Historic Sumner County (Historic Rock Castle Plantation Presents)

Colonial Americans, influenced by the journals and reports of eighteenth century explorers and pioneers, looked to the lands west of the Appalachian Mountains and south of the Ohio River as a rich horizon for expansion. Sumner County - cradle of Middle Tennessee's settlement and history - was founded by pioneer legendary long hunters, patriots, military leaders, and statesmen and served as the gateway for Tennessee's significant role in a young country's yearning for westward expansion. They came into this wild and often hostile land with a dream, armed with courage and the written promise of land for service in the recent war for independence tucked into their saddlebags. These brave Americans forged a new community, which would become Sumner County, and the heart of a new state called "Tennassee." During the ensuing century, the county would engender monumental milestones of individual courage and industry, and the emergence of national political and military giants. The most accessible and enduring accounts of Sumner County's heritage are evidenced today in the surviving homes and sites that witnessed and were, in many instances, integral participants in this history. HISTORIC SUMNER COUNTY is a commemorative portrait of these historic sites and a tribute to today's organizations and citizen stewards dedicated to their preservation for future generations.