On Old U.S. 31E south of U.S. 31E, on the left when traveling south.
Built in 1923 for African Americans during the era of racial segregation, the two-room Durham's Chapel Rosenwald School was used until 1962. It was constructed with funds from the African American community, the county, and the Rosenwald Fund, . . . — — Map (db m151859) HM
On Mt. Vernon Road at U.S. 31E, on the right when traveling west on Mt. Vernon Road.
Jonathan Browning was born Oct. 22, 1805, on his father's farm, 3.4 miles west on Mt.
Vernon Road. He apprenticed with Nashville gunsmith Samuel Porter. Six years after rebuilding his first rifle at age 14, Browning built a gun shop on the farm. . . . — — Map (db m151858) HM
On U.S. 231 0.2 miles north of Chipman Road/Browning Branch Road (Tennessee Route 260), on the right when traveling south.
Sumner County
Established 1786; named in honor of
Major Gen. Jethro Sumner
Officer in French and Indian War. Served in defense of Charleston, 1776; in the Battles of Brandywine and Germantown; and in the Army at Valley Forge. His last . . . — — Map (db m149919) HM
Near Hartsville Pike (State Highway 25) 0.1 miles west of Rock Springs Road, on the right when traveling west.
Isaac Bledsoe discovered the salt lick that bears his name in 1772. His and other explorers' reports of the rich land and game brought settlers to this area despite the dangers.
Discovering the Salt Lick
Isaac Bledsoe looked on a great . . . — — Map (db m149923) HM
On Hartsville Pike west of Old Highway 25, on the right when traveling west.
1/10 mile N.W. is Bledsoe monument, marking gravesites of Revolutionary War veterans Anthony Bledsoe and brother Isaac, long hunters and early explorers in this area. Among early settlers in this region both were active in the civil and military . . . — — Map (db m82967) HM
Near Hartsville Pike (State Highway 25) 0.1 miles west of Rock Springs Road, on the right when traveling west.
Bledsoe's Fort Historical Park preserves the site of the settlement founded by Isaac Bledsoe in 1780. The frontier fort was occupied continuously from 1783 to 1806.
A Settlement in the Wilderness
Isaac Bledsoe first came to this area . . . — — Map (db m149922) HM
On Old Highway 25 east of Hartsville Pike, on the right when traveling east.
The spring to the north was a rendezvous for salt-seeking game in the pre-pioneer days. First settlers came in 1779. In 1787, Isaac and Anthony Bledsoe and their families settled here. The two brothers were killed by Indians and are buried in the . . . — — Map (db m68469) HM
Cragfont was the home of Confederate Maj. George W. Winchester (1822-1878), his mother, Susan Winchester, his wife, Malvina H. Gaines, and their children. Their surviving letters and diaries describe life during Union occupation.
George . . . — — Map (db m68465) HM WM
On Hartsville Pike west of Harsh Lane, on the left when traveling west.
0.7 mile north, the home of James Winchester, built by artisans from his home state of Maryland and completed in 1802. He was a War of 1812 brigadier general, and in association with General Andrew Jackson and Judge John Overton was one of Memphis' . . . — — Map (db m82968) HM WM
Near Hartsville Pike (State Highway 25) 0.1 miles west of Rock Springs Road, on the right when traveling west.
The Cumberland Valley was once a shared Native American hunting ground, open to all and occupied by none. The arrival of Euro-American settlers upset that balance and ended in war.
A Shared Hunting Ground
When the first long hunters . . . — — Map (db m149924) HM
On Hartsville Pike east of Governor Hall Road, on the right when traveling east.
Revolutionary War veteran Major William Hall settled in this area in 1785 and built a station, 1 1/4 miles northeast. He and two sons were massacred a few years later. Born in North Carolina in 1775, General William Hall, his son, served in the . . . — — Map (db m68471) HM WM
On Old Highway 25 west of Canoe Branch Road, on the left when traveling west.
William Brimage Bate was born here in 1826, and during the Civil War he rose to the rank of major general. He left home at the age of sixteen to be a clerk on a steamboat. During the Mexican War, he served as a lieutenant, then became a journalist, . . . — — Map (db m82969) HM WM
On Hartsville Pike (Tennessee Route 25) 0.2 miles east of Corum Hill Road, on the left when traveling east.
Moving east along this road, Col. John H. Morgan, with the 2nd Kentucky Cavalry and attachments, met Brig. Gen. R.W. Johnson's task force of the 2nd Ind. Cavalry, 4th and 5th Kentucky Cavalry and 7th Pa. Cavalry. In a fight which covered about seven . . . — — Map (db m149920) HM
On Old Highway 25 west of Governor Hall Road, on the left when traveling west.
On this spot stood the hollow sycamore tree in which Thos. Sharpe Spencer spent the winter of 1778-79., deserted by his companions for fear of Indians. Spencer helped build at Bledsoe’s Lick, 50-yds. south of this spot, the first cabin in middle . . . — — Map (db m68468) HM WM
On Hartsville Pike (Tennessee Route 25) at Rock Springs Road, on the right when traveling west on Hartsville Pike.
Born 1.2 miles north, Oct. 7, 1826. An officer in river steamboats in early life, he was later an officer in the Mexican War. A major general in the Confederate Army of Tennessee. He was Governor of Tennessee from 1883 to 1887 and U.S. Senator from . . . — — Map (db m149921) HM
On Old Highway 25 east of Hartsville Pike, on the right when traveling east.
Col. Alfred Royal Wynne (1800-1893) was a trader and merchant in Castalian Springs. In 1828, he built this stagecoach inn along the Knoxville road. Although Wynne was a slaveholder and a Democrat, he also was a staunch Unionist and strongly opposed . . . — — Map (db m82970) WM
On Tennessee Route 25 at Bugg Hollow Road, on the right when traveling south on State Route 25.
In 1795, Thomas Cotton founded
Cottontown. He had been a captain
of Hertford County, North Carolina
Militia during the revolution. In
1819 Moore Cotton, son of Thomas,
built Bridal House for his only
daughter, Elizabeth. The House . . . — — Map (db m148023) HM
On Ben Albert Road at Tyree Springs Road (Tennessee Route 258), on the right when traveling south on Ben Albert Road.
A mineral springs resort was established here by R.C. Tyree sometime between 1814 and 1822. By 1834 it was the most celebrated watering place in the state. Presidents Andrew Jackson and James K. Polk were guests here. Burned during the Civil War, . . . — — Map (db m151838) HM
On South Tunnel Road at Scotty Parker Road, on the right when traveling west on South Tunnel Road.
On August 12, 1862, 2.7 miles north of here, Confederate General John Hunt Morgan and his raiders, aided by citizens of Gallatin, demolished the Big South Tunnel on the Louisville
& Nashville Railroad by crashing a locomotive into a barrier of . . . — — Map (db m148022) HM
On West Main Street (State Highway 25) at Cemetery Avenue, on the right when traveling east on West Main Street.
City Cemetery
Located 0.2 miles south, the City Cemetery opened circa 1818 on land acquired from Felix Grundy, who later served as a United States senator from Tennessee. Within it stands one of only two Mexican War monuments in Tennessee. . . . — — Map (db m149358) HM
On West Main Street (Tennessee Route 25) at South Foster Avenue, on the right when traveling east on West Main Street.
The oldest church building in Gallatin in continuous existence, this church was organized October 25, 1828. The building was erected in 1836-37 and is an example of early Greek Revival architecture. The sanctuary was used as a hospital for Federal . . . — — Map (db m121843) HM
On West Main Street (Tennessee Route 25) west of South Water Avenue (Old Tennessee Highway 109), on the right when traveling west.
Early in 1861, Gallatin and Sumner County were divided over secession, but after the fall of Fort Sumter, residents voted almost ten to one in favor. Support of the Confederacy never wavered, as Capt. Benjamin S. Nicklin, 13th Battery, Indiana Light . . . — — Map (db m68408) HM
On West Main Street (Tennessee Route 25) at South Foster Street, on the right when traveling west on West Main Street.
By an act of the Tennessee General Assembly, Gallatin became the county seat of Sumner County on February 26, 1802, when commissioners sold the first town lots. Newly laid out, the town embraced 42 ½ acres. The site had been purchased from . . . — — Map (db m82971) HM
On Hartsville Pike (Tennessee Route 25) at Belle Breeze Place, on the right when traveling east on Hartsville Pike.
General Griffith Rutherford, surveyor, North Carolina legislator, commander of Revolutionary War forces of Western North Carolina, and President of the Legislative Council of the Southwest Territory from 1794 to statehood, lived 3
miles south of . . . — — Map (db m149934) HM
On East Main Street (State Highway 25) at College Street, on the right when traveling east on East Main Street.
On this site was the campus of Gallatin Female Academy, 1824-36, and Sumner Female Academy, 1837-56. It was leased by the Howard Lodge I. O. O. F. to Howard Female Institute, 1856-74; Neophogen College, 1874-78; and Howard Female College, 1878-1922. . . . — — Map (db m149936) HM
On U.S. 31E 0.1 miles south of Rogana Road, on the right when traveling south.
Two miles east is "Rogana.” the stone and brick house built in 1800 by Hugh Rogan (1747-1814). An Irish immigrant, Rogan came to Nashborough with the John Donelson party in 1780 and was a signer of the Cumberland Compact. Noted as a surveyor . . . — — Map (db m151860) HM
On Airport Road east of Steam Plant Road, on the right when traveling north.
This memorial honors all American veterans who, although separated by generations, shared a common undeniable goal - - to valiantly protect our country’s freedoms.
The memories of these American veterans will continue to live on whenever and . . . — — Map (db m82972) WM
The Mexican War
Instigated by the U.S. annexation of Texas and the dispute over its southern boundary, the Mexican War of 1846-1848 resulted in the cession of over 500,000 square miles of the territory then owned by Mexico west of Texas and . . . — — Map (db m85159) HM
On South Water Avenue at East Bledsoe Street, on the right when traveling north on South Water Avenue.
A prominent African-American soldier, minister, and educator, Peter Vertrees was born December 16, 1840, in Edmondson County, Kentucky, as Peter Skaggs. At age five he was apprenticed to Jacob Vertrees whose name he assumed. From 1861-1865, he was . . . — — Map (db m149937) HM
On North Water Ave south of West Franklin, on the right when traveling north.
Randy’s Record Shop (1946-1991) was the world’s largest mail-order record company. Founder Randy Wood began advertising his mail-order business in the late 40s on clear channel WLAC in Nashville, a broadcast that could be heard throughout most of . . . — — Map (db m68441) HM
On South Water Avenue (Old State Highway 109) at James Street, on the right when traveling south on South Water Avenue.
Catherine Blackmore (1806-1888) and her husband Josephus Conn Guild (1802-1883) built Rose Mont circa 1842 here on their 500-acre plantation. Descendants occupied it until the City of Gallatin acquired the property in 1993. A grove of trees 150 . . . — — Map (db m68404) HM
Near South Water Avenue (Old State Highway 109) at James Street, on the right when traveling south.
This monument marks Rose Mont and pays tribute to Major George Blackmore, father of Catherine Blackmore Guild, wife of Josephus Conn Guild, owner and builder of Rose Mont. Blackmore served in the Revolutionary War from 1777-1781. He came to . . . — — Map (db m68406) HM WM
On South Water Avenue (Old State Highway 109) at James Street, on the right when traveling south on South Water Avenue.
Rosemont, a Greek Revival—style mansion completed in the 1840s, was the home of Judge Josephus Conn Guild, a state senator and representative who also served as a Lt. Colonel in the 2nd Tennessee Mounted Volunteers during the Seminole War. He . . . — — Map (db m68405) HM
This Monument Was erected by the liberality of the Citizens of the County of Sumner to the memory of her Patriotic Sons: who sacrificed their lives in the defense of the Flag of their country in the war with Mexico. In 1846. 1847 & 1848. . . . — — Map (db m85162) WM
On East Main Street east of Water Avenue, on the right when traveling east.
Among the first ex-slaves in the Union Army were 200 local volunteers who enlisted here on the Public Square in July, 1863. They became a part of the Thirteenth United States Colored Infantry at Nashville. Two months later the army recruited . . . — — Map (db m68440) HM
On Long Hollow Pike east of Upper Station Camp Creek Road, on the right when traveling east.
This is the home of four brothers who served in the Confederate army, as did many of Sumner County’s young men. Their father, William F. Clark, a Protestant minister, died in 1847 at the age of forty-one, leaving his wife, Emma Douglass Clark, to . . . — — Map (db m82973) WM
On West Main Street (Tennessee Route 25) at South Locust Avenue, on the right when traveling east on West Main Street.
Built by John Bowen prior to 1820 and purchased in 1822 by William Trousdale, Governor of Tennessee, 1849-1851. He fought in the War of 1812, and the Creek, Seminole, and Mexican Wars, and was brevetted brigadier-general by President Polk in 1848. . . . — — Map (db m68415) HM
On West Main Street (Tennessee Route 25) at South Locust Avenue, on the right when traveling east on West Main Street.
This was the home of William Trousdale (1790-1872), governor of Tennessee (1849-1851) and U.S. minister to Brazil (1853-1857). During the Union army’s occupation of Gallatin from 1862 to 1870, its commanders regarded former governor Trousdale as the . . . — — Map (db m68416) HM
On Small Street west of Magnolia Street, in the median.
Completed in 1922 on East Winchester Street, Union High School was Sumner County's first and only secondary school for African-American youth. The African-American community, public, and Rosenwald Funds provided funding for construction. The first . . . — — Map (db m151861) HM
With the opening of Volunteer State Community College in September 1971, Gallatin's dream of a strong institution of higher education was realized. Acting on the recommendation of Education Commissioner J.H. Warf and Governor Buford Ellington, the . . . — — Map (db m149942) HM
On Hartsville Pike at Zieglers Fort Road (a.k.a.: Brights Lane), on the right when traveling east on Hartsville Pike.
This station was built in 1790 near Bledsoe Creek by Joseph Ziegler to protect early settlers. In 1791, it was attacked by a war party of Creek, Cherokee, and Chickamauga Indians, killing ten persons and taking eighteen prisoners. A forced march was . . . — — Map (db m82974) HM WM
The Bowen Plantation house was built in 1787 by Captain William Bowen, a veteran of Lord Dunmore’s War, the French and Indian War and the American Revolutionary War who brought his family to the area in 1783.
The Bowen Plantation House is the . . . — — Map (db m82975) HM WM
Henry Skaggs, his brothers, Charles and Richard, and Joseph Drake and a group of other long hunters were the first Anglo-Saxons to explore this area. They made their campsite at Mansker's Lick, opening the doorway for the future settlement of . . . — — Map (db m3301) HM
Near Caldwell Drive at Indian Hills Mound, on the right when traveling east.
The Louisville and Nashville Railroad, among Tennessee’s most strategically important lines, closely followed Mansker Creek here, and a railroad bridge stood two miles downstream. To protect the railroad and the bridge, several companies of Union . . . — — Map (db m74324) HM
In 1780, a longhunter of German descent named Kasper Mansker, settled in the Goodlettsville area and established his own forted station. It was on the west side of Mansker Creek that he built his first station, which the inhabitants would leave . . . — — Map (db m74330) HM
On Long Hollow Pike (Tennessee Route 174) 0.5 miles west of New Hope Road (Tennessee Route 258), on the right when traveling west.
The Cumberland Presbyterian Church, founded
in 1810, constituted its first Synod here on
October 5. 1813. Presbyterian minister Thomas
Craighead organized the congregation in 1798.
In 1828, the stone building was erected with
walls 3 ft. thick, . . . — — Map (db m148024) HM
On U.S. 31E at Free Hill Road, on the right when traveling west on U.S. 31E.
In 1860, Sumner County's population of African descent consisted of 7,700 slaves. After America's Civil War, emancipated slaves settled on this high hill and road in the Rockland Community. According to oral tradition, Free Hill Road received its . . . — — Map (db m82977) HM
On Hazel Path Court east of Hazel Path, on the right when traveling east.
Hazel Path Mansion is associated with the beginnings and legacies of the Civil War in Tennessee. The home of Confederate Gen. Daniel Smith Donelson, completed in 1857, became a camp for escaped slaves (“contrabands") during the war. . . . — — Map (db m149950) HM
Near Antebellum Circle 0.1 miles west of Monthaven Boulevard, on the right when traveling north.
During the Civil War, the hand of occupation landed heavily on farms, houses, and towns along the Louisville & Nashville (L&N) Railroad. This two-story brick Greek Revival-style house, first called Liberty Hall and then renamed Monthaven in 1953, . . . — — Map (db m149363) HM
On Johnny Cash Parkway, on the right when traveling west.
Transcending labels, genres and eras, Johnny Cash's music drew from country, folk, rockabilly, gospel, pop and blues. Over a six-decade career, he constantly reinvented himself, becoming one of the most celebrated artists in American music. . . . — — Map (db m154959) HM
On Caudill Drive, on the right when traveling north.
After Johnny Cash's passing in 2003, Caudill Drive neighbors Marty Stuart and Connie Smith purchased this site from John Carter Cash and restored its then withering fruit trees, rotting railroad ties, and damaged turf. While relocating the fence . . . — — Map (db m151864) HM
The war years here at Rock Castle, located between the Cumberland River and the Nashville and Gallatin Turnpike, were typical of many other plantations in Middle Tennessee. In the 1790s, Gen. Daniel Smith established the plantation. Rock Castle . . . — — Map (db m149321) HM
On East Main Street (U.S. 31E) at Indian Lake Road, on the right when traveling east on East Main Street.
1 mi. S. Begun 1784, Indian attacks
delayed its completion until 1791.
Was home of Daniel Smith, captain
in Lord Dunmore's War; Colonel in
Revolution; Brigadier General of
militia in the Mero District; Member of the committee to frame
the . . . — — Map (db m149948) HM
On East Main Street (U.S. 31E) west of Music Village Boulevard, on the right when traveling west.
The Reverend Hubbard Saunders established Saundersville United
Methodist Church in 1798. This building was built in 1867, making it
Hendersonville's oldest church building. The town that grew up around the
church was named Saundersville. The . . . — — Map (db m149945) HM
On Caudill Drive, on the right when traveling north.
Referred to as "nature's house,” builder Braxton Dixon designed the Cash Home. Rugged beauty existed with open rafters, barn boards and a wall of native limestone. The 14,000 square foot home overlooked Old Hickory Lake with panoramic views . . . — — Map (db m151865) HM
On Caudill Drive, on the right when traveling north.
This pristine site overlooking Old Hickory Lake had its roots in tragedy. In 1968 Johnny Cash's good friend, Roy Orbison, sold him the land after fire destroyed his home and took two of his three sons' lives. Cash promised Orbison never to build . . . — — Map (db m151862) HM
On West Main Street (U.S. 31E) just west of Sanders Ferry Road, on the left when traveling west.
Captain William Henderson was a Revolutionary soldier born in Virginia. He and his wife, Lockey Trigg, moved to Sumner County in the late 1790s and later bought property between Sanders Ferry and Walton Ferry Roads upon which they built a log home. . . . — — Map (db m149954) HM
On South Broadway (State Highway 109) at West Longview Drive, on the right when traveling south on South Broadway.
(Obverse side) One and eight-tenths miles west of here was
the home of Bishop William McKendree, who
was born in King William County, Virginia.
During the American Revolution. he served
as Adjutant in the commissary department
supplying the . . . — — Map (db m148018) HM
On Ronnie McDowell Parkway / North Broadway (State Highway 109) at Vanatta Road, on the right when traveling south on Ronnie McDowell Parkway / North Broadway.
Served formerly by Richland Station on the L&N RR., this was an early staging and training area for Tennessee Confederate units. Regiments trained here included the 7th Infantry (Hatton) 16th Infantry (Savage), 18th Infantry (Palmer), 20th Infantry . . . — — Map (db m148012) HM
On North Broadway (Tennessee Route 109) at Reed Street, on the right when traveling north on North Broadway.
Three-quarters of a mile northeast of here was the birthplace of Captain Ellis Harper. Harper's military service began with strong objection his Unionist parents, Ezekiel and Sarah Ellis Harper, when he enlisted in Company I of the 50th . . . — — Map (db m149350) HM
On North Broadway (Tennessee Route 109) at Victor Reiter Parkway, on the right when traveling north on North Broadway.
2.8 miles northeast is the site of Cold Spring School. It was built on land donated in May 1857 by Thomas Baskerville for a school and meetinghouse. Early in the Civil War, it was used by Camp Trousdale as a military hospital. There, in 1866, David . . . — — Map (db m68599) HM
Near Portland Boulevard at 2nd Street, on the right when traveling north.
In May 1861, the Tennessee General Assembly passed legislation to raise and equip the Provisional Army of Tennessee and train the units at camps throughout the state. Camp Trousdale was established—initially at Richland (present-day . . . — — Map (db m82978) HM
On North Broadway (Tennessee Route 109) at Woods Road, on the right when traveling north on North Broadway.
One and one-quarter miles northeast at Mitchellville Station on the L&N Railroad stood Fort Smith. There a railhead began as a Union supply depot for General Rosecran’s army at Nashville. With South Tunnel destroyed by General Morgan’s Confederate . . . — — Map (db m68572) HM
Near Portland Boulevard at 2nd Street, on the right when traveling north.
Cold Springs, a rural one room school, was built near cold water springs on the Thomas Baskerville farm, near Mitchellville, Northern Sumner County. During the Civil War the school was a hospital for Confederate troops quartered at Camp Trousdale. . . . — — Map (db m82979) HM
On Ronnie Mc Dowell Parkway (State Highway 109) north of East Market Street, on the right when traveling north.
The 2nd Tennessee Cavalry Battalion advanced over land as far north as Munfordville.
Confederate forces occupied Bowling Green on September 18, linking up with a Kentucky
brigade from Camp Boone near Clarksville. The combined force of 4,500 men . . . — — Map (db m151855) HM
On Ronnie Mc Dowell Parkway (State Highway 109) at Main Street, on the right when traveling north on Ronnie Mc Dowell Parkway.
On October 31, 1859, Richland Station was opened 318 feet east of here by Thomas Buntin on land later deeded by his heirs to the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. Five months later, a post office was established, and Buntin, already the station's . . . — — Map (db m151856) HM
On State Highway 52 0.1 miles west of New Deal Potts Road, on the right when traveling west.
Located .7 mile north of here is the Scattersville community. It developed from a portion of the John Buntin plantation, dating from the 1830s. Among the early families of African descent were Buntin, Bell, Brewer, Duncan, Greene, and Gilbert. The . . . — — Map (db m151854) HM
On Nashville Road (U.S. 31W) at Rodgers Road (Route 259), on the right when traveling north on Nashville Road. Reported missing.
Tennessee
Sumner County
Established 1796 named in honor of Major Gen. Jethro Sumner. Officer in French and Indian War. Served in defense of Charleston, 1776; in the Battles of Brandywine and Germantown; and in . . . — — Map (db m102330) HM
On Tennessee Route 52 at U.S. 31W, on the right when traveling east on State Route 52.
Located .8 mile east is the site of the 35th Evacuation Hospital which cared for injured soldiers during the Second Army maneuvers from 1942 to 1944. Rear echelon units, known as "Red Forces," defending the Cumberland River, bivouacked in the fields . . . — — Map (db m83284) HM
On North Broadway (Tennessee Route 109) at Freedom Drive, on the right when traveling north on North Broadway.
One-half mile southeast of here, near Maple Hill Cemetery, stood the home of Thomas Buntin, founder of Richland Station and a Confederate sympathizer. In the spring of 1861, the Buntin residence was headquarters of Brigadier General Felix K. . . . — — Map (db m82980) HM
On U.S. 31E south of Tennessee Highway 52W, on the right when traveling north.
Born in Westmoreland, Tennessee, Owen Bradley moved to Nashville at age seven with his parents, Vernon and Letha Male Owen Bradley. A self-taught musician, his career began at age 15 playing piano in local roadhouses and clubs. Bradley was musical . . . — — Map (db m151857) HM
Near U.S. 31W south of College Street, on the left when traveling south.
Thousands of soldiers with their wagons, livestock, and equipment travelled on the Louisville and Nashville Turnpike (present-day U.S. Hwy. 31 W) during the Civil War. Early in 1862, Union Gen. Don Carlos Buell's Army of the Ohio used this major . . . — — Map (db m151839) HM