Sellers Farm State Archaeological Area in Tennessee

Recently, we took a day trip to Middle Tennessee. Laura was going to a baby shower, and I went along for the trip, too. While she was showering, I went to a nearby park, Sellers Farm State Archaeological Area, in Lebanon. It had a nice trail and some interesting features, so here are some photos.

The main feature of the area is a mound from the Mississippian period, thought to be built around 1300 AD, or maybe a little earlier. It was not quite as large as some of the other mounds we have seen, such as Sauls’ Mound at Pinson Mounds in Tennessee. But it is still always interesting to me to see these remnants from ancient societies.

Archaeologists believe that the whole area was the site of a village. Mounds such as these were to elevate the homes of the chief or village leader, and not usually burial mounds as you might suspect. Imagine the work that went into building even a smaller mound such as this one without our modern tools and machinery. It can make you thankful for how we live now.

I kept walking along the path past the mound and came to a picturesque creek. And of course, “picturesque” means that I took a lot of pictures.

The path ran along beside the creek for a good distance. And there were several places where you could go right up to the edge of the creek, so I did, of course.

On the other side of the creek was a rock wall of sorts, providing a natural barrier. It is easy to imagine that the creek provided water for the village that was here, and the rocks helped to give them a sense of safety.

But for me, the rocks and the creek provided some nice scenery. We have running water and all kinds of security these days, but at least we still have the scenery, too.

There were not very many people on the trail, so it was nice and quiet. Although you could occasionally hear a car go by on the nearby road, it was peaceful and relaxing.

The park was not all that large, and would probably not be something you would want to make a destination out of, but it was a good way to pass the time for me that afternoon. If we had not needed to get back home, I would have brought Laura back for her to see it after the shower was finished. Maybe some other time, since we have friends who live right across the street.

Getting There

I have recently been reading a book about the American Civil War, written by Ulysses S. Grant about his involvement during the war¹. Every time an army gets to a river, there is discussion about the difficulties of crossing the river. Boats, barges, temporary bridges, and other means were used to cross the rivers, all of which took time when trying to get a large army across the river without the other side knowing about it.

One of the rivers mentioned several times in the book was the Tennessee River, which Grant’s army crossed multiple times. But then, on our visit to Middle Tennessee, we just drove right over the Tennessee River. It took us about a minute, or maybe less. And the road and the bridge were so smooth that it almost was not noticeable, because it was so easy.

I was also thinking about that while walking where the village used to be by the stream in the photos up above. How many times did the people leave their village and go visit someone else far away? Probably not very often.

We live in a time where we can easily go from one place to another, and that is a great blessing. We can travel with ease over great distances and varied terrains, without even thinking much about it at all. I am thankful for that, especially when I remember how others have had it in the past.

It is fun to go places, and it is remarkably easy, too.

I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. - Psalm 121:1-2

About the Photos

For this trip, I made a major mistake and left my camera at home. For whatever reason, I did not think that I would use it, but that all changed when I got to Sellers Farm. I did have my phone with me, and I used that instead.

With my iPhone I thought it would be a good idea to change my camera settings to Raw Max. However, I still wanted to process the photos on my computer. I have been using Darktable for photo processing lately, but Darktable would not open the DNG files that Raw Max produced. So I went back to Raw Therapee, which could handle the files.

All of that to remind myself to put my camera in the car the next time we go anywhere, even if I don’t think I will use it. Because I just might.

Photo: Each photo is a single Raw exposure, processed in Raw Therapee.
Camera: iPhone 14 Pro
Date: March 8, 2025
Location: Lebanon, Tennessee