Standing Stone State Park and Dale Hollow Lake

The beauty of Standing Stone State Park in the autumn - License our images here.

Standing Stone State Park is close to Dale Hollow Lake, a gigantic reservoir created in 1943 through the damming of the Obey River. This is hilly terrain covered by some of the largest sections of contiguous forests in the east of the United States. 

The park's name comes from a rock, a big stone that marked the boundaries of the territory of two Indian tribes. Don't look for it because Standing Stone is no more. Someone moved it to a nearby town and was destroyed. 

The campground was nice. It was almost for us alone - only two other campers. Squirrels and deer made us company. 

The empty campground of Standing Stone State Park. 

Downhill the campground, the Mill Creek dam creates a small lake. The dam wall serves as bridge to access the south part of the state park.

The lake, the dam, and the narrow bridge. It's a one lane bridge not suitable for big RVs. 

A trail by the dam crosses Mill Creek through a suspended walking bridge. A while later, there is the house of Moses Fisk on the side of the road. 

Moses Fisk founded the village of Hilham in 1797, when this region was the geographic center of the United States - the country ended on the eastern banks of the Mississippi River. More about Fisk in this link. 

Moses Fisk's house, the hiking bridge, and the road down to the lake.           

There is not much to see in Hilham. It’s a small rural area with some farms bordered by a state forest. But yes, the nature is beautiful. 

Celina, a quiet town on the banks of the Cumberland River, is close to the state park. A local told us that a century ago no roads reached the town and all the supplies had to come through the river. The old courthouse is nice. A two-story building made of red bricks built in 1873. 

North of Celina - crossing the Obey River - there was Free Hill. This was an African American settlement, and the tale says that the daughter of a slave owner from North Carolina freed her slaves and bought land for them in this spot. This happened before the Civil War and her name was Virginia Hill - therefore, Free Hill. 

The Cumberland River and hills near the city of Celina, Tennessee. 

Dale Hollow Lake is the biggest attraction of the area, especially if you like fishing because it has a world record catch. 

The big lake goes north in a big arch that reaches Kentucky. It was made by damming the Obey River in 1943. Villages and farms disappeared in the flooded valleys and one of them was Dale Hollow. Some folks dive in the lake to visit the underwater ruins - check this YouTube video.

Change of seasons seen from the dam of Dale Hollow Lake.