Castalian Springs, Tennessee

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Castalian Springs, Tennessee
Castalian.JPG
Post office, destroyed by a tornado, in Castalian Springs, Tennessee, 2008
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Castalian Springs, Tennessee
Coordinates: 36°23′37″N86°18′29″W / 36.39361°N 86.30806°W / 36.39361; -86.30806
Country United States
State Tennessee
County Sumner
Settled1780s
Named for The Castalian Spring of ancient Greece
Area
[1]
  Total5.82 sq mi (15.07 km2)
  Land5.82 sq mi (15.07 km2)
  Water0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation
495 ft (151 m)
Population
 (2020) [2]
  Total608
  Density104.52/sq mi (40.35/km2)
Time zone UTC-6 (Central (CST))
  Summer (DST) UTC-5 (CDT)
Area code(s) 615 and 629
GNIS feature ID1305723 [3]

Castalian Springs is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Sumner County, Tennessee, United States.

Contents

History

In the early 19th century, it was known locally as Bledsoe's Lick, and was the location of Bledsoe's Station, a fortified trading post. As of the 2010 census, its population was 556. [4]

Native American history

During the Mississippian culture period of prehistory, the Castalian Springs Mound Site was a major local earthwork mound center, built and occupied from about 950 into the 14th century. The Native Americans who built and occupied the complex site preceded the historic tribes later known to European-American settlers in the area. This was one of the sites constructed throughout the Mississippi Valley and its tributaries, connecting regions from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico.

The site was first excavated in the 1890s. It was excavated professionally in the 2005 to 2010 archaeological field school led by Dr. Kevin E. Smith from Middle Tennessee State University. A number of important finds have been associated with the site, most particularly several examples of Mississippian stone statuary and the "Castalian Springs shell gorget," now held by the National Museum of the American Indian. [5]

2008 Super Tuesday tornado

In the 2008 Super Tuesday tornado outbreak of February 5–6, the tiny village was hit by a strong tornado (at least EF2) that claimed seven lives. The historic structure Wynnewood was heavily damaged by the storm and the United States post office was destroyed. [6] Castalian Springs captured national news headlines when an 11-month-old boy, Kyson Stowell, was found alive in the debris of his house. Originally thought to be a children's doll, the boy moved just slightly and rescuer, David Harmon, noticed the movement. He had been blown 150 yards from the house. Kyson's mother had shielded him but died in the storm. [7]

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note
2020 608
U.S. Decennial Census [8]

Geography

Castalian Springs is located along Tennessee State Route 25, about 7 miles (11 km) of Gallatin.

Post office

The area has its own United States post office, designated by the ZIP code 37031.

Notable sites

Notable natives and residents

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sumner County, Tennessee</span> County in Tennessee, United States

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bledsoe's Station</span> United States historic place

Bledsoe's Station, also known as Bledsoe's Fort, was an 18th-century fortified frontier settlement located in what is now Castalian Springs, Tennessee. The fort was built by longhunter and Sumner County pioneer Isaac Bledsoe in the early 1780s to protect Upper Cumberland settlers and migrants from hostile Native American attacks. While the fort is no longer standing, its location has been verified by archaeological excavations. The site is now part of Bledsoe's Fort Historical Park, a public park established in 1989 by Sumner County residents and Bledsoe's descendants.

Cottontown is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Sumner and Robertson counties, Tennessee, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 370. It is located along State Route 25, northwest of neighboring Gallatin. Cottontown has a post office with ZIP code 37048.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bledsoe Creek State Park</span> State-protected area of Tennessee, United States

Bledsoe Creek State Park is a state park in Sumner County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. The park consists of 169 acres (0.68 km2) managed by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. The park spans much of the west shore of the Bledsoe Creek embayment of Old Hickory Lake, an impoundment of the Cumberland River created with the completion of Old Hickory Dam by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1954.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sellars Farm site</span>

Sellars Farm site (40WI1), also known as the Sellars Farm state archaeological area and Sellars Indian mound, is a Mississippian culture archaeological site located in Wilson County, Tennessee, near Lebanon. The platform mound was the site of a settlement from about 1000 to 1300 CE. Today, the site is a satellite unit of Long Hunter State Park. The non-profit Friends of the Sellars Farm State Archaeological Area organization conducts tours and upkeep of the site. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 11, 1972.

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The Gahagan Mounds Site (16RR1) is an Early Caddoan Mississippian culture archaeological site in Red River Parish, Louisiana. It is located in the Red River Valley. The site is famous for the three shaft burials and exotic grave goods excavated there in the early twentieth century.

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The Mississippian stone statuary are artifacts of polished stone in the shape of human figurines made by members of the Mississippian culture and found in archaeological sites in the American Midwest and Southeast. Two distinct styles exist; the first is a style of carved flint clay found over a wide geographical area but believed to be from the American Bottom area and manufactured at the Cahokia site specifically; the second is a variety of carved and polished locally available stone primarily found in the Tennessee-Cumberland region and northern Georgia. Early European explorers reported seeing stone and wooden statues in native temples, but the first documented modern discovery was made in 1790 in Kentucky, and given as a gift to Thomas Jefferson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tolu Site</span>

The Tolu Site is a prehistoric archeological site of the Mississippian culture near the unincorporated community of Tolu, Crittenden County, Kentucky, United States. It was built and occupied between 1200 and 1450 CE. No carbon dating has been performed at the site, but analysis of pottery styles suggest its major habitation period was 1200 to 1300 CE. The site originally had three mounds, a burial mound, a substructure platform mound and one other of undetermined function. It was excavated in 1930 by W.S. Webb and William D. Funkhouser.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Castalian Springs Mound Site</span>

The Castalian Springs Mound State Historic Site (40SU14) is a Mississippian culture archaeological site located near the small unincorporated community of Castalian Springs in Sumner County, Tennessee. The site was first excavated in the 1890s and again as recently as the 2005 to 2011 archaeological field school led by Dr. Kevin E. Smith. A number of important finds have been associated with the site, most particularly several examples of Mississippian stone statuary and the Castalian Springs shell gorget held by the National Museum of the American Indian. The site is owned by the State of Tennessee and is a State Historic Site managed by the Bledsoe's Lick Association for the Tennessee Historical Commission. The site is not currently open to the public.

The Beasley Mounds Site (40SM43) is a Mississippian culture archaeological site located at the confluence of Dixon Creek and the Cumberland River near the unincorporated community of Dixon Springs in Smith County, Tennessee. The site was first excavated by amateur archaeologists in the 1890s. More examples of Mississippian stone statuary have been found at the site than any other in the Middle Tennessee area. The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brick Church Mound and Village Site</span>

The Brick Church Mound and Village Site (40DV39) is a Mississippian culture archaeological site located in Nashville in Davidson County, Tennessee. It was excavated in the late nineteenth century by Frederic Ward Putnam. During excavations in the early 1970s, the site produced a unique cache of ceramic figurines very similar in style to Mississippian stone statuary which are now on display at the Frank H. McClung Museum. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on May 7, 1973 as NRIS number 73001759 although this did not save the site from being almost totally destroyed by residential development.

Stone box graves were a method of burial used by Native Americans of the Mississippian culture in the Midwestern United States and the Southeastern United States. Their construction was especially common in the Cumberland River Basin, in settlements found around present-day Nashville, Tennessee.

References

  1. "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
  2. "Census Population API". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
  3. "Castalian Springs". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  4. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved May 14, 2011.
  5. Kevin E. Smith; James V. Miller (2009). Speaking with the Ancestors-Mississippian Stone Statuary of the Tennessee-Cumberland region. University of Alabama Press. pp. 68–77. ISBN   978-0-8173-5465-7.
  6. "Storm Destroys Post Office, Kills 6 In Castalian Springs" Archived February 8, 2008, at the Wayback Machine , News Channel 5
  7. Baby a Sign of Hope in Devastated South [ dead link ]
  8. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2016.