1783 Fort in Kodak Being Rebuilt!

An archeological dig began in Sevier County in July and Arthur Bohanan, President of the Hugh Henry Station Foundation, is actively helping. Bohanan, the youngest of 11 children, grew up in the mountains with no electricity and he can trace his local roots back to 1790.

Bohanan, a former Knoxville Police Department crime lab specialist, retired from law enforcement in 2001, and has gotten interested in geneology which meshes nicely with his interest in excavating the old Sevier County fort, called Hugh Henry Station after a Major who had a house on the creek on Dumplin Road.

The work will continue through September and volunteers are welcome to help the University of Tennessee archeology department. They estimate the dig will take up to five years and will cost about $2 million.

This summer Bohanan and his granddaughters were sifting through dirt by the chimney base they found, when they found a 1735 Spanish coin, a prehistoric flint, pottery shards, homemade nails and a porcelain doll’s head estimated to be more than 200 years old. They also found a baby spoon. You’re welcome to join the fun from 8 am to 4:30 pm Monday through Friday.

In October, horse teams will appear on site, and the rebuilding of the fort will begin with horses dragging the logs in place. Plans are to open the fort to tourists in the spring of 2006. Eventually the site will include a pioneer and Cherokee village, farmstead, visitor center and museum with picnic tables and a walking trail along the old Great Indian War and Trade Path, which extended 1,100 miles from Alabama to Pennsylvania.

Other Harvest Festival celebrations include:

September 15-17: Dumplin Valley Bluegrass Festival:
September 16-17: Faith Trio at the Sevier Country Fairgrounds:
September 29-October 1: Circle Your Wagons at the Fairgrounds:
October 6-7: Spurrin’ “S” Rodeo at the Fairgrounds:
October 7-10: Columbus Day Sidewalk Sales at Tanger Oaks:
October 21-29: Fourth Annual Fall Festival at Quincy Farms:
October 27-30: Sons of the Revolution re-enactiment of the 1780
Battle of Boyd’s Creek at Major Hugh Henry’s Estate at Henry’s Station in Kodak