Natchez Trace to Ratliff Ferry

Most known burial mounds in Mississippi date to the Middle Woodland times (circa 100 B.C. to 400 A.D.). However, the six small burial mounds at the Boyd site were built much later, during the Late Woodland and Early Mississippian periods (circa 800 to 1100 A.D. ). One of these mounds, Mound 2, is situated in a clearing adjacent to the parking area and is accessible to visitors. Several of the mounds, including Mound 2, were excavated by the National Park Service in 1964. The elongated Mound 2 is some 110 feet long by 60 feet wide and four feet high. Excavation revealed that it is actually three mounds in one: initially, two mounds were built side by side, then both were covered with more earth to create a single oblong, finished mound. The remains of 41 individuals were found in Mound 2, but there were relatively few accompanying artifacts. Different pottery types found in separate areas of this compound mound indicate that it was constructed in two phases: the first episode during the Late Woodland period and the second, after a considerable length of time, during the Mississippian period.

The 1763 Treaty of Paris marked the end of the French and Indian War, and Great Britain ended up with much of the former French territory between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River. The British formed the highly prized colony of British West Florida with a northern boundary at the 31st parallel north latitude. It was soon discovered this was too restrictive, and in 1764 Great Britain moved the boundary north. As you drive along the shore of the reservoir north of Jackson you cross 32 degrees and 28 minutes north latitude which was the northern boundary of British West Florida in 1764.