Perhaps a phenomena only located in middle Tennessee is the "former Civil War fort near a park" hiking trail. Not only is this situation evident in Murfreesboro with Fort Rosecrans next to Old Fort Park, but it also occurs with Fort Granger next to Pinkerton Park in Franklin. Fort Granger's connection to Pinkerton is a bit less celebrated if you don't realize you have to duck through a gate to get to the trail that takes you to the top of the hill with the fort. The whole trek is less than a mile, featuring a very steep ascent over some fairly treacherous rocks, to the boardwalks that make up a good part of the trails around the fort. The trail on the top of the fort offers a good overlook of the Harpeth River. There is nothing left of the fort but the earthworks. It was a a Federal fort that overlooked the town of Franklin and was maintained largely by "contraband" self liberated former slaves. There is preservation effort going on right now to maintain some of the earthworks better. It's an interesting feature to a very nice park that has playgrounds, a fitness trail, and hammock stands throughout. I went on a very nice day this month and it was very busy with people taking advantage of the good fall weather. The Fort Granger trail was much more secluded thanks to the forced scramble over rocks.
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AuthorA librarian who likes to travel and experience life. CategoriesArchives
June 2022
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