For a fun day trip from Murfreesboro, take advantage of one of Tennessee’s many fine state parks and spend some time in nature and venture to Old Stone Fort State Archaeological Park, located just outside of Manchester, Tennessee, where the Little Duck River joins the Duck River.
The site offers lots of scenic views and good places to wade in the rivers at Blue Hole Falls, Big Falls and Step Falls, camping, picnic areas, a playground, boat access and plenty of hiking.
Nearly 2,000 years ago, according to tnstateparks.com, on a plateau betwixt the two rivers, mound builders constructed lines of earthen mounds, forming a perimeter around an area approximately 1.5 miles in circumference. A large open, flat field sits In the center of this “ancient enclosure,” while the outer edge of the boundary contains more trees.
Steep hillsides in many areas just outside of the enclosure line fall sharply into the river below.
When European settlers first arrived to this area, now part of Coffee County, Tennessee, they judged the area to be a sort of fort. Later research, however, suggests that the builders of the earthworks intended the ancient site for ceremonial and social gathering purposes and not necessarily as a strategic military stronghold, as Tennessee State Park literature goes on to state.
Enterprising settlers used the power of the rivers to power mills and small factories, but in 1966 the state of Tennessee purchased the land. Today, the state preserves it as one of two archaeological parks in Tennessee (the other being at Pinson Mounds near Jackson), for all hikers, campers and sightseers to enjoy.
“The main hiking trail follows the wall of Old Stone Fort, which was used by the Native Americans as a ceremonial gathering place. The trail threads through dramatic scenery where you can see the original entrance of the fort, which was designed to face the exact spot on the horizon where the sun rises during the summer solstice,” according to tnstateparks.com.
Those who built the earthworks lived during the Middle Woodland Period, sometime between the years 0 and 500 A.D., and belonged to what historians refer to today as the Hopewell cultures, various tribes and villages of people who lived predominantly near major waterways in what is now the eastern part of the United States.
Those who built the walls and mounds in Tennessee were part of a society similar to the civilization that created the Hopewell Mounds in Ohio around the same time. Researchers remember these people—who, for a time, traveled extensively using the rivers and traded with one another—for their ornate carvings.
Old Stone Fort State Archaeological Park now contains a small museum with information about theories on the ancient people who constructed the mounds and earthworks in the area. Also available are artifacts, books and a video presentation on the time period involved.
The enclosure trail loop makes for a nice 1.4-mile hike, not of incredibly high difficulty, but traveling quite close to extremely steep drop-offs in places where the rivers drop in elevation as they get closer to joining.
The remains of a 19th-century mill sit just off of the trail, not far from the museum (traveling counterclockwise). Although this mill is nearly 200 years old, it is very modern compared to the ancient earthworks on the site.
Other offshoots of this primary trail offer an additional two miles of hiking opportunities, while across the Duck River, around the campground area, visitors can find 1.6 miles more of trail hiking.
Some birdwatchers say the variety of ecosystems in the park—the grassy area within the enclosure, the wooded areas and the rivers and marshier lands—make excellent spots for catching a glimpse of many different types of birds: wrens, sparrows, goldfinches, hawks, meadowlarks, crows, chickadees, robins, woodpeckers, thrashers, kingbirds, doves, herons, warblers, ducks, vultures, cuckoos, mockingbirds, swallows, orioles, owls and others fly in to use the park themselves.
There is no charge to park and visit Old Stone Fort State Archaeological Park. Bring the kids, bring a picnic, bring your dog.
Campsites are $25 per night.
For more information, visit tnstateparks.com.
