FEATURE | A Little Something Extra
HONORING THE PAST, BUILDING THE FUTURE THE LEGACY OF WILLIAMSON COUNTY’S NATIVE AMERICAN COMMUNITIES BY SHAYNA HOBBS | ARTS AND EDUCATION OUTREACH LEAD, NATIVE AMERICAN INDIAN ASSOCIATION OF TENNESSEE
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here is rich Native history that runs deep through Williamson County. Nearly one thousand years ago, the Indigenous people of this area lived in a bustling community of villages and farms. Old Town was one of these places, complete with large earthen mounds close to 2470 feet in length, which the Natives used for various purposes. Being right on the Big Harpeth River provided the people with an endless supply of water. Old Town was the central hub for tribal government and sacred spirituality, a place for Natives to create various forms of art, raise their families and to live in harmony with animals, nature and the land. It was occupied from roughly 900 to 1450 AD, and the property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Glass Mounds site in Franklin is another sacred Native site from the Middle Woodland Period, about 2,000 years ago, and featuring two burial mounds. It was once a significant Native town with four mounds, but has faced challenges like looting, 19th century excavations, and disruption from phosphate mining in the mid-20th century. It stands as the
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only mound complex in the Cumberland River drainage of middle Tennessee and the only Tennessee site where copper panpipes have been found. The Mississippian period was a time when Native American societies were at their most complex, creating art using their excellent skills in craftsmanship, cultivating the land and living in prosperity. But, when Europeans arrived in the 16th century, things changed a lot. Diseases brought by the Europeans, and European trade, literally destroyed the Natives authority structures, which led to the collapse of Native chiefdoms, and eventually populations went down. This marks the transition from ancient times to documented history, where tribes like the Cherokee, Yuchi, Shawnee, Creek, Choctaw and Chickasaw began to come on the scene and operate in the framework of a new nation. Williamson County continues to reap the rewards of its Native predecessors who cherished and loved the land, planted seeds both in the soil and in spirit, celebrated with songs and dances, and created wealth. They established a foundation that benefits all Tennessee residents today.
