Fort Dickerson Park

All jokes about its name and any illegal activities that may or may not go on there aside, South Knoxville’s Fort Dickerson Park is a history buff’s haven with a lovely hilltop view of downtown, the Tennessee River, the University of Tennessee campus and the park’s quarry lake.

Named for Capt. Jonathan C. Dickerson who was killed near Cleveland, Tenn., in 1863, the earthen fort was one of 16 constructed by the Union army and used to protect Knoxville during the Civil War. According to historical signs on the property, the fort came under direct attack only once during Confederate Gen. James Longstreet’s campaign to capture Knoxville, repulsed assaults by 5,000 Confederate cavalry in November 1863 and withstood the Siege of Knoxville the same year. Almost 150 years later, it provides an educational experience, walking  trails and a few picnic tables for a nice afternoon lunch.

The park’s quarry lake may see more activity than the trespassing-on-summernights variety if potential plans move forward in the South Waterfront. Senior director David Hill says a schematic design is in fi nal analysis that would propose a staff of professional outfi tters for the quarry to provide scubadiving expeditions, rock climbing and swimming opportunities.

“The idea would be to have some passive use of the property, but also respect the environmental condition and character of those different elevations,” Hill says. The quarry lake proposal is one of about 10 conceptual designs in the South Waterfront development plan. Environmental permits for the projects will be submitted for approval in March, says Hill, and after receiving review comments, the projects with highest priority will move forward in the funding, design and construction processes.

The quarry lake and Fort Dickerson Park could also be included in city plans to maximize and connect other natural resources like the Meads quarry and Ijams Nature Center that surround the riverfront. Hill says several meetings have already been held on the idea, but moving forward would require collaborations among many partners.

“I think because of the uniqueness of having these natural resource outlets so close to a downtown — I can’t think of another city with such close proximity — we’re actually thinking of creating an outdoor fi tness program to connect these by water or by trail so someone could go on lunch and go rowing, take a shower and go back to work, or a family could put a canoe in at Ijams, go to the quarry lake and then pick up a bicycle and ride back to get their car,” Hills says. “There are any number of choices to preserve environmental choices and create a very unique outdoor activity right next to downtown.”