Explore the real-world places that appear in Blue Highways by William Least Heat Moon. Each location on the map shows what happens there in the novel, the real history of the place, and what's there today. Featured locations include Columbia, Missouri, Nameless, Tennessee, Selma, Alabama, Natchez, Mississippi, New Orleans, Louisiana and 5 more.
Boone County — Where the journey begins and ends
Having lost his teaching job at a college and seen his marriage end, William Least Heat Moon sets out from Columbia in his van, Ghost Dancing, on March 19 with a plan to follow the blue-lined backroads. He ends the trip here after 13,000 miles. The town frames the book as the point of departure and return.
Columbia was founded in 1821 and is home to the University of Missouri, established in 1839. The town grew as a Missouri River valley crossroads.
Columbia is a college city of about 126,000 people with a lively downtown. The University of Missouri campus and its historic Columns are open to visitors.
Visit: University of Missouri Columns (landmark)
Jackson County — A community with no official name
Least Heat-Moon visits Nameless, Tennessee, a hamlet whose residents were refused a post office because its proposed name was already taken, so it was left nameless. He meets locals at the general store and treats the place as a symbol of the backroads he seeks. The stop shows his fondness for places that outsiders overlook.
Nameless is an unincorporated community in Jackson County. By local tradition, residents petitioned for a post office in the 19th century and were told the names they proposed were already in use.
Nameless remains a tiny rural community in the Tennessee hills. It has a few homes and little public infrastructure.
Edmund Pettus Bridge — Civil rights history
Passing through Selma, the author reflects on the civil rights era and the town's history of struggle. The journey through the Deep South gives him chances to hear locals discuss race and memory in their own words. Selma stands out as a place where history is felt along the road.
The Edmund Pettus Bridge, completed in 1940, was the site of Bloody Sunday on March 7, 1965, when marchers were attacked by state troopers. The march helped lead to the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
The bridge is a National Historic Landmark and part of the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail. Visitors can walk across it and visit the nearby National Voting Rights Museum.
Visit: Edmund Pettus Bridge (monument)
Along the Mississippi River — Antebellum South
Moving through Mississippi, the author encounters the layered history of the river towns. Natchez, with its grand antebellum homes, contrasts with the modest places he prefers along the blue highways. It adds depth to his reflections on how the South remembers its past.
Natchez was founded by the French in 1716 and became a wealthy cotton center before the Civil War. Many antebellum mansions survived because the city surrendered early in the war.
Natchez offers house tours, the Natchez Trace Parkway terminus, and Natchez National Historical Park. It is a major heritage tourism destination.
Visit: Natchez National Historical Park (historic site)
French Quarter — A Gulf Coast stop
The author reaches the Gulf Coast region and passes through New Orleans, where the music and food make a vivid change from the rural backroads. He uses stops here to talk with residents about local life. The city is a rich cultural pause along his southern loop.
New Orleans was founded in 1718 by the French and passed to Spain and then the United States in 1803. The French Quarter is its oldest neighborhood.
The French Quarter is a National Historic Landmark district filled with restaurants, music venues and historic buildings. Jackson Square is a central public gathering place.
Visit: Jackson Square (park)
Big Bend National Park — Desert and Rio Grande
In the Southwest, the author crosses wide desert country and a landscape very different from the green South. Open space and sparse towns give him room for reflection. The Texas stretch highlights the scale of the country he is crossing.
Big Bend National Park was established in 1944 along a great bend of the Rio Grande. The region has been inhabited for thousands of years.
The park covers over 800,000 acres and offers hiking, river trips and camping. It is known for dark night skies.
Visit: Big Bend National Park (park)
Historic plaza — Southwest
The journey carries the author through New Mexico's adobe towns, where Native American, Spanish and Anglo cultures meet. The slower backroads let him talk with locals about their traditions. Santa Fe marks a cultural turning point on his westward route.
Santa Fe was founded in 1610 and is among the oldest state capitals in the United States. The Palace of the Governors dates to about 1610.
The Plaza remains the city's center, with museums, galleries and Native American artisans selling beneath the Palace portal.
Visit: Palace of the Governors (museum)
Pacific Northwest — Western leg
On the western side of the trip, the author reaches the Pacific Northwest, where mountains and forests replace desert. The blue highways here pass small towns and dramatic scenery. The region marks the farthest reach of his journey before he turns back east.
Crater Lake was formed about 7,700 years ago when Mount Mazama collapsed after a massive eruption. It became a national park in 1902.
Crater Lake National Park is a popular destination known for the deepest lake in the United States, at 1,943 feet.
Visit: Crater Lake National Park (park)
Return leg — Music City
Back east, the author crosses Tennessee and talks with people along the backroads about music and local life. Towns near Nashville provide a contrast with the isolated hamlets he has visited. The leg heads him toward Appalachia and home.
Nashville was founded in 1779 and became known as Music City after the Grand Ole Opry began broadcasting in 1925.
Nashville is a major city with the Ryman Auditorium, the Country Music Hall of Fame and many live music venues.
Visit: Ryman Auditorium (theater)
Appalachian foothills — Eastern backroads
In the East, the author moves along small roads through the Appalachian foothills. The route emphasizes small communities and the people who live there. It contributes to the book's picture of a varied America.
The Chimney Rock formation rises 315 feet above the Hickory Nut Gorge. It has been a tourist attraction since the late 1800s.
Chimney Rock State Park offers trails and views over Lake Lure. It was used as a filming location for The Last of the Mohicans.
Visit: Chimney Rock State Park (park)
More by William Least Heat Moon: All William Least Heat Moon books
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