Dedication of Historical Marker for Stone Walls

Residents of Oak Hill gathered on a beautiful afternoon on October 2, 2008, at the home of Patrick and Margaret Boyd on Granny White Pike to celebrate the unveiling of a historical marker in honor of the neighborhood's dry-stacked stone walls.

Nashville mayor Karl Dean and Oak Hill mayor Tommy Alsup praised the efforts of the Metropolitan Historical Commission and state Senator Douglas Henry in preserving and protecting dry-stack walls in Middle Tennessee.

Jim Kay, president of the Battle of Nashville Preservation Society, read a passage from the diary of a Civil War soldier, written from the same spot where the historical marker now stands.

Historian Fletch Coke intrigued the audience of about a hundred people with stories of how the stone fences often were constructed to mark property lines. She shared maps showing the stone wall along Granny White Pike as a boundary for the Lealand plantation, presented by Travellers Rest owner John Overton to his daughter to celebrate her marriage.

Oak Hill interim City manager M.C. Sparks serenaded guests with performances on a bowed psaltery, an instrument related to lyres and zithers, played something like a handheld violin.

Metro Councilmen Carter Todd of the 34th district and Parker Toler of the 21st district, and State Senator Douglas Henry were present for the dedication.

Other guests included:

• Eily Carell Allen.
• Sherry Phillips.
• Sue Smith.
• Judy Tygard.
• Bev Leiser.
• Travellers Rest president-elect Fred Crown.
• Carolyn Weldon.
• Carolyn Lawrence.
• Sandra and Dick Frank.
• Bob Irby.
• Kathy and Bob Elam.
• Travellers Rest senior interpreter David Ragan in a soldier's uniform.
• Tara Mielnik and Scarlett Miles from the Metro Historical Commission.
• Commissioners George Cate Jr., Ann Roos, Lula Brooks, and Joan Armour.

Marker Text

Dry-stack stone walls, a Scots-Irish building tradition adapted by slaves in the early 19th century, were common throughout Middle Tennessee. During the 1864 Battle of Nashville, Brigadier General Henry Jackson was captured at this wall on the Middle Franklin turnpike after the Confederate line collapsed at Shy's Hill.