Edgar Evins State Park is a
state park
State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "Federated state, state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on accou ...
in
DeKalb County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. The park consists of along the shores of
Center Hill Lake, an
impoundment of the
Caney Fork. The State of Tennessee leases the land from the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
James Edgar Evins (1883–1954), the park's namesake, was a
Smithville businessman, mayor, and
state senator
A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature.
History
There are typically fewer state senators than there ...
who played a vital role in the development of the Center Hill Dam and Reservoir in the 1940s. He was the father of former
United States Representative
The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
Joe L. Evins, for whom the nearby Joe L. Evins Appalachian Center for Craft is named. The Evins family began pushing for the establishment of a state park along the DeKalb County portion of Center Hill Lake as early as the 1950s.
Geographical setting
The Caney Fork flows down from its source atop the Cumberland Plateau and winds its way northwestward across the Eastern
Highland Rim
The Highland Rim is a geographic term for the area in Tennessee, North Alabama, and Kentucky which surrounds the Central Basin. The Central Basin is a geological dome which has subsequently fractured and eroded to produce a basin. The Highland R ...
before emptying into the
Cumberland River
The Cumberland River is a major waterway of the Southern United States. The U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 8, 2011 river drains almost of southern Kentucky and ...
near
Carthage, Tennessee
Carthage is a town in and the county seat of Smith County, Tennessee, United States; it is part of the Nashville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,306 at the 2010 census. It is located on the Cumberland River, which was importa ...
. Center Hill Dam, located approximately above the mouth of the Caney Fork, has created a reservoir that spans a stretch of the river between the dam and the
Great Falls Dam at
Rock Island State Park in adjacent
Warren County. Edgar Evins State Park covers the northeast shore of the reservoir immediately upstream from Center Hill Dam.
The park is situated amidst rolling hills ("knobs") that comprise part of the geological boundary between the Eastern
Highland Rim
The Highland Rim is a geographic term for the area in Tennessee, North Alabama, and Kentucky which surrounds the Central Basin. The Central Basin is a geological dome which has subsequently fractured and eroded to produce a basin. The Highland R ...
and the
Central Basin. These hills are typically underlain by
Mississippian period
limestone
Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
, the erosion of which has created
karst
Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...
-like formations throughout the Center Hill Basin. Outcroppings of this limestone are visible along the cliffs overlooking the lake.
Most of Edgar Evins State Park is coated in a second-growth hardwood forest typical of the Eastern Highland Rim. Common tree species include the
tuliptree
''Liriodendron'' () is a genus of two species of characteristically large trees, deciduous over most of their populations, in the magnolia family ( Magnoliaceae).
These trees are widely known by the common name tulip tree or tuliptree for their ...
, white
basswood,
sugar maple
''Acer saccharum'', the sugar maple, is a species of flowering plant in the soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is native to the hardwood forests of eastern Canada and the eastern United States. Sugar maple is best known for being the ...
,
white ash,
Virginian juniper and various species of oak and hickory.
History
A pre-inundation archaeological survey of the Center Hill Basin conducted by the
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...
located several possible prehistoric village and mound sites, including a platform mound at the mouth of Mine Lick Creek, just upstream from the modern park boundary. Early settlers in the area also claimed to have found
Native American graves and other objects. More extensive excavations, however, failed to uncover any major prehistoric sites.
The earliest Euro-American settlers in the DeKalb area arrived in the late 1790s and established the town of
Liberty
Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...
just west of the modern park. Over the years, several families settled in the hollows and valleys of what is now Edgar Evins State Park and adjacent lands that would eventually be inundated by Center Hill Lake. One such settler, Alexander Dunham (1826–1878), whose family arrived in the area in the 1830s, is buried on a hill within the park that overlooks Center Hill Lake. Dunham's son lived near the present site of Center Hill Dam.
The Caney Fork has long been notorious for its volatility. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, business venture after business venture tried to harness the river's power, only to be defeated by one of several catastrophic floods that occurred along the river during this period. Major floods in 1902, 1915, 1928, and 1929 wiped out mills, bridges, houses, and farms, and led to increased calls for flood control. In the 1930s, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers initiated several flood control projects in the
Cumberland River
The Cumberland River is a major waterway of the Southern United States. The U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 8, 2011 river drains almost of southern Kentucky and ...
watershed, including Center Hill Dam, the construction of which was authorized in 1938. Flood control and power production were the primary goals of the Center Hill Dam project.
Center Hill Lake's revised management plan in the 1940s called for the inclusion of recreational areas along the lake's shores. These included several small local parks and boatramps at first. In the late 1960s, the State of Tennessee began construction of facilities for Edgar Evins State Park. The park was officially dedicated in 1975.
Park facilities
Park facilities include a privately leased 300-slip marina and full service dock, a 34-cabin lodging complex (with outdoor swimming pool open May to September), a campground with 60 wooden and concrete platforms (with water and electric) and 9 primitive campsites, a park office and visitor center, and two boat ramps with access to Center Hill Lake. Additionally, there are three picnic shelters located adjacent to the marina, four picnic areas with concrete tables, an "interpretive center" with local natural and historical artifacts, and a campground store, which is operated from spring to fall. A boat dock available for cabin guests is located at the very end of the main road, along with the "Sunset Point Peninsula", a day use area.
The Friends of Edgar Evins State Park was organized in 2003 to support park preservation efforts. The group conducts several annual events in the park.
[Edgar Evins State Park - Annual Events]
" Retrieved: 29 July 2008.
Hiking trails
Photo gallery
Image:Highland-rim-trail-sp-tn1.jpg, The Highland Rim Trail in early Spring
Image:Highland-rim-trail-su-tn1.jpg, The Highland Rim Trail in mid-Summer
Image:Limestone-alcove-edgar-evins-tn1.jpg, Limestone cliff near the primitive campground
Image:Center-hill-lake-tn2.jpg, Limestone outcroppings near the campground
References
External links
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{{authority control
State parks of Tennessee
Protected areas of DeKalb County, Tennessee
1975 establishments in Tennessee