Halloween at Lake WinnepeSPOOKah:

Lake Winniepesaukah is an amusement park located in a Chattanooga Suburb in Northern Georgia. Every year for October, they bring out the Halloween decorations and put "spook" in their name. While I didn't actually visit during their Halloween themed season, I went on the last day of the regular season where they had already put many of their decorations out. One of my favorite features of this is how they reused old seats and cars from rides that are still in use.

Polk Presidential Hall - Columbia, TN

This Church which is currently being restored is next door to the Polk home in Columbia, TN. More information can be found here:
www.jameskpolk.com/new/Polkhall.asp

Except:
The building was originally erected by Archibald Sinclair in 1882 as Christian Church. The property was later conveyed to the Tennessee Orphan Home, used as an office for phosphate mining operations (mining became an important American venture as the California Gold Rush began during Polk’s last year as President), and turned into Columbia Business College, conducted by Mr. and Mrs. James Stoltz. The James K. Polk Memorial Association purchased the property from the Stoltz family in January, 2006.

Architecture along Franklin, TN Main Street

Thomas Hughes Library - Rugby, TN

Rugby is a small community along the Cumberland Plateau in Morgan County, founded by British Immigrants in 1880. The Rugby Colony was designed to be a utopian community, but the design failed in less than a decade. Still a few townspeople and their descendants lived in the area over the next several decades. In the 1960s, residents, friends and descendants of Rugby began restoring the original design and layout of the community, preserving surviving structures and reconstructing others.

Built in 1882, the Thomas Hughes Library is the most unchanged of all the buildings in Rugby. The library's 7,000 volumes were collected primarily by Boston bookseller Estes & Lauriat, and donated to Rugby's Library and Reading Room Society with the stipulation they name the new library for Hughes. The library still contains most of its original collection, the oldest volume of which dates to 1687.

L&L Restaraunt Equipment neon sign - Nashville

Located in the west side of Nashville along Charlotte Pk. (US 70)

First United Methodist Church - Murphy, NC

This beautiful building is located at a sharp curve along US19 near the heart of Murphy.

28 Middleton St.- Historic South Nashville Rutledge Hill

See Beautiful Rock City To-day

Not far from Sevierville, TN, this See Rock City Barn is located along the Chapman Highway (U.S. 441 and U.S. 411) at the intersection with Garner Hollow LN. Those going westbound will see this.

Of note to Rock City Barn enthusiasts, the way the "Today" is painted is different than it used to be. It is all block letters now, but used to be in cursive script. The cursive part has been painted over in black but barely can be seen below the TY in CITY. Click the photo below to see a closeup.

Mabry-Hazen House - Knoxville, TN

From Wikipedia:
The Mabry-Hazen House is an historic home located on a 5-acre site at 1711 Dandridge Avenue in Knoxville, Tennessee. Also known as the Evelyn Hazen House or the Joseph Alexander Mabry, Jr. House, when constructed in 1858 for Joseph Alexander Mabry, Jr. it was named Pine Hill Cottage. The house was in what was then the separate town of East Knoxville. Stylistically, the house exhibits both Italianate and Greek Revival elements. Having operated as a museum since the death of Evelyn Hazen, it has the good fortune of containing its original furniture, as well as a collection of antique china and crystal. The present site consists of 8 acres on top of Mabry Hill. The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mabry-Hazen_House

O'Neal Bridge - The Shoals, AL (Southern Bluff View)

The O'Neal Bridge was built in 1939 to connect automobile traffic between Florence, Al on the north side to Sheffield and Muscle Shoals on the south side. The 2,071 ft. Cantilevered Warren through truss designed bridge crosses the Tennessee River. Highways US43 and US72 use the bridge that connects Lauderdale and Colbert Counties. The bridge was named in honor of Alabama's Father & Son governors Edward A. O'Neal and Emmett O'Neal.

When originally designing the bridge, engineers knew the southern side is on a bluff, and the northern side would need to be raised for the deck to be level. Dirt was excavated from the area to the west of bridge site on the north shore to form a hill, and the resulting empty space became Florence Harbor.

Also, when the bridge was originally completed, there was a pedestrian lane in the middle. The sidewalk leading to the bridge proceeded down a ramp under the bridge, which then ramped back up to an area between the lanes to the walkway. This walking lane was removed in the 80's during a lane widening project, but the access ramp is still there in the south end, although locked.

The Station - Pure Art - McMinnville, TN

In McMinnville, TN, an old Pure Oil Gas Station just a couple of blocks from the county courthouse has been preserved and converted into some kind of art place.

Martin, TN: Home of the Soybean Festival

Every September in downtown Martin is the annual Tennessee Soybean Festival. It's a source of civic pride such that they painted this on their water tower.

www.tnsoybeanfestival.org/

Log Cabin at Crockett Park - Brentwood, TN

Not much info is provided about this log cabin, except for the sign in front which says it's a historic log cabin built ca. 1830.

Helms Candy Co. neon sign - Bristol, VA

This building must have been their factory. It was located on the north side of Bristol, VA along the Lee Highway (US11/19). Helms was formed in 1976 when Jobbers and Loudy candy companies merged.

Bluegrass Railway #2043 Locomotive

Information about this locomotive comes from their website at BGRM.org:

Builder: American Locomotive Co. (Subcontract of EMD)
Class: MRS-1 (Military Road Switcher Model 1)
Built in 1953 for the military, MRS-1 class diesel locomotives were built for the specific purpose of being a motive power source to be used on the rail networks of foreign countries. To do this these locomotives are equipped with special telescoping axles which allow the engine to operate on any track between 3 feet and 5 feet between the rails. This locomotive stands today as a static display at the museum site in the Woodford Co. Park.

Reelfoot Lake in Autumn

Reelfoot Lake is a shallow natural lake located in the northwest portion of Tennessee. Much of it is really more of a swamp, with bayou-like ditches (some natural, some man-made) connecting more open bodies of water called basins, the largest of which is called Blue Basin. Reelfoot Lake is noted for its bald cypress trees and its nesting pairs of bald eagles. It is the site of Reelfoot Lake State Park.

Reelfoot Lake was formed when the region subsided during the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811–1812. Several eyewitnesses reported that the Mississippi River flowed backward for 10–24 hours to fill the lake. The earthquakes resulted in several major changes in the landforms over a widespread area with shocks being felt as far away as Quebec.

This fall color view of Cypress trees in the lake was taken from a boat ramp near the Air Park area of the State Park.

Prarie Dogs

Seen at the Jackson, MS Zoo.

Rutherford County Courthouse - Murfreesboro, TN

The Rutherford County Courthouse in the Murfreesboro, TN town square is one of only six antebellum courthouses in Tennessee. With construction completing in 1859 at a cost of $50,000, the Greek-Revival style brick structure features classical columns on the East and West sides. The original cupola was replaced circa 1910 and similar styled wings were added on the north and south in 1965. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

Little River Falls

Little River Falls is the highlight of the Little River Canyon National Preserve atop Lookout Mountain in northeast Alabama. The Little River flows almost its entire length atop Lookout Mountain. Here, the water drops 45 feet.

The most common way to view the waterfall is at the main entrance off of highway AL35 southwest of Ft. Payne. The highway bridge crosses the river not too far behind the waterfall. From the parking lot, it's less than a five minute stroll along a boardwalk to get to the most popular view. On my previous visit in 2006, people would go beyond the end of the boardwalk and walk all around the top of the falls, but signs say this is now prohibited.

There's a second view of the falls from an overlook a little over 1000 feet downstream. This view is at an observation deck accessible from the Little River Canyon Rim Parkway (AL176).

St. Paul's Episcopal Church - Franklin, TN

According to the historical marker:

This "Mother Church of the Diocese of Tennessee," was begun in 1831, four years after its congregation was organized in 1827. Here James H. Otey, its first rector, was elected the first bishop of Tennessee. It was so damaged through use as a Civil War barracks and hospital that it had to be remodeled in 1870. It is the oldest Episcopal Church and congregation in Tennessee, and the oldest Episcopal Church building in continual use west of the Appalachians.

After its use in the Civil War as a barracks and a hospital, there were major changes to the building as the entrance was placed here and the altar was moved to the other side. New pews, an organ, and Tiffany stained glass windows were added during the remodel. In 1988, a National Register study of Williamson County historical resources described it as "one of the finest remaining" Gothic Revival style churches in middle Tennessee.

Cave Land Motel

American Owned and Operated
Along U.S. 31W in Cave City, KY

Central of Georgia Steam Locomotive #349

This Steam locomotive is one of the rolling stock on display (but non-functional) at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum in Chattanooga. This upcoming weekend is the yearly railfest.
www.tvrail.com/pages/railfest

Here's the info about this train engine from their marker:
Built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1891 for the Central of Georgia Railway, the 349 is one of the few remaining examples of the most common type of locomotive ever built. The design was so ubiquitous that it earned the name "American" locomotive. It is distinguished by its four small wheels in the front and four large wheels behind, with no wheels in the rear. Thus it is a 4-4-0 type wheel arrangement. Various locomotive manufacturers built the American-type locomotive from prior to the Civil War until the 1920's.

Stevenson, AL Train Depot

This is an alternate view of this depot, take from the other side. I had to walk around a fence to get here.

One of the older and busier train stations in the area, this historic depot was built in 1872 and has active train tracks on either side.

Originally, a one story depot was constructed here in 1853 when tracks first came into town. When that building burned, it was replaced by this brick one in 1872.

During the Civil War, Stevenson was a hub of activity. Troops skirmished here and the town changed sides several times, although it was mostly under Union control. Troops occupied the town and a large refugee camp sprang up between here and Ft. Harker a quarter mile away.

Tens of thousands of soldiers, horses, wagons, prisoners of war, refugees, wounded and others passed through the city during the summer and fall of 1863 around the time of the Battles of Chattanooga and Chickamauga. Harpers Weekly noting the juncture of East-West and North-South rail lines here called Steveson one of the seven most important cities of the South.

After the war, the Dept and the brick hotel built next door, also between the tracks continued as the center of life in Stevenson. Trains stopped here at mealtimes and passengers are in the hotel dining rooms. Other passengers spent the night here. It was said that the hotel is so close to the tracks that the trains opened the hotel windows and pulled the covers off the beds.

The Depot and Hotel were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. However, the depot still needed to be saved. A group of citizens save the depot from deconstruction during the 1976 bicentennial when the last railroad office closed. In June of 1982, a community museum opened here after renovation.

Cumberland Mountain State Park Stone Arch Bridge in October

Also known as Byrd Creek Bridge, this concrete stone arch bridge is the centerpiece of the Cumberland Mountain State Park near Crossville, TN. Here, a dam was built on Byrd Creek forming a lake on the southeast side. Highway TN419 carries the seven span bridge which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Cumberland Homesteads Historic District. Byrd Creek Dam is the largest masonry structure ever built by the Civilian Conservation Corps. Here is the text of the nearby historic marker:

Men of the Civilian Conservation Corps' Company 3464 built this unsuspended bridge between 1935 and 1940, for a 30-acre impoundment of Byrd's Creek. Three thousand five hundred and fifty cubic yards of dirt and rock were excavated and the core, containing 8,000 tons of concrete, is faced with Crab Orchard stone for the 319-foot span. Seven spillways, rising 28 feet above the stream bed, carry the 18-foot roadway approximately 16 feet above water level.

See Ruby Falls Barn at Dusk

Along Interstate 24 in Coffee County, TN is this Ruby Falls barn in a strategic bend in the road near mile marker 100. This barn was built in 2007 to replace an older barn that had collapsed.

Waverly, TN Greyhound Half-Way House

The Art Moderne Greyhound station in Waverly opened in 1939 and was in use until the 1960's. Today the building is used as the Humphreys County Chamber of Commerce and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In Waverly, it is located on Main St. (Which used to be US70 / "Broadway of America" / TN1)

Benton McMillan Bridge

U.S. 70N over the Caney Fork River in Smith County east of Carthage. It's a thin bridge, which means it's probably really old. (Specifically 1932) Benton McMillan was a governor of Tennessee. This bridge is scheduled for replacement and demolition by TDOT as is is functionally obsolete.

Reeve house - Greeneville, TN

This private residence on College St. is now Jeffers Mortuary. One flickr user left this note:

This was originally a single family residence. It was built in 1890 for a gentleman named Melville P. Reeve. The architect for this house was George F. Barber, who practiced out of Knoxville. There were two other Barber designed homes in Greeneville that did not survive.

Weiss neon sign - Nashville

Main St. East Nashville (old U.S. 31E)

I love how the sky looks here - not photoshopped. There were dark stormclouds in the sky, with the sun peaking through the clouds behind me to illuminate the sign

If you didn't notice it, there is a neon drop coming out of the jug. The second drip is on the R and then a splat.

Henley St. Bridge at night

The Henley St. Bridge is also known as the Chapman Highway bridge. At one time, many people going to Gatlinburg from the west would pass through Knoxville and cross the Tennessee River here. It carries US 441 and TN33.

The all concrete bridge opened in 1931 and may need some rehabilitation in the not too distant future. The design has six open-spandrel dual ribbed concrete arches with six concrete deck girder spans, all of which is built on a concrete substructure. It's also the longest open spandrel concrete arch bridge in the state (although I don't fully understand what that means or how many it competes with.)

Often, the spans are better lit than they were on this night, but I suppose nobody turned them on. This photo was taken on a really cold night in November before the bridge was reconstructed.