On Our Way and Exploring Paris...Tennessee That Is!

Of course, in order to experience a 'found family gathering' in Paris Tennessee as previously reported, we had a bit of a drive to get there.  The distance was about 290 miles...not a particularly long drive for us.

Note:  Tennessee is a long and narrow state.  If one was to drive from the northeastern most point in Tennessee to the southeastern most point, you would cover about 424 miles.

We had skipped breakfast at home before leaving, giving us a good excuse for a meal break and a chance to stretch our legs.  I can't remember where we found this Waffle House location, but I think that it was in Clarksville Tennessee.  There are 124 Waffle House restaurants in Tennessee. 

Waffle House has been our 'go to' road stop in the Southeast USA for many years but, right or wrong we both feel that the quality or consistency has slipped.  Other alternatives are in our future...

This isn't a bridge over the Seine River approaching Paris (France).  Rather it's a bridge over one part of Kentucky Lake approaching Paris Tennessee.  Kentucky Lake is a navigable reservoir created by Kentucky Dam along the Tennessee River.  It has 2,064 miles of shoreline and a surface area of 160,309 acres.  It is the largest reservoir in the USA east of the Mississippi River.  It is connected via a free-flowing channel to Lake Barkley, a reservoir that impounds the Cumberland River and adds another 58,000 acres to this huge dual lake complex.

A short time later, we entered the town of Paris Tennessee.  One of the first things we noticed was this welcome sign topped with a giant blue catfish.  The sign states that Paris is the home of the World's Biggest Fish Fry... To explain this claim, a giant fish fry is held at the Fairgrounds during the last full week of April every year.  Most recently, attendees at this festival consumed about 12,500 lbs. of catfish!  Other events included a carnival, parade, rodeo, a catfish race, arts and crafts offerings, a demolition derby and much more.  For more information, just go to https://www.worldsbiggestfishfry.org/.

Yes indeed, this is the Eiffel Tower!  Paris Tennessee has it's own version of Paris France's original... This iteration of the Eiffel Tower is 60 feet tall.  It is a 1:20 scale replica that was completed in 1993.  It can be found in Paris' Memorial Park.  FYI, there are at least 10 Eiffel Tower replicas in the USA with 32 other nations having replicas of their own. 

 

I 'borrowed' the first photo of the Henry County Courthouse from Wikipedia as it shows how the courthouse appeared before the current and ongoing efforts to refurbish and upgrade the structure.  It was originally completed in 1897.  The city of Paris Tennessee is the county seat.  While the city was named "Paris" in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette, a hero of America's Revolutionary War, the county was named in honor of one of our country's founding fathers, Patrick Henry.

I just had to include a photo of this 40 inch catfish statue that I noted on Courthouse Square.  A total of 15 catfish statues with different colors and decor were placed around Paris in early 2019.  The idea was to add another promotional element to the city's annual fish fry festival.   

 

...and then Laurie found a shop open while I was exploring the town square!  American Honey Mercantile does indeed sell honey...plus quality costume jewelry, home decor, women's and kid's clothing, pantry items, kitchen cooking supplies, pet accessories and more.  This store is located in one of 4 sections of a large 4-bay mercantile structure that was built in 1899.  American Honey Mercantile is located at 108 North Market Street in Paris Tennessee...and Laurie did make a purchase. 

Looking around the Courthouse Square, I thought that this 3-story Italianate commercial building was worthy of a photo.  I like the different color schemes and I love those old windows.  The structure was built ca. 1880.

I was quite sure that I'd photographed these buildings on a previous road trip.  We did wander through Paris several years prior to Laurie learning that she had relatives in the area... (See link to previous blog post at the end of this one)

I may have even previously photographed the Post Office in Paris.  It was built in 1908.  This structure, as well as the previous three buildings as shown above, are all part of the Paris Commercial Historic District.  The District is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.  There are a total of 44 'contributing' structures in the Historic District.  To learn more, you can go to https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/88001424.  

This is the James Davis Porter house, which is located at 407 South Dunlap Street in Paris.  The Federal style home was built by Thomas Crawford, a wealthy merchant, ca. 1850.  Porter family in-laws purchased the home in 1859.  The home is most notable as being the residence of Tennessee Governor James Davis Porter between 1887 and his death in 1912.  The home stayed in the family until at least 1972.

In addition to being a 2-term Governor of Tennessee, James Porter also served in the Tennessee Legislature, was a Lt. Colonel in the Confederate Army, then served as a judge.  Under President Cleveland Porter was the First Assistant Secretary of State and later served as the Minister/Ambassador to Chile.  The former Governor also served as the President of the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railroad for 4 years.

This is the Thomas P. Jernigan House.  This beautiful Classical Revival home was built at 918 Dunlap Street in Paris ca. 1905.  Thomas Jernigan was a banker and investor who grew rich through his investments in the E.W. Grove Medicine Company.  That company prospered through the sale of its well-known patent medicine products, including Grove's Tasteless Chill Tonic and its Laxative Bromo Quinine tablets.

A few years back I posted a blog that included the old Paris railway depot.   It was built in 1891 to serve the Paducah, Tennessee and Alabama Railway...or in 1896 to serve the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway...too many conflicting dates.  Passenger service was available here until the depot was closed in 1951.

As I researched the history of the depot, I ran across my previous blog post about Paris Tennessee, including the depot.   Apparently I took this photo from the other end of the building.  These days the depot seems a bit more worn out although it is in use as the home of the Paris-Henry County Arts Council.

To view other historic sites in Paris Tennessee that I'd included in my previous post from a little over 6 years ago, you can check out my earlier exploration of the city at https://bigdaddydavesbitsandpieces.blogspot.com/2018/09/on-to-paris-tennessee-that-is.html.

That's all for now.  Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them...

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave