Montgomery Bell State Park is a Tennessee state park in Burns, Tennessee,

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. The park covers and its official elevation is . However, due to the dissected wooded terrain typical of the Nashville Basin, actual elevations range from 580 feet (180 m) to 860 feet (260 m). The park is open for year-round recreation including boating, hiking, camping, fishing and golf. Montgomery Bell State Park was built during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

by members of the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

and

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government unemployment, work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a ...

as Montgomery Bell Recreational Demonstration Area. Named for iron industrialist

Montgomery Bell Montgomery Bell (January 3, 1769, Chester County, Pennsylvania – April 1, 1855, Dickson County, Tennessee) was a manufacturing entrepreneur who was crucial to the economic development of early Middle Tennessee. He was known as the "Iron Ma ...

, the park is known as the birthplace of the

Cumberland Presbyterian Church The Cumberland Presbyterian Church is a Presbyterian denomination spawned by the Second Great Awakening. Matthew H. Gore, The History of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Kentucky to 1988, (Memphis, Tennessee: Joint Heritage Committee, 2000) ...

History

Montgomery Bell State Park is located in what was once the center of the

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in ...

industry 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 ...

. The park's namesake, Montgomery Bell, arrived in Tennessee from his birthplace in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

by way of

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

. Bell purchased an iron works at Cumberland Furnace, Tennessee in 1804. He was soon able to expand his operation throughout the area forming one of the largest iron making operations in the state and earning him the name "Tennessee's First Iron Master". He greatly expanded his business during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...

, when his furnaces produced cannonballs for the armies of General

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

. The furnaces also produced many types of farm tools that were used throughout the

Southeastern United States The Southeastern United States, also referred to as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical List of regions in the United States, region of the United States. It is located broadly on the eastern portion of the south ...

. Montgomery Bell became quite wealthy and was said to be the richest man in the South before the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

. Prior to his death Bell began emancipating his slaves through the

American Colonization Society The American Colonization Society (ACS), initially the Society for the Colonization of Free People of Color of America until 1837, was an American organization founded in 1816 by Robert Finley to encourage and support the migration of freebor ...

. He sent 88 slaves on two ships to

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast� ...

and intended to free all of them. Ultimately not all of his slaves were granted their freedom before he died in 1855. Laurel Furnace was the main iron furnace within what is now Montgomery Bell State Park. The furnace was not owned by Bell. It was built in 1815 by Robert Napier. Napier was producing 660 tons of iron by 1820 at a value of over $32,000. The

pig iron Pig iron, also known as crude iron, is an intermediate product of the iron industry in the production of steel which is obtained by smelting iron ore in a blast furnace. Pig iron has a high carbon content, typically 3.8–4.7%, along with ...

produced at Laurel Furnace was then shipped to Turnbull Forge in

Cheatham County Cheatham County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 41,072. Its county seat is Ashland City. Cheatham County is part of the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, T ...

where it was worked into higher quality iron. High quality iron, guaranteed by Napier was produced at Laurel Furnace until the late 1850s. The ruins of the furnace are found at the park. The

was founded in 1810 in the

log cabin A log cabin is a small log house, especially a less finished or less architecturally sophisticated structure. Log cabins have an ancient history in Europe, and in America are often associated with first generation home building by settlers. Eur ...

home of Reverend Samuel McAdow within what is now Montgomery Bell State Park. The church is a small denomination of the

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their n ...

church with less than 50,000 members in 800 congregations.Yearbook of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, 2007. A replica of McAdow's cabin now stands where the church was found, and a sandstone chapel commemorating the event has been erected nearby. These two buildings are two of the main attractions in Montgomery Bell State Park. Montgomery Bell State Park was developed as Montgomery Bell Recreational Demonstration Area during the

. The

Recreational Demonstration Area The Recreational Demonstration Area program (also known as the Recreation Demonstration Area program) was a National Park Service program during the 1930s and early 1940s that built forty-six public parks in twenty-four states on , chiefly near urb ...

program was a

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational properti ...

program during the 1930s and early 1940s that built forty-six public parks in twenty-four states on . The NPS used labor from

and

, to Montgomery Bell Recreational Demonstration Area. By the conclusion of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the Recreational Demonstration Areas throughout the nation had all either become National Park Service units or been given to their states for use as

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

s. Montgomery Bell State Park was given to the state of Tennessee in 1943. The 1987

Touchstone Pictures Touchstone Pictures, Inc. was an American film production label of Walt Disney Studios, founded and owned by The Walt Disney Company. Feature films released under the Touchstone label were produced and financed by Walt Disney Studios, and featu ...

film ''

Ernest Goes to Camp ''Ernest Goes to Camp'' is a 1987 American comedy film directed by John Cherry and starring Jim Varney. It is the second film to feature the character of Ernest P. Worrell and was shot at Montgomery Bell State Park. It was also the first "Ernes ...

'' was shot here. In 2012, a conference held by American Renaissance, a white separatist organization, was held at the Montgomery Bell State Park Inn. The organizers believed they would enjoy their First Amendment rights more on a public land.

Resort

Montgomery Bell State Park is also known as Montgomery Bell State Resort Park. The

resort A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that tries to provide most of a vacationer's wants, such as food, drink, swimming, lodging, sports, entertainment, and shopping, on the premises. The term ''resort ...

features at the park include a Lodge and

conference center A convention center (American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typica ...

, several cabins and a

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". ...

. The Resort Lodge, built in 1951, has 117 hotel rooms and sits on the banks of Lake Acorn. The Lodge completed a full renovation in October 2020 and offers spacious rooms with private balconies overlooking the lake
Amenities
include a restaurant, lounge, outdoor

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...

, exercise room, outdoor fire pit, and free wifi and

cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...

. The Lodge at Montgomery Bell offers over 6,000 square feet of flexible event and pre-function space inside the Lodge. Additionally, two outdoor event spaces surround the Lodge at the Lake Acorn Pavilion and the Golf Course Veranda. The Lake Acorn Pavilion is an outdoor venue that offers beautiful views of Lake Acorn and accommodates up to 200 people, depending on the setup. It is equipped with restrooms, a fireplace, and electricity and is available April – October. Eight modern cabins are fully furnished and are the first in a series of ''environmentally responsible'' homes to be built in Tennessee's state parks. The Frank G. Clement Golf Course was built on park lands during the 1970s. It is a par 72, eighteen hole course. The Restaurant and lounge was renovated in October 2020. The menu offers classic favorites like Hot Chicken and Waffles to Caesar Salad with beverage selections featuring local and Tennessee spirits and wines, perfect for winding down after a day on the trail. The Restaurant also provides catering for events.

Recreation

Montgomery Bell State Park is open for year-round recreation. There are of

mountain biking Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and pe ...

trails at the park.

Boating Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether powerboats, sailboats, or man-powered vessels (such as rowing and paddle boats), focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, suc ...

and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from fish stocking, stocked bodies of water such as fish pond, ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. ...

are permitted on Lake Acorn and Lake Woodhaven. Creech Hollow Lake is open to fishing, but has no boat access. Common game fish in the lakes include

crappie Crappies () are two species of North American freshwater fish of the genus ''Pomoxis'' in the family Centrarchidae (sunfishes). Both species of crappies are popular game fish among recreational anglers. Etymology The genus name ''Pomoxis' ...

channel catfish The channel catfish (''Ictalurus punctatus'') is North America's most numerous catfish species. It is the official fish of Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and Tennessee, and is informally referred to as a "channel cat". In the United States, the ...

bluegill The bluegill (''Lepomis macrochirus''), sometimes referred to as "bream", "brim", "sunny", or "copper nose" as is common in Texas, is a species of North American freshwater fish, native to and commonly found in streams, rivers, lakes, ponds an ...

and

shellcracker The redear sunfish (''Lepomis microlophus''), also known as the shellcracker, Georgia bream, cherry gill, chinquapin, improved bream, rouge ear sunfish and sun perch) is a freshwater fish in the family Centrarchidae and is native to the southeast ...

. There are of

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

trails at the park. Camping is permitted on the overnight trail. Lake Acorn is open to swimming at the beach. A large group camping area for groups such as

Boy Scout A Scout (in some countries a Boy Scout, Girl Scout, or Pathfinder) is a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split ...

s and Girl Scouts is available. There are 121 campsites in the park that are open to RVs and tent campers. The historic chapel offers open church services each weekend during the summer. In addition to all the activities listed above, there is also a golf course located on the park. It is known as the Montgomery Bell Golf Course. The course was built in 1973 and then redesigned by designer Gary Roger Baird in 1988. Hole #2, a 446 yards long par 5 is the signature hole. This beautiful hole has fairways lined with hardwood trees and four bunkers protect the green. The entire course is heavily wooded and features an abundance of wildlife. Each spring Montgomery Bell is host to The Dogwood Classic.

References

State parks of Tennessee Protected areas of Dickson County, Tennessee Protected areas established in 1943 Works Progress Administration in Tennessee Civilian Conservation Corps in Tennessee Camps in Tennessee

External links

{{Official website, https://tnstateparks.com/parks/montgomery-bell