The Sewanee Memorial Cross, constructed in 1922 and dedicated the following year in remembrance of fallen military veterans from the area, creates a beautifully striking scene overlooking the expansive Tennessee valley to its west.
About an hour’s drive from Murfreesboro, the location attracts visitors from all over, the cross providing a sense of peace, security and solemn remembrance high atop the edge of the Cumberland Plateau, near the area known as Monteagle Mountain.
Towering atop the hillside, those at the site of the Memorial Cross can overlook the towns of Cowan and, further in the distance, Winchester, as well as large plots of farmland and other homeplaces scattered about.
The Memorial Cross sits about a mile from the center of the campus of Sewanee, the University of the South. Motorists driving up Tennessee Avenue get a glimpse of the cross, but only after arriving at the site do they experience the full, stunning vista of the valley sprawling out below.
Flowers surround the memorial structure, yellows and purples dotting the ground around the 60-foot-tall cross during the springtime.
A couple of spotlights hit it at night, creating an epic illuminated view of the cross seen from the farms and homes far out in the distance.
The looping driveway around the cross contains a handful of parking spaces, and the site, approximately 1,800 feet above sea level, also provides trailhead access to the wealth of trails snaking across the hilly area surrounding Sewanee University, a swath of land known as The Domain: 13,000 acres owned by the university, offering “boundless opportunities for research, recreation, applied learning, and reflection.”
The Tennessee Williams Trail runs alongside Tennessee Avenue, making a brief nature walk from the university buildings, originating near the soccer field, to the Cross.
The Sewanee Perimeter Trail passes near the Memorial Cross as well.
Taking it south just for a brief piece beyond the Cross leads to a small creek, serenely trickling downhill; or, extremely ambitious hikers up for a test of endurance can attempt the full 19 miles of the Perimeter Trail, quite a challenging undertaking, but doable in a day for those able average two miles per hour on the trails (all day long).
Aside from the network of trails surrounding the university (and there are plenty more aside from the lengthy Perimeter Trail), those making a trip out of it can also tour the small mountain towns of Sewanee and Monteagle, view the impressive Sewanee Natural Bridge nearby and even explore parts of the massive South Cumberland State Park or Savage Gulf State Natural Area.
Get all the exercise you want out on the trails, but it’s hard to beat the view from the Cross—just fantastic.
So while out in that direction, definitely swing by the Sewanee Memorial Cross, even for a quick drive-by, and take a moment to pause, reflect and experience the long-distance sightlines at this special Southern site, as well as the Good News that the Cross symbolizes.
And now I am happy all the day . . .
Sewanee Memorial Cross
Tennessee Avenue
Sewanee, Tennessee
View a detailed history of the Sewanee Memorial Cross at stories.sewanee.edu/the-cross-at-100
