dialogue will be placed on the sign:

“This one-sixteenth section of the remaining Chickasaw Trail, located along Tchulahoma Road, which means “Red Fox” in the Chickasaw language, is one of the last surviving remnants of the famous trail which was used by the Native American Chickasaw People. The Chickasaw People inhabited this area for thousands of years, followed by European-American settlers who entered into trade with the Chickasaw from the late 1700s onward.  This trail dates to the early 1800s and is located on the former Bridgforth property owned by that pioneering family. A corn crib on this property was dated to 1814, now the Chapel at nearby Spitfire Acres, making this log-hewn structure one of the oldest existing structures in DeSoto County.  Not too far from this site, a Chickasaw Trading Post was established as a major means of commerce prior to and after the Chickasaw Session in the early 1830s.”

Literary and Photo Credit:  Robert L. “Rob” Long, Curator

The Historic DeSoto Foundation/DeSoto County Museum