Old Stone Fort - Manchester, TN - American Guide Series on Waymarking.com

"Right on this road to OLD STONE FORT, 6 m., an unusually fine example of prehistoric defense works. Occupying a highly strategic position, the walls, 20 feet thick, are built of stone and earth and enclose about 32 acres. The intricate inner defenses, which surround the only gateway, were evidently the work of skilled engineers. It is not known by whom the fort was built. Some have credited De Soto with its construction during his march northward from Florida, but this theory was combatted by John Haywood, the Tennessee historian, who told of a white oak tree that had grown up over the remains. He said that it had been demonstrated by study of the rings that the tree was about 78 years old when De Soto landed on the coast of Florida. If the fort was built by a prehistoric tribe, their culture must have been much more advanced than any known to have lived north of Mexico." --- Tennessee A Guide to the State, 1949.

"The Old Stone Fort was built during the Middle Woodland Period, 1,500-2,000 years ago. Native Americans used this area continuously for about 500 years, eventually leaving it abandoned. By the time European settlers arrived, it was unclear of what the area had been used for which resulted in it being misnamed as a fort."
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Old Stone Fort is now a state park. It is still believed that Native Americans made this, but its purpose is in question. It is not thought to be a fort for military defense.

Book: Tennessee Page Number(s) of Excerpt: 402 Year Originally Published: 1939

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