Harpeth Tunnel
Sometime around 1818 to 1820, Montgomery Bell aka "Tennessee's first Capitalist" built this tunnel using black powder and slave labor. Five miles upstream of here, the Harpeth River loops around to within 200 feet of itself on the other side of this limestone bluff, creating an opportunity to harness a significant amount of water power. Bell built a forge here and used the water power to hammer pig iron into malleable iron, some of which was reportedly used to make cannons for the Confederacy during the American Civil War. After the War, Tennessee's iron industry fell upon hard times and this tunnel was used to power, in turn, a sawmill and a grist mill. This site is now part of Tennessee's Harpeth River State Park, in Cheatham County near Kingston.
Size: 4283px × 2844px
Location: Harpeth River State Park, Cheatham County, Tennessee, USA
Photo credit: © Ken Barber / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: forge, harpeth, history, narrows, park, pattison, power, river, state, tennessee, travel, tunnel, water
