Harpeth River State Park - The Narrows of the Harpeth

We decided to visit the Narrows of the Harpeth at Harpeth River State Park early today, since it was an unseasonably warm 60 degrees here in Nashville.


Here, Montgomery Bell, an early industrialist, built a steel forge powered by the Harpeth River in an unconventional way. Noting that the 'Narrows' -- a very close bend in the river -- could be exploited for power by re-routing a slipstream across the rock outcropping, he decided to purchase the land and excavate a 10-foot by 20-foot diversion tunnel through 200 yards of limestone to create the conditions for a successful steel mill that ran from the very early 1800's through the end of the War Between the States. Today, the tunnel is all that remains of the business.


Of course, there are other things to see, like giant leopard moth caterpillars.







Other photos on Flickr.