Reflection Park - Baxter, TN - Municipal Parks and Plazas on Waymarking.com

"On the night of March 3, 2020, a tornado struck the Highway 70 Corridor of Putnam County. The storm touched down near Thompson Ridge, just north of Baxter and moved through the Double Springs community toward Echo Valley before finally lifting just inside the Cookeville City limits.

19 people died including five children.
The F5 storm was the strongest tornado to ever hit the county.

In the aftermath, the community came together to rescue, grieve, and support one another. Thousands of residents gathered the next day to do their part. Every kind of donation came into the community. The work continued for weeks after to remove debris, cut down trees, and try to heal the wounds. Putnam County Strong became a rallying cry.

Reflection Park is designed as a place to remember the five young people who lost their lives on one of the county's darkest days. This park offers a place for future children in Baxter and Putnam County to remember the five and celebrate their lives. We honor their memory. And we reflect on how our community came together to love, support, and cherish one another."
Reference: pictured sign

Reflection park contains 2 silhouette statues of five children. Some holding hands and some trying to catch butterflies with a net. The statues are placed on concrete platforms and surrounded by pebbles. Five memorial seats encircle the field of pebbles. One for each of the five children who died.

The opening ceremony for Reflection Park was held on March 3, 2021 at 11 AM.

""Reflection Park will celebrate the lives of the children who died in the tornado," said Baxter Beautification chairperson Jeanie Lee. "We have been working on this since May. An anonymous person contributed quite a lot toward this. Those children are Bridgett McCormick, 13; Dawson Curtis, 6; Harlan Marsh, 5; Hattie Collins, 4; and Sawyer Kimberlin, 2.
"They (the anonymous donor) called me a few days after the tornado, and wanted to know what I thought about doing this. Of course, I cried and loved it."
It will have a brick archway that reads "Reflection Park," five children statues, and five stone benches."
Reference: Herald Citizen, 4 Feb 2021.

Name: Reflection Park Street Location: 305 Cow Palace Dr Local Municipality: Baxter State/Province, etc.: Tennessee Country: USA Web Site: [Web Link] Memorial/Commemoration: Yes, 5 children who died in March 2020 tortnado Date Established: March 3, 2021 Monuments/Statues: Two silhouette statues Picnic Facilities: Not listed Recreational Facilities: Not listed Art (murals/sculpture, etc.): Not listed Fountains: Not listed Ponds/Lakes/Streams/Rivers/Beach: Not listed Special Events: Not listed Traditional Geocaches: Not listed

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