By Shana Thornton
Public art (including architecture) can sometimes be taken for granted by citizens in a community until it is threatened for demolition or removal, and then the public outcry is often heard. And yet, as tourists to other cities and towns, we take photos of that place’s public art and architecture; maybe we even “ohh” and “ahh” about some of the sites in other places. In Clarksville, the movement to add public art to our landscapes is a relatively new and modern endeavor led by mostly young organizations. The Clarksville Arts & Heritage Development Council and the Public Art Initiative at Austin Peay State University are two organizations in Clarksville/Montgomery County dedicated to adding, cleaning, and preserving public art. The Montgomery County Preservation Coalition is dedicated to preserving architecture and architectural history. Both the City of Clarksville and Montgomery County have been dedicated to contributing public art to the community as well as preserving the existing artworks.
One of the first sources of public art expansion in recent years was for The Tennessee Discovery Trails. In Clarksville, the Downtown Commons began a multi-year program to encourage citizens to walk in downtown; this set of trails includes small artworks of Tennessee icons created by local artists. Some of these are paired with stories of past events in Clarksville.
According to the Downtown Commons website, “Phase I of this program created artwork representing the Tennessee state bird, the mocking bird, and the development of three downtown Tennessee Discovery Trails. Dr. Jim Diehr created two poses of the state bird. The local Clarksville Foundry then cast 50 life-sized birds from these sculptures. The statues were placed in natural habitat poses along three downtown sidewalk trails for walkers to discover. A .75-mile trail offers an easy, flat walk around the city center, an approximately 3-mile walk goes from downtown along a main mixed residential and business corridor, and an approximately 5-mile tract stretches between the historic Dog Hill neighborhood to Riverview Cemetery.
“The trails are a joint project of the Tennessee State Hall of Fame, Clarksville-Montgomery County Arts and Heritage Development Council, Women’s Network, Tennessee Arts Commission, Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, and Montgomery County and City of Clarksville.”
The trails and the public art along them are a short walk from the Customs House Museum & Cultural Center, and all are vital to our authenticity as a community as well as the artistic and civic presence in downtown Clarksville.
Public Art on the Spur Line Trail
The Spur Line Trail, located in the historic Dog Hill community, offers a park and a trail. The Spur Line Park is dedicated to people whose lives were cut short by tragedy. Deceased children and victims of domestic violence are honored in the park with monuments and lists of their names. The monuments and names are works of art that deserve to be appreciated by the community.
Gardens are artistic and creative, and the Spur Line’s Memorial Garden does not disappoint. The memorial gardens are well kept and offer a sensory garden experience. The old railroad trestles provide shade, benches are spaced along the route, lilies bloom, flower beds overflow with ferns and lamb’s ear underneath redbud trees, tiny mushroom statues are tucked into meditative spaces, and the whole park is inviting.
The mockingbirds made by the Arts & Heritage Preservation Coalition are located at each entrance to the park. The mockingbirds, commissioned by the Arts and Heritage Council, created by Jim Diehr, cast by the Clarksville Foundry, and installed around town by Montgomery County workers, show Clarksville’s pride to be in Tennessee.
Managed by Montgomery County, the Spur Line Park is accessible from several parking areas, two located on Union Street, and one located off South First Street.
The Upland Trail
The Upland Trail connects to the Clarksville Riverwalk and to the Spur Line Trail. The Upland Trail is a link between the Riverwalk and the Spur Line, as well as the old train bridge that overlooks Valleybrook Park. The Upland Trail begins at College Street and Riverside Drive where the pedestrian overpass crosses Riverside Drive. The Upland Trail allows visitors to see historical buildings, the faded advertisements of an era gone by that are painted onto buildings like the Uneeda Biscuit advertisement on Main Street, and the Last Train to Clarksville mural on Commerce Street, before crossing over Commerce to Dog Hill. On Dog Hill, you can continue to the end of the Upland Trail in one direction or switch over to the Spur Line Trail in the other direction. Following the Upland Trail, it goes on to pass a public sculpture, Forged in Fire, and ends at a picturesque old railroad bridge that offers views of the Cumberland River, the warehouse district, and Valleybrook Park below.
Forged in Fire – A Community Sculpture
A unique sculpture created out of tragedy, Forged in Fire is a large abstract, metal piece that was worked on by Montgomery Central High School students 30+ years after it was twisted into its current fate. In 1978, during a traumatic storm, several fires started in Clarksville, and the Orgain building supply was in the path. The fire reshaped and twisted a metal rack. Orgain rebuilt and placed the metal rack “sculpture” in front of its new building, calling it Forged in Fire. The company felt that it represented a phoenix rising from its own ashes.
Montgomery Central High School students became involved in 2014, after Orgain donated the artwork to the City of Clarksville. The students cleaned the artwork, trimmed it, smoothed the edges, and painted it a symbolic color, “Safety Red.” They decided that the sculpture represents students whose lives are lost and they dedicated the sculpture as a memorial. According to the interpretive panel, “The base is filled with missives from area students; they wrote notes on pieces of paper about their hopes and dreams.”
Near the sculpture, there’s a gazebo available for shade, picnics, and respite. Dogs are welcome on these trails (please, clean up after your pooch), and there are shady locations and benches along the routes.
Photo above: View from The Upland Trail of the Cumberland River. Courtesy of D.C. Thomas.
This is part of a series. Next, we will share the public art located at Austin Peay State University.
Other articles about Clarksville’s Public Art:
Public Art in Clarksville: 4 Outstanding Statues
Public Art in Clarksville: 4 Amazing Murals
References:
Arts & Heritage Development Council
City of Clarksville – Upland Trail
Montgomery County’s Spur Line Trail
Shana Thornton is the Marketing & Media Manager and Managing Editor of Second & Commerce, the Customs House Museum & Cultural Center’s arts, history, and culture magazine. She is an author and publisher, Founder of the Clarksville-Montgomery County African American Legacy Trail, and the Montgomery County Deputy Historian.