A trip on the Benton-Houston Ferry across the Tennessee River

This Tennessee Ferry connects Benton County and Houston County across the Tennessee River. Also, the ferry connects both sides of highway TN147 to the cities of Big Sandy and Erin. The ferry runs every day of the year unless there is bad weather, and the ride costs $1.

One of the things to see during the ride is a partially abandoned railroad bridge and a partially submerged grain elevator.

There are only two working Ferries in Tennessee. The other one crosses the Cumberland River in Stewart County, seen here:
flic.kr/p/DpgmfS

Woodbury Funeral Home neon sign - day and night

Most of my neon sign photos belong to Motels, cinemas, Restaurants, gift shops, drug stores and tourist traps. To me, it seems like a neon sign is out of place at a funeral home. However, I like neon signs and I can get over that kind of hang-up to photograph it in the day and the night time. (Seen along Main St. in Woodbury.)

SeeMidTN.com presents: Sharp Springs Recreation Area - Smyrna, TN

Sharp Springs Park in Smyrna, TN has multiple Karst Sinkholes which look like ponds. In this video, I walk along the Espey trail which provides several good views of these sinkholes.

Columbia, TN Union Station

The old Union Station in Columbia was built in 1902 replacing an older, long demolished, building that had stood nearby. It served the community for both Louisville & Nashville, NCStL and Duck River Valley Narrow Gauge Railroad and was in use until the 1960s when passenger service was discontinued with cancelled freight and parcel service following. This building once served as one of the hubs of the community but is unused and neglected today despite its presence on the National Register of Historic Places.

Tennessee Coneflower

50 years ago, it was believed that the Tennessee Coneflower was extinct. That was until Vanderbilt biologist Elsie Quarterman discovered some by accident. At the time it was added as an endangered species. Since then, conservation efforts have helped this flower to spread, but there are still only about 10 fields where you can find it. These fields tend to be glades where the soil isn't very thick above limestone in an area close to where Davidson, Wilson and Rutherford Counties meet close to Percy Priest Lake. Thanks to the conservation efforts, this Coneflower is no longer endangered as of 2011 and is now listed as Imperiled.

The best place to see the Tennessee Coneflower is at the Couchville Cedar Glade State Natural Area. A one mile loop trail takes you through a field where several patches of these grow. Some of them are right along the trail like the ones seen here. The best time to go is late June and early July when they are at full bloom.




from Wikiipedia:
Echinacea tennesseensis, also known as the Tennessee coneflower or Tennessee purple coneflower, is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, endemic to the cedar glades of the central portion of the U.S. state of Tennessee.

Echinacea tennesseensis is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to 75 centimetres (2.46 ft) tall. The leaves are hairy, lanceolate, and arranged in a basal whorl with only a few small leaves on the flower stems.

The flowers are produced in a capitulum (flowerhead) up to 8 cm broad, with a ring of purple ray florets surrounding the brown disc florets.

A noticeable characteristic is its generally erect ray flowers, in contrast to the more drooping rays of its most similar congener, E. angustifolia (widespread throughout the prairie of the central U.S.) and other common Echinacea species such as E. purpurea.

Clinch River Bridge - Clinton, TN

This 1939 bridge by Bethlehem Steel Co. carries highway US25W over the Clinch River in Anderson County, TN. It is believed to be the only Continuous Warren Camelback Through Truss in the state.

Update: This bridge is now scheduled for replacement and demolition by TDOT, although I don't know the timetable.

50 Weird things I've seen in Tennessee

Here are 50 unusual things I have seen in Tennessee.  For fun, I'm not sharing the context of any of these locations in the slideshow.  If you want to learn more, check out this link which will include every photo and more:

https://www.flickr.com/groups/weirdtennessee/pool/brent_nashville

In the news: Historic Nashville's 2020 List of Nashville Nine

Every year, Historic Nashville Inc. creates their yearly list of historic endangered properties, which the call the Nashville Nine. The 2020 list has been published, which you can read at the link below:

2020 Nashville Nine

The Eldorado Motel neon sign above is facing problems due to years of neglect. The Tennessee State Prison and the Hopewell Baptist Church seen below were damaged by the Mar. 3, 2020 tornado.

Elm Street Methodist Church - Nashville, TN

Elm Street Methodist Church is a historic Methodist church building at 616 5th Avenue S. in Nashville. The building no longer serves as a place of worship and has been converted to offices for Tuck-Hinton Architects. It was built in 1871 in an Italianate style and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

Lake at Harlinsdale Farm

This photo was taken during Franklin Family Fun Day. To learn more about the farm:
flic.kr/p/Ge4CJg

Grand Junction, TN Train Station

The city of Grand Junction had been on my Tennessee To Do list for a long time because of the area's prominence in Tennessee's railroad history. Unfortunately, the historic station at the junction had seen better days.

The town of Grand Junction dates back to 1854 when the major East-West Southern Railroad and North-South Illinois Central railroad lines intersected here. Today, the East-West line is part of a very important Norfolk Southern corridor and sees much traffic. However, the North-South tracks do not cross at the junction anymore. (I don't know if those tracks are abandoned, or just act like a spur these days. There were some hoppers parked not too far away.

The depot itself dates back to the 1920s. Since it has been vacant for a long time, it needs a lot of work, but at least the work has been started. As you can tell, all the windows are covered. The roof collapsed around 2000 and fortunately it appears to have been recently replaced.

Welcome to Tennessee: Ardmore AL/TN Border

The town of Ardmore lies on the Tennessee / Alabama border, although more of the town is in Alabama. At this spot, State Line Rd, (also TN7 and old US31) crosses under the train tracks at the state line. In 2000, This sign and an Alabama sign on the other side of the tracks were placed.

Other side of the border:

Fort Loudoun State Park

From Wikipedia:
Fort Loudoun was a British colonial-era fort located in what is now Monroe County, Tennessee, United States. Built in 1756 and 1757 to help garner Cherokee support for the British at the outset of the Seven Years' War, the fort was one of the first significant British outposts west of the Appalachian Mountains. The fort was designed by John William G. De Brahm, its construction was supervised by Captain Raymond Demeré, and its garrison was commanded by Demeré's brother, Paul Demeré. It was named for the Earl of Loudoun, the commander of British forces in North America at the time.

Relations between the garrison of Fort Loudoun and the local Cherokee inhabitants were initially cordial, but soured in 1758 due to hostilities between Cherokee fighters and European settlers in Virginia and South Carolina. After the massacre of several Cherokee chiefs who were being held hostage at Fort Prince George, the Cherokee laid siege to Fort Loudoun in March 1760. The fort's garrison held out for several months, but diminishing supplies forced its surrender in August 1760. Hostile Cherokees attacked the fort's garrison as it marched back to South Carolina, killing more than two dozen and taking most of the survivors prisoner.

The fall of Fort Loudoun led to an invasion of Cherokee territory by General James Grant and an important peace expedition to the Overhill country by Henry Timberlake. The fort was reconstructed in the 20th century based on the detailed descriptions of its design by De Brahm and Demeré, and excavations conducted by the Works Progress Administration, the Fort Loudoun Association, and the Tennessee Division of Archaeology. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965, and is now the focus of Fort Loudoun State Park.

Former Coca-Cola bottler - Tullahoma

This former Coca-Cola bottler was a state-of-the-art facility in 1941. They could produce 120 bottles of Coke per minute until 1973 when a new facility was built down the road.

Today, the building has been preserved as retail space as the Historic Shoppes at Cokers. Tenants include a restaurant, clothing boutique and WDUC radio.

The featured building in the Athens Courthouse Square Commercial Historic District is the Limestone County Courthouse, built in 1919 in Neoclassical style with Palladian influences. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997 and the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage in 2012.

On the November day this photo was taken in 2016, a large Christmas wreath was displayed along each side. There is also some construction work being done on the grounds.

Mount Lebanon Missionary Baptist Church

This church building is located in Columbia, TN. Here is the text of the historic marker:

In October 1843, free blacks in Columbia established Mount Lebanon Missionary Baptist Church, the oldest black Baptist congregation in Tennessee. Edmund Kelly was its first pastor. The original church was built several blocks southeast of this site, and it served as a school during the Reconstruction Era. The present building was built in 1885.

Leeman House - Cannonsburgh Village - Murfreesboro, TN

The Leeman House is a historic log house that was originally owned by the Leeman family in the town of Milton. When Cannonsburgh Village was created, this house, along with most structures in the park, was relocated here. Today, it is available for rent as a reception hall.

Tanner's Sundries General Store - Wartburg, TN

In August of 2017, Tanner's Sundries General Store in Wartburg was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Here is the press release from the Tennessee.gov write-up:

Located near the courthouse square in Wartburg, the Tanner Store is a multi-use building that began as the Citizens Bank and Trust in 1906. In 1923, the building was enlarged to add a general store. Architecturally, the prominent features of the building on the exterior include the large windows, corner entry, ornamental brackets, and expanse of porches. The interior contains historic wood cabinets and seating. The general store has served as an important commercial and social resource in the community since its opening, while the former bank section has had several uses. John and Maud Tanner ran the general store, which included a pharmacy and restaurant until the first half of the 20th century, when other family members took over. Today, the Tanner Store is the longest run family-owned general store in continuous operation in the county.

Johnny Cash Museum

During Cash's lifetime, his museum was located at his business office in Hendersonville, TN and was known as "House of Cash." This modern museum is one of the top museums for country music fans in Nashville where it is located along 3rd Ave. in downtown.
www.johnnycashmuseum.com/

Tennessee Zero Milestone

When you're on the highway and it says that Nashville is 37 miles away, it means you are 37 miles from this marker, which notes, "Distances on state highways measured from this point." TDOT placed this marker at Bicentennial Mall State Park when it opened in 1996.

The original Zero Milestone was placed om May 12, 1924 at the corner of Union Street and Sixth Ave. in Downtown. Later it was relocated in front of the highway department's new building on Charlotte Ave. Later, a new TDOT building was built and this multi-ton stone was misplaced. The new zero milestone seen here was added to the park after an extensive search for the original yielded no results.

100 North Main Building - Memphis

The 100 North Main Building is the tallest skyscraper in Memphis. I always think of it as the Union Planter's Bank Building since it used to have the letters UP BANK up top. It was completed in 1965 with 37 floors and a height of 430 ft.

Rutherford County Confederate Memorial - Murfreesboro, TN

This Confederate Monument is located on the Murfreesboro town square in front of the Rutherford County Courthouse. The text of the monument reads: In Commemoration of the valor of Confederate Soldiers who fell in the great Battle of Murfreesboro, Dec. 31, 1862, and January 2, 1863, and in minor engagements in this vicinity, this monument is erected.

Additionally, in May of 2011, the Sons of Confederate Veterans placed a Sesquicentennial Marker in front of the memorial.

Update: This statue has been in the news in 2020, as have many confederate memorials in the middle of towns. There have been 2020 protests to remove this statue from the town square, although the decision ultimately lies with the Tennessee Historic Commission. I am a photographer documenting historic sites and take no position on whether or not this or other sites should be removed.

Gravesite of President Andrew Jackson

Tennesseean Andrew Jackson was the 7th President of the United States.
thehermitage.com/learn/andrew-jackson/

President Jackson and his wife Rachel are buried in the garden on the grounds of his mansion, The Hermitage.

Before Jackson was President, he was a military general. His most important victory was the Battle of New Orleans from the War of 1812. To commemorate this event, every year on January 8, the Tennessee National Guard lays a wreath at his grave site.

Frederick Stump Tavern-Inn - Nashville

From the historic marker: Frederick Stump (1724-1822), an early settler in the Fort Nashborough area, came from Pennsylvania by way of Georgia. He was a revolutionary war soldier and noted Indian fighter. He owned a large plantation along White’s Creek where he operated a mill and inn and rented land to other settlers. This log house is reputed to have been his home where he operated the inn.

From Wikipedia:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Stump_House
The Frederick Stump Tavern-Inn is a historic house in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. It was built by Colonel Frederick Stump, an early settler of Nashville who arrived in the region as part of the first group of white settlers at Fort Nashboro in 1779. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since April 2, 1973.

The two-story building is constructed of red cedar logs and has eight rooms, including three sleeping rooms on the upper floor. It originally sat closer to the road, but was moved back approximately 100 feet when Buena Vista Pike was widened. The structure is directly down the street from the Alexander Ewing House, another listed historic building constructed in 1821 that sits approximately 850 feet to the north of the Stump House.

Frederick Stump was born circa 1724. In Pennsylvania by the 1760s he was known to be aggressive in Native American territory. In January 1768, he killed or helped to kill ten native people, including four women, two children and an infant, in an incident later called "Stump's Massacre," "Stumps Run Massacre," or "The Frederick Stump Affair." After bragging about this event to others, Stump was arrested. He initially claimed self-defense, but then managed to escape prison with the help of an armed mob who supported his deeds. Stump ended up fleeing to Georgia and never received any consequences for his crime.

After serving in the American Revolutionary War under Francis Marion, he was arrested, escaped prison again, and fled to Tennessee. He arrived at White's Creek on Christmas Day 1779, and is a signer of the Cumberland Compact, along with his son Jacob Stump who was killed by Native Americans in 1780. Colonel Frederick Stump also built a log cabin home on the east side of White's Creek where he and wife Anna Snavely resided.

Douglas Dam - Sevier County, TN

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Dam
Douglas Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the French Broad River in Sevier County, TN. The dam is operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), which built the dam in record time in the early 1940s to meet emergency energy demands at the height of World War II. Douglas Dam is a straight reinforced concrete gravity-type dam 1705 feet long and 202 feet high, impounding the 28,420-acre Douglas Lake. The dam was named for Douglas Bluff, a cliff overlooking the dam site prior to construction.

Nashville Tennessee Temple (Mormon) - Located in Franklin

This is one of about 150 Temples of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is located in the Nashville suburb of Franklin. In the LDS religion, a temple is not a regular church but instead is restricted to certain members where specific rites are performed.

This Temple opened in 2000 and at the time was the 84th LDS Temple. The temple's exterior is constructed from Imperial Danby white marble and has a single spire topped with the traditional Mormon statue of the angel Moroni.

Bicentennial Bell Tower - Columbia, TN

To celebrate Maury County's Bicentennial, local leaders had this 48'-10" bell tower built. It is located behind the Maury County Visitors Center on w. 7th St. (US412) across the street from the Polk house. The bell was salvaged from the Civil War era Andrews School building.

Kreme Delight neon sign - Athens, AL

This old fashioned burger and ice cream restaurant seemed to be a popular spot in Athens, AL

Tulip Grove - Nashville, TN

Tulip Grove is the 1836 house of Andrew Jackson Donelson, nephew of President Andrew Jackson. The home was designed by Joseph Reiff who also built the Hermitage. Donelson was a West Point graduate, foreign minister to Prussia, and unsuccessful candidate for Vice President in 1856. The home is close enough to President Jackson's Hermitage that it is part of the Hermitage grounds. You can see it as part of your Hermitage visit, although it is a bit of a walk.

From Wikipedia:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip_Grove
While Andrew Jackson was still President in 1834, Andrew Jackson Donelson decided to build Tulip Grove in land close-by to the Hermitage. The house was completed in 1836 with the original name of "Poplar Grove." President Martin Van Buren suggested he rename it to Tulip Grove in 1841.

In 1858, Donelson sold the property to the parents of painter Mayna Treanor Avent (1868–1959), who grew up at Tulip Grove. Later, it passed through successive owners until 1964 when it was acquired by the Ladies' Hermitage Association.

Tulip Grove is representative of the antebellum Greek Revival style that was popular before the American Civil War. It consists of two main stories, a basement, and attic. The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.

Mud Island Riverwalk Fountain - Memphis

Located at Mus Island, across the Wolf river Harbor from downtown Memphis, is the famous Riverwalk. This is a scale model of the Mississippi River from its confluence with the Ohio River to it's Delta at the Gulf of Mexico 954 miles away. Thirty inches scales to one mile and one contour ridge equals five feet of vertical depth for a total length of 2,000 feet.

There are several highlights along the riverwalk. 20 cities are mapped, including Memphis and its four bridges. Nearly 100 markers point out highlights along the river. The model river empties into a one acre replica of the Gulf of Mexico. There, visitors can rent a swan-shaped paddle boat with the Memphis Skyline in the background.