By 1817, the continued development of Memphis (with its access to the Mississippi River), and Jackson's Military Road (heading south from Nashville) formed more direct and faster routes to New Orleans. Trade shifted to either of these routes along the east or west of the area, away from the Trace. As author William C. Davis wrote in his book "A Way Through the Wilderness" (1995), the Trace was "a victim of its own success" by encouraging development in the frontier area.