Fort Blount was a frontier fort and federal outpost located along the
Cumberland River
The Cumberland River is a major waterway of the Southern United States. The U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 8, 2011 river drains almost of southern Kentucky and ...
in
Jackson County, Tennessee
Jackson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The population was 11,638 at the 2010 census. Its county seat is Gainesboro. Jackson is part of the Cookeville Micropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Jackson County was crea ...
, United States. Situated at the point where
Avery's Trace Avery's Trace was the principal road used by settlers travelling from the Knoxville area in East Tennessee to the Nashville area from 1788 to the mid-1830s.
In an effort to encourage settlers to move west into the new territory of Tennessee, in ...
crossed the river, the fort provided an important stopover for migrants and merchants travelling from the
Knoxville
Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state's ...
area to the
Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
area in the 1790s.
[Benjamin Nance]
Fort Blount
''Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture'', 2002. Retrieved: 5 February 2010. After the fort was abandoned around 1800, the community of Williamsburg developed on the site and served as county seat for the newly formed Jackson County from 1807 and 1819. The fort and now vanished village sites were added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1974.
Constructed in 1788, Avery's Trace crossed the Cumberland River at a natural
river ford
A ford is a shallow place with good footing where a river or stream may be crossed by wading, or inside a vehicle getting its wheels wet. A ford may occur naturally or be constructed. Fords may be impassable during high water. A low-water cr ...
known as "Crossing of the Cumberland," where sandbars made it possible to wade across for much of the year. A
ferry
A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...
was established in 1791, and the following year a
blockhouse
A blockhouse is a small fortification, usually consisting of one or more rooms with loopholes, allowing its defenders to fire in various directions. It is usually an isolated fort in the form of a single building, serving as a defensive stro ...
was built on the river's east bank. In 1794, a larger fort was constructed on the west bank of the river opposite the ferry. Eventually named for
Southwest Territory
The Territory South of the River Ohio, more commonly known as the Southwest Territory, was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 26, 1790, until June 1, 1796, when it was admitted to the United States a ...
governor
William Blount
William Blount (March 26, 1749March 21, 1800) was an American Founding Father, statesman, farmer and land speculator who signed the United States Constitution. He was a member of the North Carolina delegation at the Constitutional Convention of ...
, the fort was garrisoned by militia and later by U.S. Army regulars until it was closed in 1798. Excavations conducted by the
Tennessee Division of Archaeology
The Tennessee Division of Archaeology (TDOA) is a division of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation responsible for managing prehistoric archaeological sites on lands owned by the U.S. state of Tennessee, conducting archaeologic ...
between 1989 and 1994 revealed the fort's location and provided evidence of its shape.
Location
The Fort Blount site is on an embankment overlooking the west side of the Cumberland River about above the mouth of the river. (This section of the river is now part of
Cordell Hull Lake
Cordell Hull Lake is a lake in the Cumberland River in north-central Tennessee, about forty miles east of Nashville, in the vicinity of Carthage. It covers approximately .
Cordell Hull Dam, on the Cumberland River, was built by the United States ...
). The embankment is at the eastern end of a peninsula created by a narrow turn in the river called Smith's Bend. Smith's Bend Road, which intersects Tennessee State Highway 53 in the Gladdis community west of
Gainesboro, traverses the peninsula and provides the chief road access to the area.
The old Williamsburg community was near the Williams Cemetery, which contains the graves of early settler Sampson Williams and his wife, Margaret. It was about southwest of Fort Blount. The Fort Blount Ferry was near the end of Smith's Bend Road, which it connected to the Flynns Creek community across the river. Most of Smith's Bend is still private farmland, though the
Army Corps of Engineers, which built Cordell Hull Dam, manages several recreational areas along the peninsula's lakeshore.
History
Fort Blount
In 1788, the governor of North Carolina commissioned the construction of a road to connect the Washington District of what is now
East Tennessee
East Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee defined in state law. Geographically and socioculturally distinct, it comprises approximately the eastern third of the U.S. state of Tennessee. East Tennessee consists of 33 count ...
with the Mero District in
Middle Tennessee
Middle Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of the U.S. state of Tennessee that composes roughly the central portion of the state. It is delineated according to state law as 41 of the state's 95 counties. Middle Tennessee contains the s ...
, to make it easier for travellers to cross the rugged
Cumberland Plateau region. Known as Avery's Trace, the road crossed the Cumberland River at the natural ford known as the "Crossing of the Cumberland", which then was at the eastern edge of
Sumner County. In 1791, Sampson Williams (1762–1841), an early Nashville pioneer and sheriff of
Davidson County, was granted the right to operate a ferry at this spot.
[Smith (2000), pp. 38-49.]
The influx of settlers to Middle Tennessee after the
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...
agitated tensions between the Native Americans and white settlers, and Indian attacks rose sharply. A series of small forts, called "stations," were built throughout Middle Tennessee during the 1780s and 1790s. In 1792, Governor William Blount instructed Sampson Williams to raise a militia force and built a blockhouse at the Crossing of the Cumberland. The blockhouse was completed in late 1792 or early 1793, possibly with help from a detachment led by Major Hugh Beard, and was sometimes called "Beard's blockhouse." Williams was commissioned a
lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...
and commanded the garrison, which consisted of a handful of local volunteer militiamen.
In 1794, Secretary of War
Henry Knox
Henry Knox (July 25, 1750 – October 25, 1806), a Founding Father of the United States, was a senior general of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, serving as chief of artillery in most of Washington's campaigns. Following the ...
— who believed blockhouses were inadequate protection— suggested that Governor Blount replace the blockhouse with a strong stockade.
The new fort was completed in 1794 and was called "Fort Blount".
Sampson Williams, who had established a tavern at the ferry, provided provisions for the fort's garrison. The original militia garrison was commanded by William Gillespie for most of 1795 and by Oliver Williams (Sampson's brother) in 1796. After Tennessee became a state in 1796, Governor
John Sevier
John Sevier (September 23, 1745 September 24, 1815) was an American soldier, frontiersman, and politician, and one of the founding fathers of the State of Tennessee. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, he played a leading role in Tennes ...
discharged the militia garrison, and the following year a company of U. S. regulars commanded by Captain William Rickard took charge of the post. The garrison, which guarded the supply lines, was there only a few months. By February 1798, Fort Blount was abandoned.
[Smith (2000), pp. 58-65.]
In 1796, French botanist
André Michaux
André Michaux, also styled Andrew Michaud, (8 March 174611 October 1802) was a French botanist and explorer. He is most noted for his study of North American flora. In addition Michaux collected specimens in England, Spain, France, and even Per ...
was staying at Fort Blount when he discovered the rare
American yellowwood tree in the surrounding forests. The following year, future French King
Louis-Philippe
Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate List of French monarchs#House of Orléans, July Monarchy (1830–1848), monarch of France.
As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, h ...
passed through Fort Blount, and reported it was being modified or replaced.
In 1802, Michaux's son,
François André Michaux
François André Michaux (16 August 1770 – 23 October 1855) was a French botanist, son of André Michaux and the namesake of Michaux State Forest in Pennsylvania. Michaux ''père'' botanized in North America for nearly a dozen years (178 ...
(1770–1855), travelling with prominent early Middle Tennessean Moses Fiske, stayed at the Williams' tavern. He reported that Fort Blount had been demolished.
Williamsburg
After the closure of the fort, Sampson Williams purchased most of the property and adjacent land, establishing a sizeable plantation. In 1800, the "Fort Blount" post office opened with Williams as post master. Until 1805, Williams' land was part of
Smith County, and the Smith County court convened at Williams' tavern several times. In 1805, the county boundaries were redrawn, and the Williams plantation was now in Jackson County. In 1806, the Tennessee legislature authorized the purchase of of the Williams farm to create a county seat. The town was incorporated as "Williamsburg" the following year.
[Smith (2000), pp. 65-69.]
Besides the courthouse and jail, completed in 1808, Williamsburg included a hotel, a general store, and at least five houses, reached by the Fort Blount ferry.
Residents in eastern Jackson County complained that the courthouse was too far away, requiring them to make a 2-day round trip. In 1818, Jackson County voters moved the seat to a more central location and the town of Gainesboro was established.
[M. J. Tanse, ''Jackson County, Tennessee'' (M. J. Tanse, 1989), p. 17.] Williamsburg was de-incorporated in 1820.
Later history
After the county seat's removal, Sampson Williams purchased the old courthouse, which he modified as an elaborate residence. He continued to operate an inn and ferry, and his plantation grew to several hundred acres and worked by 20 or 30 slaves. After his death in 1841, his son-in-law Andrew McClellan inherited the plantation. On McClellan's death in 1850, the plantation was placed in a trust for McClellan's children. They sold the land to John Pruett in 1869, and when Pruett died 10 years later, it passed to his daughter Sallie and son-in-law James Fox.
It remained in the Fox family until the mid-20th century. The Fox house, which appears on a 1931 map of the area, may have been on the site of the old courthouse.
The Fort Blount Ferry operated until 1974.
In the early 1960s, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers surveyed the area for the construction of Cordell Hull Dam (located several miles downstream near
Carthage
Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...
). Using old maps and land grant boundaries, the Corps identified a plot believed to have been the site of Fort Blount and Williamsburg, and in 1974 placed this plot on the National Register of Historic Places as the "Fort Blount-Williamsburg site." Later research and excavations conducted by the Tennessee Division of Archaeology, however, placed both Fort Blount and Williamsburg just outside the listing's boundaries.
Archaeological investigations
Between 1989 and 1994, Samuel Smith of the Tennessee Division of Archaeology led a team that conducted extensive excavations of the Fort Blount-Williamsburg site,
designated 40JK125. The excavations, which focused primarily on the fort itself, uncovered the remains of a prehistoric structure, three structures likely associated with Fort Blount, and several thousand artifacts. Their findings were published in 2000.
The largest structural remnant found by excavators, known as "Building 1," consisted of a by limestone foundation that once supported a wooden structure. Excavators determined this structure to be a blockhouse, based on its size, square shape, and the design of contemporary blockhouses. Just west of Building 1 was "Building 2," only a few remains of which survived, most notably a chimney. Although its purpose is indeterminable, excavators suggested it may have been a kitchen. Slightly northeast of Building 1 was "Building 3," which had a foundation that measured by . The remains of two hearths and evidence that a wooden structure hung over one of the hearths suggest that this was a
smokehouse
A smokehouse (North American) or smokery (British) is a building where meat or fish is cured with smoke
Smoke is a suspension of airborne particulates and gases emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with t ...
.
[Smith (2000), pp. 110-122.]
Evidence for an outer wall surrounding all three structures was provided by postholes and vegetation lines. Four postholes aligned with the chimney wall of Building 2 may be remains of the western wall, and a noticeable vegetation line to the north of the structures may have been caused by what was once the fort's northern wall. The southern wall was indicated by three aligned postholes, one of which was relatively large and may have been one side of the fort's gate. The eastern wall was less apparent, but may have been aligned with the smokehouse's eastern wall. If conjecture regarding these findings is correct, the fort had dimensions of by .
Prehistoric artifacts indicate the site was used as early as the Paleo-Indian period, and used extensively during the Middle
Woodland period
In the classification of :category:Archaeological cultures of North America, archaeological cultures of North America, the Woodland period of North American pre-Columbian cultures spanned a period from roughly 1000 Common Era, BCE to European con ...
(c. 500 BC - 500 AD). Most of the site's historic-period artifacts consisted of the remains of glass containers and tableware. A number of Spanish coins— which were common on the Tennessee frontier— were recovered at the site, including one dating to 1781. Gun parts and ammunition were scant, but included lead balls, leadshot, and gunflints and flintlock parts. A pewter button found in Building 1's cellar dates to 1800 or later, and indicates that the fort likely stood until at least 1800. Excavators uncovered at least three items that were used specifically on soldiers' uniforms in the 1790s.
[Smith (2000), p. 284.]
See also
*
Fort Southwest Point
Fort Southwest Point was a federal frontier outpost at what is now Kingston, Tennessee, in the Southeastern United States. Constructed in 1797 and garrisoned by federal soldiers until 1811, the fort served as a major point of interaction between t ...
*
Tellico Blockhouse
The Tellico Blockhouse was an early American outpost located along the Little Tennessee River in what developed as Vonore, Monroe County, Tennessee. Completed in 1794, the blockhouse was a US military outpost that operated until 1807; the garrison ...
References
External links
Fort Blount Ferry Cemetery— inscriptions and photographs of the Williams Cemetery (also called Fort Blount Ferry Cemetery)
Early-1970s photograph of Fort Blount FerryTown of Gainesboro, Tennessee, Official website{{ National Register of Historic Places
Buildings and structures in Jackson County, Tennessee
Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Tennessee
Blount
Pre-statehood history of Tennessee
Blount
National Register of Historic Places in Jackson County, Tennessee
Military installations established in 1792
1792 establishments in the Southwest Territory