David Crockett State Park

David Crockett State Park, located outside of Lawrenceburg on over one thousand acres of land, includes the original sites of a gristmill, distillery, and powder mill once owned by Davy Crockett, the legendary frontiersman, antebellum politician, and martyred hero of the battle of the Alamo. For many years the Lawrence County Historical Society had been interested in the public acquisition of the Crockett sites. Following the resurgence of interest in Crockett during the mid- to late 1950s, the lobbying of the Lawrence County Historical Society finally met with success. The park opened on May 31, 1959, as a segregated facility; two years later, a separate section and facilities were opened for African Americans. The park was integrated during the mid-1960s.

The park today enjoys a full range of recreational facilities and hosts an annual celebration, David Crockett Days, in August. The park's amphitheater is used for all sorts of programming and in the past has featured The Gentleman from the Cane, a musical drama about Crockett's life in southern Middle Tennessee written by Dolly Leighton.

This state park is the largest of several facilities that preserve and interpret important historic sites associated with Crockett and his family in Tennessee.

Citation Information

The following information is provided for citations.

  • Article Title David Crockett State Park
  • Author
  • Website Name Tennessee Encyclopedia
  • URL
  • Access Date March 29, 2024
  • Publisher Tennessee Historical Society
  • Original Published Date
  • Date of Last Update March 1, 2018