Port Royal State Park

Port Royal State Historic Park
Type	Tennessee State Park
Location	Montgomery and Robertson counties, Tennessee
Nearest city	Adams, Tennessee
Area	26 acres (0.11 km²)
Open	Year around

Port Royal State Historic Park is a 26 acre (105,000 m²) historic area on the border of Montgomery and Robertson counties in Tennessee. The historic community of Port Royal is its namesake. The Red River runs through the center of the park, and the covered bridge at Port Royal once crossed it. The park was established to preserve the elements of early Tennessee history, namely settlement and early transportation, as well as the heritage of the Trail of Tears.

The day-use only park offers hiking, picnicking, canoeing, fishing, photography and interpretive talks upon request.

History

Covered bridge before its destruction.

Port Royal was the site one of the earliest colonial communities and trading posts in middle Tennessee, being first settled in the early 1780s as well as being a Longhunter camp as early as 1771. In the years 1838 and 1839, the town of Port Royal served as a stopover and resupply station for the Cherokee Indians along the march to Oklahoma on the Trail of Tears and was the last of such in Tennessee on the northern route of the Trail of Tears. Port Royal State Park preserves several sections of the original roadbed used by the Cherokee and one section is an officially designated roadbed by the National Park Service. Being situated at an important junction of roads and rivers, Port Royal became the only stop on the "Great Western Road" stagecoach line between Nashville, Tennessee, and Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and served as such until the 20th century. In 1977, the State of Tennessee received the deed to 26 acres (105,000 m²) of land at Port Royal, and designated it a State Historic Park in 1978.

Features of Port Royal State Park

A Pratt truss bridge built in 1887 spans the Sulphur Fork Creek.

With Port Royal being such an important place of travel, transportation themes play heavily into the parks and communities history. Existing within the park are the remains of several old roadbeds, with one dating back to prehistoric times and one a certified Trail of Tears site.

Preserved within the park is an excellent example of an early Pratt truss design steel bridge being built in 1887. This bridge spans the Sulphur Fork Creek and is well preserved. The bridge is available to foot traffic only.

There are also the remains of a covered bridge that was damaged during a flood during the early 2000s. Due to a lack of funding, the bridge was never repaired. This bridge dates from 1978 and was a 75% scale recreation of a bridge from 1904. This bridge is not accessible to the public but one can see the remains of the stone piers, which are original to the 1904 bridge. The stone in the piers originally came from the Port Royal Mills and dam which dates back to circa 1800.

In addition to roads and bridges, you will see as you stroll through the park, the remains of the foundations of stores, homes and warehouses with some dating back to the 18th century.

Park Events

Every October Port Royal State Park holds a Trail of Tears Commemorative event which features a re-enactment of the march on the old roadbed as well as living history demonstrations of 1830s life. Also featured are exhibits on the Trail of Tears and Port Royal's role in the sad event. Contact the park for information on the specific days and times.

External links

Wildernet
Official State of Tennessee website for Port Royal State Park
Port Royal - TN History for Kids, park details and photos

Protected areas of Tennessee

Federal

National Parks	Great Smoky Mountains National Park

National Historical Parks & Sites	Andrew Johnson National Historic Site Cumberland Gap National Historical Park Manhattan Project National Historical Park

National Military Parks	Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park Fort Donelson National Battlefield Fort Donelson National Cemetery Shiloh National Cemetery Shiloh National Military Park Stones River National Battlefield Stones River National Cemetery

National Recreation Areas	Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area

National Trails System	Appalachian National Scenic Trail Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail Trail of Tears National Historic Trail

National Forests	Cherokee National Forest

National Wildlife Refuges	Chickasaw Cross Creeks Hatchie Lake Isom Lower Hatchie Reelfoot Tennessee

Wilderness Areas	Bald River Gorge Big Frog Big Laurel Branch Citico Creek Cohutta Gee Creek Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Little Frog Mountain Pond Mountain Sampson Mountain Unaka Mountain

Other Protected Areas	Foothills Parkway Gatlinburg Bypass Natchez Trace Parkway Obed Wild and Scenic River

State

East Tennessee State Parks	Big Ridge Booker T. Washington Cove Lake Cumberland Mountain Davy Crockett Birthplace Fall Creek Falls Fort Loudoun Frozen Head Harrison Bay Hiwassee/Ocoee Indian Mountain Justin P. Wilson Cumberland Trail Norris Dam Panther Creek Red Clay Roan Mountain Rocky Fork Seven Islands Sycamore Shoals Warriors' Path

Middle Tennessee State Parks	Bicentennial Capitol Mall Bledsoe Creek Burgess Falls Cedars Of Lebanon Cordell Hull Birthplace Cummins Falls David Crockett Dunbar Cave Edgar Evins Fall Creek Falls Harpeth River Henry Horton Johnsonville Long Hunter Montgomery Bell Mousetail Landing Old Stone Fort Pickett Port Royal Rock Island Sgt. Alvin C. York South Cumberland Standing Stone Tims Ford

West Tennessee State Parks	Big Cypress Tree Big Hill Pond Chickasaw Fort Pillow Meeman-Shelby Forest Nathan Bedford Forrest Natchez Trace Paris Landing Pickwick Landing Pinson Mounds Reelfoot Lake T.O. Fuller

State Forests	Bledsoe Cedars of Lebanon Chickasaw Chuck Swan Franklin John Tully Lewis Lone Mountain Martha Sundquist Natchez Trace Pickett Prentice Cooper Scott Standing Stone Stewart

State Natural Areas	Auntney Hollow Barnett's Woods Bays Mountain Beaman Park Big Bone Cave Campbell Bend Barrens Carroll Cabin Barrens Glade Mr. and Mrs. Harry Lee Carter Chimneys Colditz Cove Couchville Cedar Glade Crowder Cemetary Barrens Devils Backbone Dry Branch Duck River Complex Elsie Quarterman Cedar Glade Falling Water Falls Fate Sanders Barrens Flat Rock Cedar Glade & Barrens Gattinger’s Cedar Glade & Barrens Ghost River Grundy Forest Hampton Creek Cove Hawkins Cove Hicks Gap Hill Forest Honey Creek House Mountain Hubbard’s Cave John & Hester Lane Cedar Glades John Noel at Bon Aqua Langford Branch Laurel-Snow Lost Creek Lucius Burch Jr. Forest Manus Road Cedar Glade May Prairie North Chickamauga Creek Gorge Overbridge Old Forest Ozone Falls Piney Falls Pogue Creek Powell River Radnor Lake Riverwoods Roundtop Mountain Rugby Savage Gulf Sequatchie Cave Short Mountain Short Springs Sneed Road Cedar Glade Stillhouse Hollow Falls Stinging Fork Falls Stones River Cedar Glade & Barrens Sunk Lake Sunnybell Cedar Glade Taylor Hollow Twin Arches Vesta Cedar Glade Vine Cedar Glade Virgin Falls Walker Branch Walls of Jericho Walterhill Floodplain Washmorgan Hollow Watauga River Bluffs William B. Clark William R. Davenport Refuge Wilson School Road Window Cliffs

Other	Catoosa Wildlife Management Area

Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (web) - Tennessee Department of Agriculture (web)

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/11/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.