Naturalist, Alexander Wilson in 1811 wrote, “I was roused from this melancholy reverie by the roaring of Buffalo River, which I forded with great difficulty”
At Metal Ford, milepost 382 point 8, travelers on the old Natchez Trace crossed the Buffalo River which was fordable except after heavy rains. The ford takes its name from its stone bottom, which reminded these earlier travelers of stone surfaced or “metaled” roads back home.
Also at this location is a short trail, 5 to 10 minute walk, which will take you to an old millrace, a river channel whose current fed Steele’s Iron Works to produce primitive pig iron in the 1820s.
