Campbellsville, Tennessee

2010 Campbellsville Heritage Festival

Beginning at 9:00 am, Mr. Ed Corlew kicked off the festival by telling the story of the Hamilton Crockett Campbell House. The remarks were as follows:

H.C. (Crockett) Campbell entered his land claim for 1000 acres in 1808 after a scouting visit with James Hannah and a Mr. Roper. The three men each staked out 1000 acre claims- Hannah to the Northwest of the big spring, Roper to the East of the spring and Campbell to the Southwest. The three men then returned to civilization to purchase tools and supplies. Soon, Crockett Campbell was again on his tract of land, building a log cabin, when he heard the sounds of an axe in the distance. He was surprised, as he thought he was the only person in the area. He followed the sounds about one mile and found James Hannah busily building his log house.

This story leads us to believe that Crockett built his first cabin at the foot of Rose Hill on what is today the Campbellsville Hill. That site today is the home of Corey and Jennifer Stout. Jennifer is a direct descendant of Crockett Campbell.

Crockett and his wife, Mary Mitchell Dickey, built this house by the spring “after the first two children were born.” This helps us to date the structure. Crockett married in September of 1815, after his Army Service. In these frontier days, children were usually born about two years apart. The 1820 census shows only two males under five and the two adults in the household. Therefore, we have chosen to list the date of the structure as circa 1820. The house and farm were owned by a direct Campbell descendant until 1966, when Virginia Sanders sold it to Gardner Eugene and Jane Dunavant. For the next twenty-two, the property remained under the ownership of the Dunavant family. In 1988, the property sold to Dr. Vecente, who, in 1995, sold it to the current owner, Mark Dunavant.

The Campbellsville Area Association is proud to present this historical marker to Mr. Mark Dunavant, for his historical structure. Mr. Donny Hickerson, whose wife, Debbie, is also a direct descendant of Crockett Campbell, used his blacksmithing skills to design and build this marker.

(Left to right: Mark Dunavant, Donny Hickerson, and Ed Corlew)

Below is the map of the 2010 Historic Sites Driving Map

(Click on the map, to see a larger image of the map)

Other interesting topics from the Festival:

THE SITTING ROCK

Do you remember the “sitting rock”? The story Mr. and Mrs. John Colvett , current owners of the property that holds the “sitting rock,” have been told that students would race to be the first kid to sit in the indention in the rock. They are not sure what the “prize” was for being the first, but talked with several people at the festival Saturday that remembered this event and wanted to share this picture with you.

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Webmaster Jennifer H. Stout Campbellsville, TN