Thoughts from a Sumner County Resident

Let’s look at the standard business practices of your new neighbors:

• They create false corporations to buy property so not to alert the community involved.
• They hold town 'informational' meetings that let the villagers vent their frustrations while confident that their plans march forward with no impediments.
• They take a lot and their only offering is an eventual 'projected' jobs number. A small, key percentage of which will no doubt be held by people moved in from their other locations.
• And they stand there waiting for trust, trust that the noise, air, traffic and land pollution levels will be minimal.

Have they ever lost a location? Have their lawyers ever failed to get the zoning board to come to their position? Do they even have a contingency plan for the land in place, in case they lose?

There's been talk of a turning lane to accommodate the semi and dump truck traffic. Whose land is that going to come out of? I realize that it will be only a what, twelve, maybe fifteen feet with shoulder have those landowners been notified or will it be confiscated out of community need later on?

How many years do they give us to move graves and have archaeologists excavate Indian ruins or do we have to bring in backhoes and rip everything out of the ground after history is evicted.

Finally, go to Google images tab, and type in asphalt plant and quarry. This is the view your county will say is acceptable for you to live with, most of that council and zoning board will never have to deal with it, and they will hem and haw but they will reluctantly approve this machine. They will, and should, lose their posts in the next election cycle, but much too late, the damage will be done. All they need, just this one tiny thing, is your zoning approval, then they can play the game any way they see fit. If it's not tonight, they'll wait, maybe try another tactic, some financial or legal hocus pocus, but they won't go away now, after all, they have all this land...

A lifelong Sumner County resident,

Kilie Hartness

Sumner County Historical Society Weighs In

Gentlemen:

The Sumner County Historical Society is adamantly opposed to the proposed rock quarry, cement, and asphalt plants intended for Bledsoe’s Lick and Castalian Springs.  We implore you to deny any zoning changes that will allow such an encroachment to take place. 

The first paragraph in the book “Historic Sumner County Tennessee” copyrighted by Jay Guy Cisco in 1909, contains the following words, “Place one foot of a compass on a line between Gallatin and Bledsoe’s Lick, and about six miles east of the first named place, then draw a circle the diameter of which shall be twenty miles, and you will have within that radius a territory which it would be difficult to find a more beautiful, more fertile, or more one richer in historical associations.”

The area described by Mr. Cisco in 1909 continues to exist today.  In the circle described lived dozens of historical figures from the Indian, Revolutionary, and 1812 Wars, and it was the location of the first cabin built by settlers in Middle Tennessee.  At the core of this circle lies the community of Castalian Springs that contains Bledsoe’s Lick, Bledsoe’s Fort, and many houses built in the early settlement periods such as Cragfont, Hawthorne Hills, Locust Grove, and Wynnewood 

Castalian Springs is an oasis of preserved history that has been altered very little by the changes of modern living.  True, it now has paved roads, and a few small commercial establishments, but the very core of what Mr. Cisco described remains to this day.  We are the benefactors of a unique gift that can be further enhanced for future generations to enjoy.  Allowing a rock quarry in the middle of this area would be tantamount to erecting a Wal-Mart Super Center on Main Street in Williamsburg, Virginia or placing a shopping center next to the Taylor Hollow Designated State Natural Area in the Northern part of our county. 

Rather than moving toward an irreversible path of damage to our county treasure, we should be actively seeking ways to protect its’ integrity.  We are confident your decision will be guided by the rule of law, prudence and respect, but most importantly we want your decision to be made with a strong desire for preserving the long-term esthetic and historical value of Sumner County’s Bledsoe’s Lick and Castalian Springs.

Respectfully,

Houston Haynes Mason

Board Member-Sumner County Historical Society       

Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor,

I was appalled by the news that Hoover, Inc. has acquired  400 acres of prime land in Castalian Springs with the intent to operate a quarry, rock crushing facility, asphalt and concrete plants. 

Castalian Springs is the most beautiful and historic spot in beautiful Sumner County. To enter old Highway 25 and drive by Wynnewood and through the little village past the stone age Indian Mounds and Gov. Bate’s birthplace at Hawthorne Hill is to feel the real presence of Tennessee’s history - 14 centuries of it. Within two miles of the proposed site we find  Cragfont and Bledsoe Creek State Camping Park. The nearby Bledsoe Fort Park is the largest undeveloped pioneer fort site in Tennessee.The entire area is a major tourist attraction for those seeking the quiet refreshment of nature and a deeper understanding of our roots.  

Tennessee and the US Government are investing  millions of dollars in the restoration of tornado-damaged Wynnewood, less than seven-tenths of a mile from the quarry site, signaling their opinion of its value as an educational and tourist attraction.  The State has in the planning stage the further development of Bledsoe Park as a major park in its system.   

I have spent the last decade painting the beauty of this area and writing about its history. Open pit quarrying is dangerous, dirty and damaging to the environment and property values of an area, with noise, dust, rubble piles, air pollution and heavy trucks. Why should we allow this stealth attack on the beauty spot of Sumner County?

William Puryear
Gallatin, TN

LETTER: Protecting Our History

Yesterday evening I was enjoying the calm and serenity that has been present in Historic Castalian Springs for a couple hundred years. Sitting on my patio I could hear the call of the evening doves, the croaks from the frogs at our pond, and the gleeful chirping of crickets. The soliloquy of the countryside will be replaced by the blasting of our beloved farmland shattering forever our skyline will flying rocks and dust.

The smell of honeysuckles vines, wild roses, and apple blossoms replaced by the poisonous fumes from two asphalt plants and dust from two cement plants and a rock crusher. All from the GREED of Hoover, Inc. who has no regard for one of the most historic sites in all of Middle Tennessee and the 50 + landowners that adjoin the quarry-industrial complex.

The state and the county own five historic homes in harm’s way; Wynnewood and the General Bates house are within a few hundred yards of the five dust-spewing, toxic fumes producing plants.

There can be no worst place in Middle Tennessee for this type operation, NONE!!

 

Tom Neal, Jr. 

Castalian Springs, TN

LETTER: To the Citizens and Friends of Sumner County

The heritage and natural beauty of Castalian Springs is about to face its biggest threat yet.

The quality of life will forever be changed for area residents if the Hoover Quarry Company is allowed to proceed with its plans to establish a quarry, two asphalt plants, two cement plants and a rock crusher plant on the farm land in the Corum Hill Road area and the Old Highway 25 area of Castalian Springs. This complex will be within:

Historical land trusts monuments such as Bledsoe Lick Historical Park, General Bates home, The Parker Cabin, The Rogan Irish stone cabin, The Bledsoe cemetery, Wynnewood and the Indian burial mound sight. All will be neighbors with The Hoover quarry Industrial complex.

The state and federal government are in the process of spending approximately six million dollars to reconstruct Wynnewood from tornado damage sustained three years ago. The state recently acquired the General Bate home; both homes are within less than a 1000 yards of the industrial sights. This planned industrial development will decimate a large area of land and produce chemical bi-products that will infiltrate the life, habitat, and historic buildings of an area known for its productive farmland and peaceful way of life.

 When my late husband, Tom Mabrey helped established the Bledsoe Lick Historical Park, he envisioned a place of beauty and tranquility where people could enjoy the out of doors and a sense of history and time.

 Let us stand together to preserve the historical significance of this area and to protect the ecological environment of Castalian Springs. Please speak up:

In Tom Mabrey's own words:

"Will they be children lost in time and

space, No history...no special place.

Few there are who understand...

Yesterday was once tomorrow's plan."  

Respectfully,

Carrie D. Mabrey

LETTER: Castalian Springs Under Attack

There is a battle shaping up in Castalian Springs.  On one side are the residents of the small, sleepy town of Castalian Springs who value their peace and quiet and rural lifestyle.  On the other side is the large corporation of Hoover Inc. who want to place a rock quarry, cement plants, asphalt plants, and rock crushing facility on about 350 acres in the heart of the town, and near some of the most significant historical sites in the State, such as Wynnewood, Bledsoe’s Fort, and Bate’s house.

This project would destroy the quality of life in this town.  It will also make State Road 25 a traffic-clogged, dangerous road. This project is totally wrong for this area, and I’m convinced, opposed to the Sumner County Comprehensive Plan and zoning regulations. One would think it would never be approved, but the people behind the quarry have the money to hire the slick lawyers, and are motivated by large profits.  I only hope that residents of Castalian Springs can count on our Sumner County officials to do the right thing and give this project the boot.

 John Simons

Castalian Springs, TN