OUR HISTORY
Sumner County historic sites Bledsoe's Fort Historic Park Location: Highway 25, Castalian Springs Hours: Open daily from daylight to dusk. Free. The self-guided walking tour of the park guides you through the shaded hills retracing the pioneer footprints along the Avery Trace, the first road leading into Middle Tennessee. The tour continues past the 1890s Parker Cabin, the Hugh Rogan stone cottage, and the Cavern of Skulls. Also visit the cemetery where brothers Anthony and Isaac Bledsoe are buried. The tour is interpreted by signs providing historical information relating to the sites. There are picnic pavilion and restrooms onsite. Each May visit the Colonial Fair at Bledsoe Fort Historic Park.
Cold Springs School & Museum Location: Richland Park, Portland Road, Portland Phone: 351-0719 Hours: Open Sundays 1-4 p.m., from June to September; Open other hours by appointment only Built in 1857, this one-room schoolhouse was originally located near the Cold Springs that created Portland's city lake. Camp Trousdale, a Confederate training camp during the Civil War, was moved to the Cold Springs site to provide water for the troops. In time, Cold Springs School became a hospital for soldiers at Camp Trousdale. Cold Springs School re-opened for students after the war. The school is now located in Richland Park and is restored as a museum of local history. Included in its collection is a display of Civil War memorabilia.
Cragfont Location: 200 Cragfont Road, Castalian Springs Phone: 452-7070 Hours: April 15 through Oct. 31, Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday from 1-4 p.m.; closed on Mondays Considered the finest house on the Tennessee frontier, Cragfont was completed
Helen Marshall, Jane Wright, Robbie Pafford, Bettye Freudenthal and Julia Carnahan, members of the Col. Jethro Sumner County Chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution, volunteer as tour guides during Wynnewood's reopening in July 2012. FILE
in 1802. It was built by Gen. James Winchester, one of the founders of Memphis. The mansion contains a ballroom on the second floor, the first in the Tennessee country. Tennessee statesmen Andrew Jackson and Sam Houston were frequent guests at the parties hosted by the Winchesters. Each April, Cragfont sponsors the annual Pilgrimage of Homes that highlights several historic and private homes in the county. It is available for special events and weddings by appointment.
Mansker’s Station Location: 705 Caldwell Drive, MossWright Park, Goodlettsville Phone: 859-3678 Hours: Monday through Friday from 8
HHS student Tori Williams accepts the award for Best in Show during the Sumner County Student Art gallery exhibit at Monthaven. a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; closed Saturday and Sunday. Admission includes Mansker's Fort and the Bowen Plantation House. Last tour begins at 3:30 p.m. Historic Mansker’s Station features the Bowen House, built in 1787; Mansker’s Fort, a reconstruction of a 1780 log fort station; and a visitors center and museum. Visitors will see how longhunters lived a life of survival on the Tennessee frontier, juxtaposed with estate living in the Civil War era.
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