Middle Tennessee is like a bowl, with valleys surrounded by hills and mountains. Through the valleys runs a river system awesome in its scope. The 125-mile-long Harpeth River is one. The Harpeth drains up to 1,000 tributaries as it meanders through six Middle Tennessee counties before emptying into the Cumberland River. The Harpeth River is the habitat for an amazing variety of wildlife, and, according to local legend, a few ghosts as well on a foggy morning.
Along the Harpeth River are Indian burial mounds famous for being in use as far back as 700 to 1,300 AD. More recently, a businessman called Montgomery Bell bought acreage around Narrows of the Harpeth. In 1818, he blasted a tunnel using slave labor and explosives. The Harpeth flows past Bell's property before it turns back on itself a few miles downriver. It is the property between these two sides of the same river that houses the tunnel. The flow of water was then used to power a mill called Pattison Forge. It turned raw pig iron into more workable pieces. The site of the old forge is now a lovely waterfall with a beautiful pond at the bottom.
Visitors could walk or drive to see these beautiful attractions, but the best way to see them is by water. Visitors just wont understand the majesty of the cliffs until they have to look up at them. Tip-a-Canoe Stores, Inc. was founded for this purpose. As the oldest canoe livery in the South, Tip-a-Canoe offers visitors boats and days of sight-seeing full of wonder and beauty along the Harpeth River. Call today and tell us your plans.
For the most up-to-date hours and information, please contact Tip-A-Canoe directly.
