Cathy Summerlin - Traveling Tennessee: A Complete Tour Guide to the Volunteer State from the Highlands of the Smoky Mountains to the Banks of the Mississippi River

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Traveling Tennessee

A COMPLETE TOUR GUIDE TO THE VOLUNTEER STATE FROM THE HIGHLANDS OF THE SMOKY MOUNTAINS TO THE BANKS OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER

CATHY AND VERNON SUMMERLIN

Copyright 1999 by Cathy and Vernon Summerlin.

All rights reserved. Written permission must be secured from the publisher to use or reproduce any part of this book, except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Rutledge Hill Press, Inc., 211 Seventh Avenue North, Nashville, Tennessee 37219. Distributed in Canada by H. B. Fenn & Company, Ltd., 34 Nixon Road, Bolton, Ontario L7E 1W2. Distributed in Australia by The Five Mile Press Pty., Ltd., 22 Summit Road, Noble Park, Victoria 3174. Distributed in New Zealand by Tandem Press, 2 Rugby Road, Birkenhead, Auckland 10. Distributed in the United Kingdom by Verulam Publishing, Ltd., 152a Park Street Lane, Park Street, St. Albans, Hertfordshire AL2 2AU.

Typography by Karen Phillips, Nashville, Tennessee
Design by Gore Studio, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee
Map by Parrot Graphics

All photographs are by the authors unless otherwise indicated.

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Summerlin, Cathy, 1953

Traveling Tennessee : a complete tour guide to the Volunteer State from the highlands of the Smoky Mountains to the banks of the Mississippi River / Cathy and Vernon Summerlin

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN 1-55853-676-0 (pb)

1. Tennessee--Tours. 2. Summerlin, Vernon, 1943 . I. Title.

F434.3.S86 1998

917.680453--dc21

983-41744

Printed in the United States of America

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 03 02 01 00 99

For Shell, Maria, and Ashley, three of our favorite reasons to come home

Contents

2 Shady Valley, Mountain City, Laurel
Bloomery: Land Between Two States

3 Elizabethton, Roan Mountain, Watauga
Lake: Land of the Overmountain Men

5 Johnson City: Battle for the State of
Franklin

6 Kingsport: Along the Great Warriors
Path

7 Rogersville: Member of East Tennessees
Historic Triangle

14 Great Smoky Mountains National Park:
The Nations Most-Visited National Park

15 Cosby and Newport: Former Moonshine
Capital of the World

16 Maryville and Townsend: Western Foothills
of the Great Smoky Mountains

17 Vonore, Madisonville, Tellico Plains, Coker
Creek: Land of the Overhill Cherokee

18 Ducktown, Ocoee, Hiwassee,
Etowah, Athens: Land of Beloved Scars
and Rushing Rivers

19 Sweetwater, Loudon, Lenoir City, Farragut:
In the Great Valley of East Tennessee

21 Morristown, Jefferson City, Bean Station:
At the Crossroads of the Frontier

22 Cumberland Gap and Harrogate: Land of
the Trailblazers

23 LaFollette, Jacksboro, Caryville: Lake
Country

24 Lake City, Norris, Clinton: Along the Shores
of Norris Lake

26 Kingston: Gateway to the Cumberland
Plateau

28 Wartburg: Germanic Dreams on the
Cumberland Plateau

29 Rugby, Jamestown, Pall Mall: Land of
Heroes and Dreams

30 Byrdstown: Birthplace of the Father
of
the United Nations

32 Crossville: The Crossroads of the
Cumberland Plateau

34 Celina and Dale Hollow Lake: Home of
the Bronzebacks

35 Red Boiling Springs: Where the Healing
Waters Flow

36 Gallatin and Castalian Springs: Along the
Historic Avery Trace

37 Hendersonville: Along the Shores of Old
Hickory Lake

38 Lebanon and Watertown: Antiques
Capital of Middle Tennessee

41 Smyrna and Murfreesboro: Civil War
Sites in the Nashville Basin

42 Smithville, Sparta, Spencer: The Beauty
of the Eastern Highland Rim

43 McMinnville and Manchester: Landmarks
and Nurseries

44 Tullahoma and Normandy: Duck River
Country

45 Wartrace and Bell Buckle: Home of Strolling
Jim and Tennessees Poet Laureate

46 Shelbyville: The Walking Horse Capital of the
World

47 Lynchburg and Fayetteville: Historic Town
Squares

48 Lewisburg, Triune, Nolensville: Home of
Henry Horton State Park, Orchards, and
Greenhouses

50 Booker T. Washington and Harrison Bay
State Parks: Parks on Lake Chickamauga

52 Dayton and Pikeville: Scopes Trial and
Villain Towns

53 Altamont, Tracy City, Monteagle:
Highlands of the Southern Cumberland Plateau

54 Sewanee and Winchester: The Chapel and
the Jail

59 Montgomery Bell State Park and Narrows of the Harpeth: From Iron Works
to State Park

60 Ashland City: Former Chitlin Capital of
Tennessee

61 Leipers Fork: First Town on the Natchez
Trace Parkway

64 Waynesboro: In Tennessees Second-Largest
County

70 Pinson Mounds State Archaeological Area:
Woodland Indian Interment

71 Lexington and Parsons: Dragboats and
Coon Dogs

72 Natchez Trace State Park and Parkers
Crossroads: The Wilderness Spur and the Grave
Facing South

75 Paris Landing, Buchanan, Paris: The
Fishing Hole

78 T. O. Fuller State Park: Fun South of
Memphis

80 Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park: On the
Third Chickasaw Bluff

81 Fort Pillow State Historic Park:
Controversy on Chickasaw Bluff Number One

82 Henning, Ripley, Dyersburg: Rich Farm
Lands

83 Reelfoot Lake, Tiptonville, Samburg:
Earthquake Lake

85 Big Cypress Tree State Natural Area:
Oldest Cypress Tree Now a Stump

87 Brownsville and Nutbush: Home of Sleepy
John Estes and the Mind Field

88 Somerville and Fayette County: Still the
Genteel South

90 Chickasaw State Park: Serenity in West
Tennessee

92 Savannah, Crump, Shiloh, Pickwick Dam:
Antiques, Cannonballs, and Catfish

93 Big Hill Pond State Park: Fishing Under
the Hill

94 Grand Junction, LaGrange, Moscow:
A Grand Trio

EVERY DAY, as we traveled Tennessee, we met friendly, helpful people who eagerly shared their love of their favorite places with us. Though theyll have to remain nameless, we thank them for making our job such fun.

We also thank Larry Stone, president of Rut-ledge Hill Press, whose willingness to search for a creative solution when the page counts ran far too long makes us once again appreciate his faith in the project. Jennifer Greenstein has been wonderful in helping us sort through manuscripts and slides, displaying those chosen to best advantage. Peaches Scribner, one of our hardworking editors, is now enjoying life in Florida. John Reiman and Mike Towle added finishing touches.

The many writers who have shared their knowledge with us either in person or through their wonderful books include Jeff Bradley, Robert Brandt, Bill Hooks, Jimmy Jacobs, Ardi Lawrence, Lea Lawrence, Russ Manning, Doug Markham, Evan Means, Vicki Rozema, Carolyn Sakowski, Holly Sherwin, the writers of the Smoky Mountains Natural History Association, and the writers involved so long ago in the WPA Writers Project in Tennessee.