On Our Way to Nashville (Virtually) and Some Sightseeing 4/27/2008

Off we went early this morning into Nashville as we had a list of 20 virtual caches we wanted to see if we could do with hopes that they would show us a lot of the historic and interesting sights in the city and so they did and more. Our first stop was on the campus of Vanderbilt University Medical Center for four caches placed by a father whose son spent some time in the hospital here. We found each of these with no problem and then it was on to a Ronald McDonald House for a cache placed by in honor of the cachers niece, Rinnah ( which means rejoicing).
Then it was on to Centennial Park, where by the way they had the Music City Marathon run through yesterday (30,000 runners). The cache was located in a bird bath which had a date on the bottom of it but the only thing was it was full of water, so I had to splash it all out to get the date. As we drove through the park we saw the Parthenon which is a full scale replica of a Greek Parthenon and functions as an art museum, many statues which included a Engineering statue, an old Nashville, Chattanooga & St Louis Railway locomotive, powder grinding wheels, many lovely gardens and rock formations and an old bell tower.
Next it was on to Spruce Street Baptist Church for a cache located on a historical marker there. This church was originally a part of the First Colored Baptist Church, founded in 1848 as a "mission" of the First Baptist Church.
Next was a cache at one of the many many squares located in the center of the city that had memorials and statues. We had to locate a memorial to the Good Old Tennessee Boys and get some information about it.
Next was a cache at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center Building where all we had to do is get the name it was changed from to. The Schermerhorn Symphony Center is a symphony center in downtown Nashville, Tennessee. It opened with its first concert in the Laura Turner Concert Hall on September 9, 2006. The hall has approximately 1,900 seats and is the current home of the Nashville Symphony Orchestra. At the center of the Schermerhorn Symphony Center is the approximately 1900-seat Laura Turner Concert Hall. Modeled after the "shoe box design" of storied concert halls such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and the Musikverein in Vienna, the Hall is one of only a few such venues in the world to feature natural lighting, which streams in through 30 soundproof, double-paned windows that ring its upper walls. Intricate symbolic motifs appear throughout the Hall and the rest of the Center, including irises (the Tennessee state flower), horseshoes (a tribute to the late Laura Turner's love of horses) and coffee beans (representing Nashville's Cheek family of Maxwell House fame).
Then it was on to our 1400th cache at the Southern Motor Works the makers of the Marathon Motor Car which was made here between 1914-1918.
Then it was on down by the river to Fort Nashborough located in the Germantown section of Nashville. Fort Nashborough was the stockade for the settlement that became the city of Nashville, Tennessee. It was named after General Nash from North Carolina who fell at Germantown, Pennsylvania, Oct. 4, 1777 in the Revolutionary War. The fort was erected on the bluff near this location by the pioneers of the Cumberland settlement in the year 1780 as a central fort of defense against Indian attacks. It was the scene of many historical events, especially the Indian attacks of April 2, 1781 known as "The Battle of the Bluff. A reconstruction today stands on the banks of the Cumberland River near the site of the original fort. We went through the fort and came out on the other side and all we saw was bums and hobos and we were told this is where they hang out all the time.
Next cache was at a memorial for Charles Warterfield who was an architect who restored the Tennessee State Capitol.The memorial is a group of broken limestone columns and fragments from the former Tennessee State Prison. There are 26 pieces in all.
Next it was on to the Nashville City Cemetery. This cache concerned William Driver who sailed twice around the world and once around Australia. He removed the Pitcairn people from sickness and death in Tahieta to their own island home September 3, 1831. Then 69 in number now 1200 souls. He was born in Salem, MA in 1803 and died in Nashville, TN in 1886. The name OLD GLORY was coined by Driver, a shipmaster of Salem, Massachusetts, in 1831. As he was leaving on one of his many voyages aboard the brig CHARLES DOGGETT - and this one would climax with the rescue of the mutineers of the BOUNTY - some friends presented him with a beautiful flag of twenty four stars. As the banner opened to the ocean breeze for the first time, he exclaimed "Old Glory!" He retired to Nashville in 1837, taking his treasured flag from his sea days with him. By the time the Civil War erupted, most everyone in and around Nashville recognized Captain Driver's "Old Glory." When Tennessee seceded from the Union, Rebels were determined to destroy his flag, but repeated searches revealed no trace of the hated banner. Then on February 25th, 1862, Union forces captured Nashville and raised the American flag over the capital. It was a rather small ensign and immediately folks began asking Captain Driver if "Old Glory" still existed. Happy to have soldiers with him this time, Captain Driver went home and began ripping at the seams of his bedcover. As the stitches holding the quilt-top to the batting unraveled, the onlookers peered inside and saw the 24-starred original "Old Glory"! Captain Driver gently gathered up the flag and returned with the soldiers to the capitol. Though he was sixty years old, the Captain climbed up to the tower to replace the smaller banner with his beloved flag. The Sixth Ohio Regiment cheered and saluted - and later adopted the nickname "Old Glory" as their own, telling and re-telling the story of Captain Driver's devotion to the flag we honor yet today. Opened in 1822, the City Cemetery is the oldest continuously operated public cemetery in Nashville. A walk through the cemetery is truly a walk through Nashville's history. The gravestones tell the stories of individuals and families from the 1820s to the present day. We saw many many markers that told the stories of the famous people buried here.
Then it was on to Assumption Church which is the second oldest standing Catholic Church in Nashville Tennessee and a holy and magnificent shrine to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Dedicated on August 14, 1859, it is a beautiful specimen of Gothic architecture, statuary and art. Soon to be celebrating its 150th Anniversary.
The cache had to do with Samuel Stritch who was born in 1887 and attended Assumption School at age 7. he was ordained when he was 22 and sang his first mass at the church. He was a priest in Memphis and Nashville, Bishop of Toledo, Archbishop of Milwaukee, Archbishop of Chicago and named Cardinal in 1946 and was called to Rome in 1958 to head Catholic missions and thus became the first American member of the Roman Curia.
Next stop was at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church which is known for its pure Gothic Architecture. The cornerstone was laid in May 7, 1852. During the Civil War, church services were discontinued. In 1862, the church building was taken over by the Union Army. The soldiers used the building for a powder magazine and a stable for the horses. The baptismal font (a gift from Christ Church Cathedral) was used as a washbasin. The altar was put to use as an operating table for the soldiers. After the war, the United States Government paid approximately $1,300 to the church for war damages. Episcopalians who had African ancestors, first worshiped at Holy Trinity in 1895. In 1902, a congregation for people of African ancestry was organized. Then, in 1907, Holy Trinity was given to the communicants of African ancestry. The Reverend A. J Coombs, the first priest of African ancestry, served from 1907-1915. The attendance at the church is still predominately members of African ancestry.
Next it was on to Granbury's Lunette which was the site of one of the Civil War battles in the area. Then it was on to a small local park which we had to get the name for except that the stone marker that told the name of the park was worn away so we couldn't make out the complete name, and then it was on to our last cache and a historical marker that had to do with The Nashville Race Course, the "Burns Island Track", 1828-1884. Here Oct 10, 1843, was run the then richest race in the world, the $35,000 Peyton Stakes, 4 mile heats, promoted by Bailie Peyton. The winner owned by Thomas Kirkman, was renamed "Peytona". Ten Broeck and Thora also raced here.
Some of the other attractions we saw, which I will post pictures of were a memorial near the state capitol that commemorated all types of music in Nashville but it had no plaque with a name of information, Bicentennial Mall State Park which includes Zero Mile Marker, Small Tennessee Granite Maps, Tennessee Map Plaza, The Railroad Trestle, The Rivers of Tennessee Fountains, Tennessee Flags, Pathway of History, World War II Memorial, Carillons and the Court of 3 Stars, CCC Memorial, The Walkway of Counties, and the Path of Volunteers. Also we saw what we think is a music house called Slaughter House, Tennessee Titans Football Stadium, Tennessee State Capitol Building, and quite a few different monuments and memorials in the downtown area.
We drove back to the RV and had lunch, Mom did the logs and emails, and I showered and watched the NASCAR race and the Ranger-Penquin hockey game. It was raining here this afternoon and kind of cool. We had a great dinner and Mom is now atching TV and I am finishing the blog. Well until tomorrow we will say we love you all and we miss you.


Picture List: 1-Mom & Dad at our 1400th find at the Southern Motor Works, 2-Southern Mortor Works historical marker, 3,4-Southern Motor Works Building, 5-Marathon Motor Car emblem, 6-A Marathon Motor car, 7-Nashville City Cemetery historical marker, 8,9-William Driver historical marker and gravestone, 10,11-2 other historical markers in the cemetery, 12,13-Slaughter House which is a musical club only open on certain dates and times, 14-Tennessee State Capitol Bldg., 15-Schermerhorn Symphony Center, 16-The Parthenon, 17,18-Spruce Street Baptist Church historical markers, 19-Spruce Street Baptist Church, 20,21-Nashville skyline, 20,21-Powder Grinding Wheels in Centennial Park, 22,23-Nashville, Chattanooga & St Louis RR locomotive, 24,25,26,27-Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, 28-Memorial dedicated to the women from TN in the Civil War, 29,30,31-Monument for the music of Nashville, 32,33,34,35,36,37-Fort Nashborough, 38,39-Engineering Statue in Centennial Park, 40-Assumption Church, 42,42-Charles Warterfield Memorial, 43-Entrance to Bicentennial Mall State Park (all the next pictures were taken in Bicentennial Mall State Park), 44-Each section of TN has a stone monument like this telling about the particular section this one is Cumberland Plateau, 45-Each county has a plaque like this telling about the particular county, 46-Globe of the World which spins all the time in a fountain of water, 47,48-These are 2 of the 10 granite monuments in the World War 2 Memorial, 49,50-Carillions and the Court of 3 Stars.