Nathan Bedford Forrest State Park in Eva, Tennessee

After visiting the state park dedicated to the Battle of Johnsonville, we made our way to the Nathan Bedford Forrest State Park.

We split our visit to these two parks over one day.  It is nice that they are so close together, and really work together in many ways- so seeing them both in one trip is possible, but I am already hoping to devote more time to each at a later date.

Just like in Johnsonville, we encountered some great staff and rangers here.  The stereotype of Tennesseans being exceptionally friendly is true.
We talked to a very informative ranger at the visitor center.  He wanted to make sure we knew how to get to the museum, which is a short (but steep!) drive about a mile away.

The visitor center itself was packed with local arrow heads, turtle shells, and other great relics.  It is a nice museum in its own right!

We went to the site museum next.  You have to drive almost straight up to get there!  There is a sign out front declaring that it is at the highest point in West Tennessee. 


Just outside of the actual museum center is a beautiful and relaxing look out area, where you can see across the river.  There is a tree stump with a checker board painted on top.  There is some bragging rights!  How many people can say that they played checkers, on a tree stump, at the highest point in West Tennessee?

Inside of the museum, we talked to the very kind lady running the place.  She said that she was actually related to Forrest, and was very proud of the park and museum.  She showed us around and talked about what the site had to offer.

One thing that I really admired about this museum was the very cozy theater.  Popcorn and other snacks were available.  AND, pretty much anyone at anytime can come in and request to watch any of a number of movies available about the Civil War.  This is such an amazing resource.  I thought that, if I lived in the area, I would be here all of the time.