Tennessee Archaeology: Arrowhead Show, Relic Hunters Highlight Rich Native American History

Tennessee has a rich heritage predating modern history, and it’s all around us, literally anywhere you look, right down to the dirt under your feet. 

Walk any plowed field after a spring rain, wander the shores of our lakes reservoirs, creeks and rivers, and you could  discover echoes of that past in the many stone tools, pottery and other items those people left behind.

I’ve been hooked ever since I stumbled across my first arrowhead in a walk across a field. Now, whenever I spy a patch of bare earth, I always scour the ground for a telltale shard of flint. Rarely , when out on a “hunt” have I failed to find some evidence of those who walked here before.

If you’re interested in this sort of thing, Tennessee’s outstanding State Museum in Nashville has an excellent collection and section chronicling the local prehistory and prior cultures.p. If you’re up to something less formal, check out the relic  or “arrowhead shows”  held in various sites across the state throughout the year. This past weekend I stopped by the fall show at Baxter Elementary School in Baxter, TN in Putnam County.

It’s sponsored by the Volunteer State Archaeological Society, one of 19 state groups affiliated with the Central State Archaeological Societies 

These shows, usually free, give you a dirt under the fingernails intro to archaeology, as amateurs show off their collections, and share stories of their finds with anyone who will listen. The relics they’ve massed are often museum quality, and many are offered for sale. Displays this weekend included arrow and speak points, all types of tools, grinding stones and bowls, bone awls, beads, axe heads

It can be a fun way for a quick survey part of Tennessee history. Check the websites for next years show schedule.

World's Biggest Treehouse in Crossville

Tennessee has all sorts of hidden treasures. One well worth exploring is the world’s biggest treehouse, just off Interstate 40 in Crossville up on the Cumberland Plateau. 

Unfortunately,  the place was closed by the state fire marshall this past summer. We’re on watch for word of its re-opening. Below is my original review:

Tennessee has all sorts of hidden treasures, and this past weekend we explored one: the world’s biggest treehouse, just off Interstate 40 in Crossville up on the Cumberland Plateau.

Words and pictures can’t fully convey the marvel of what Horace Burgess has created at the end of Beehive Road there. Inspired by God, since 1993 he’s been working on this expansive complex built entirely of scrap and donated lumber on and around a towering white oak.  The house itself sprawls up and out in all directions, much like that massive tree.

It’s like a fun house on a grand scale with crooked, winding stairs, halls to nowhere, many rooms, layers of decks and ample seating throughout.  If you climb all the way to the top, you can ring the bells in the bell tower.

At center of this straggling complex is a chapel for pause and reflection of all one man has achieved with discarded materials. And, he’s opened this labor of love to all, free of charge.

If you go, bring a marker to show you’ve been there, and don’t miss the donation box where the winding stairs begin their climb along the tree. 

His generous spirit deserves a little support; if he asked, many would be more than willing to pay for the privilege of rambling though the treehouse

You can read an article and see some great shots here