Johnsonville State Park- New Johnsonville, Tennessee

We took a trip around the Land Between the Lakes area recently, mostly to try to visit some of the spots not associated with LBL that we have missed on other trips.

We realized that two Civil War state parks would be on our path!  Johnsonville State Historic Park would be our first stop!

This is a very unusual site, in that it celebrates the 1864 Battle of Johnsonville.  Well, THAT town was put underwater with the creation of Kentucky Lake in 1944.  New Johnsonville is the site of the State Park.

Luckily, on the day we visited, the museum was doing cannon firing demonstrations!  Actors dressed in Union uniforms were showing how the old cannons were fired, and how a team operated the cannons.  A ranger gave a thorough, yet easy to understand narration of the team and the process.

The reenactors hung around a campsite and talked about the battle, the area, and history.  One of the reenactors told us that cabins reproduced on the state park grounds were built using descriptions from a diary.

There is a very impressive museum/visitor center here too.  A very kind lady was in charge here, and she told us all about what the park had to offer on this day, and in the upcoming weeks.  it seems that they are frequently showing movies here.  A 90 minute film on the Lincoln assassination was being shown while we were there.

This park has a lot more going on, in addition to the many Civil War related features.  We noticed a lot of boats in the area.  There are many trails too.  We were excited to see a vibrant woodpecker while we explored!

Check out my photos, this is an incredible park that I hope to visit again soon!