Frontier Day brings curious visitors
Published 12:00 am Sunday, November 7, 1999
With tomahawks flying and banjos pickin’, Frontier Day at Mount Locust on the Natchez Trace brought out hundreds of curious people.
&uot;We’ve had about 200 so far,&uot; said Vickie Felton, who worked the front desk at the Locus Mound ranger station.
Felton usually works with the National&160;Park Service in Tupelo, but volunteered to help out in Natchez so that regular rangers could participate hands on with the period demonstrations.
With tents and authentic displays dated in the early 1800’s, Park Service employees and members of the Natchez Free Trappers Buck Skinning Group, a historical reenactment unit.
&uot;We date from 1840 back,&uot; said Tim Cupit, of Kingston, a member of the Natchez Free Trappers.
&uot;We’ve had a lot of people come out,&uot; Cupit said. &uot;Mostly they want to know why we’re doing what we’re doing and do we do it all the time.&uot;
Eric Chamberlain, ranger at Locus Mound, is also a great grandson of the Chamberlain who help build the Locust Mound stand.
Guiding tours of the old house that was rebuilt by the National Park Service in 1955, Chamberlain pointed out that the house was restored to represent the 1810 time period.
&uot;In 1830, the house was about twice as big,&uot; Chamberlain said.
Chamberlain should know.
He was born in one of the end rooms of the old house.
&uot;Chamberlains lived in this house from 1779 to 1944,&uot; he said.
The old house was built in 1779 as a way station for travelers along the Natchez Trace.