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***Latest installment in Beautiful Tennessee series visits caves, sacred Native-American sites, battlefield parks, hiking trails and more.*** NASHVILLE, Tennessee – November 12, 2009 – BEAUTIFUL TENNESSEE: PARKS & PRESERVATION, the third installment in Nashville Public Television's Beautiful Tennessee series, explores the majesty of Tennessee's parks, from sacred sites revered by ancient cultures for their beauty and mystery; to battlefields sanctified by those who fell fighting for their beliefs; to more recent additions facing the challenges of preservation in the new millennium. The documentary, written, directed and produced by NPT's Ed Jones (Tennessee Crossroads), premieres on Sunday, November 29 at 7:00 p.m. on NPT-Channel 8. "Tennessee is a remarkable state," says former state naturalist Mack Pritchard to open the documentary. "We have such an incredible diversity of natural beauty, but we also have a great cultural asset as well." The documentary transports the viewer across a wide spectrum of the state’s natural and historical shrines, starting with the subterranean treasures that are Dunbar Cave and Devil Step Hollow Cave, the latter of which Bobby Fulcher, Cumberland Trail manager, says is "one of the most, if not the most, important subterranean ceremonial sites in North America." A visit to Pinson Mounds State Archaeological Park introduces viewers to the many ceremonial mounds built by Native Americans. At Old Stone Fort State Archaeological Park in Manchester, we explore a popular Native American gathering place dating back five centuries flush with plunge pools, waterfalls and in-turned mounds that point directly at the summer solstice sunrise. At Fort Loudon, built in 1756 to solidify relations between the British and Cherokee during the French and Indian War, we step foot on one of the earliest English fortifications of what was then the western frontier. "Preserving Tennessee's historic sites provides a rare and tangible glimpse of our heritage," says narrator Ed Bruce in the documentary. "Walking in the footsteps of these ordinary people gives us a deeper understanding, and appreciation of the extraordinary hardships and sacrifices they endured. None sacrificed more than young men in blue and gray during the Civil War. The military parks, created to protect the hallowed ground where these men fought and died, marked the birth of federal land preservation."
A visit to Tennessee's Civil War battlefied parks makes up some of the most compelling storytelling in the documentary, as we visit Fort Donelson, Shiloh National Military Park and Stones River National Park. Stories include the Union gunboat attack on Fort Donelson in Febuary 1862. Even though the rebels scored an apparent Valentine's Day victory, General Grant had the fort surrounded. The victory gave the Union control of Middle and West Tennessee. A couple of months later, the conflict at Shiloh, near Pittsburgh Landing, would be the first big battle of the Civil War, with 23,000 killed, wounded and captured. The death of Confederate commander Albert Sidney Johnston made him the highest-ranking American officer ever to die in combat. "The civil war national military parks are a way of commemorating perhaps the most decisive event in American history," says ranger Charlie Spearman at Shiloh National Military Park. "It changes the country forever. Before this war is over, over 600,000 Americans will die in the Civil War. So of all the events in history, it's certainly among the most significant." "If you do not have the battlefields that are across the state, you really lose the reality of that conflict," adds Carroll Van West, Ph. D, director of the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Are. "Without these reminders...you forget just how important it was. Walking the land, seeing the sights, viewing the monuments, that's crucial to understanding just how important the Civil War was to American history." Outdoor enthusiasts will rejoice in BEAUTIFUL TENNESSEE: PARKS & PRESERVATION's embrace of the state's stunning and tranquil recreational areas. From the cypress swamps of Reelfoot Lake to the area often referred to Tennessee's secret mountain range, the Cumberland Plateau, we visit South Cumberland State Park and the Justin P. Wilson Cumberland Trail State Park, where the future of preservation efforts in Tennessee is being blazed. Stops along the way include Foster Falls, Fiery Gizzard, Savage Gulf, Sewanee Natural Bridge, Buzzard Point, Montgomery State Park and more. The Justin P. Wilson Cumberland Trail State Park, once complete, will stretch more than 300 miles from the Cumberland Gap to Chattanooga, intersecting four wildlife management areas, four state parks and natural areas, three national parks and scenic areas, and many sections of private property. "The Cumberland Trail is not an ancient trail that follows a pre-existing route," says Fulcher, "but it intersects many of the most important trails roads and pathways that historically cross Tennessee. At Cumberland Gap, the northern terminus of the trail, it comes right to the wilderness road. That road … hacked out by Daniel Boone. That trail has now been restored by the National Park Service. so you can get an experience a little bit like Daniel Boone and his party had when they passed through there." "People will travel the world to see Tennessee," concludes Kathleen Williams, president and executive director, Tennessee Parks & Greenways Foundation. "We live in paradise; we live in Eden. There are hidden wonders all over Tennessee. Those are the memories that people carry with them throughout their life; those are the kind of places that inspire you to want to do good in this world. These places bring out a reverence for the mysteries of the world and they're everywhere in Tennessee. They're what make life meaningful. For me, it's a spiritual connection. I feel the spirit of God when I'm in the wilderness."
BEAUTIFUL TENNESSEE: PARKS & PRESERVATION is made possible with the generous support of The Tennessee Department of Agriculture. For more information on NPT’s original productions, viewers can visit wnpt.net. About Nashville Public Television
Nashville Public Television is available free and over the air to nearly 2.2 million people throughout the Middle Tennessee and Southern Kentucky viewing area, and is watched by more than 600,000 households every week. NPT provides, through the power of traditional television and interactive telecommunications, high quality educational, cultural and civic experiences that address issues and concerns of the people of the Nashville region, and which thereby help improve the lives of those we serve.
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