When Interstate 40 was built in the 1960s, it turned out that Parkers Crossroads was just about at the midpoint between Memphis and Nashville, spurring growth that led to incorporation of the town in 1981. Nearby Natchez Trace State Park offers boating and fishing on four lakes and hiking through hardwood forests.
Planning a visit? Stay at Parkers Crossroads RV Park & Campground.
City Park is a favorite gathering spot for picnics and events, which include antique car shows, the Ruritan Racking Horse Show in July, the Carson and Barnes Circus, and the eagerly anticipated Possum Festival each October.
The town’s roots stretch back into the 19th Century. John Parker, a doctor and Baptist minister, settled this land in the 1830s and operated a cotton gin. During the Civil War, Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest scored a victory here against Union troops as Ulysses S. Grant was working to win control of the Mississippi River.
The Parkers Crossroad Battlefield has been preserved and with more than 40 interpretive signposts for self-guided auto touring. Walking trails crisscross the grounds that look much as they did during the fighting. The Shiloh National Military Park, where fighting resulted in more casualties than all of America’s wars that came before it combined, lies less than one hour’s drive to the South.
