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Sites in Need of Protection

State Route 840, Williamson County, Tennessee

See latest update at bottom of page.

The Issue

The Harpeth and Little Harpeth Rivers run through Williamson County, Tennessee. The Mounds of the Southeast web site states, "It has been said that there is a mound or burial along every inch of these rivers. Wiliamson County is the fastest growing and wealthiest county in Tennessee."

(See also Hermitage Springs Burial Site, Old Hickory, Tennessee.)

Online Sources for Reading:

Read about 840 at this Mounds of the Southeast page on the threat of State Route 840 to the Harpeth River Burial Mounds in Williamson County.

The Alliance For Native American Indian Rights Defense Fund gives a chronology of events concerning the Kellytown Site at this page.

Action:

The Alliance for Native American Indian Rights Defense Fund requests that a donation be made toward court costs.

Contact:

Email links at web site pages.

Update: The Mounds of the Southeast page on State Route 840 gives a latest development as 12/13/98, The Tennessean Recently unearthed prehistoric sites A 3,000-year-old Native American Indian skeleton discovered during a road widening project on Concord Road. Four early Indian settlements found to be in the path of the planned construction of State Route 840. Sixty-eight ancient Indian burials from the construction of the Brentwood library. The periphery of a 15-acre Indian village (Fewke's) from around 1000 A.D. determined during excavation in advance of road widening on Moore's Lane. Indian graves, estimated to be 800 years old, uncovered by developers of the proposed River Landing subdivision in Grassland.

Update: 2001 26 January State plans to appeal ruling to halt 840 work at Tennessean.com, an article by Edward Terry. The southern loop of State Route 840 will not complete its 77-mile journey across Middle Tennessee anytime soon. Williamson County Chancellor Russ Heldman ordered yesterday that work on 16.6 miles of SR-840 in Williamson County be halted until the Tennessee Department of Transportation performs an in-depth environmental study, comes to an agreement with the Williamson County Commission about right-of-way acquisition, and follows a 1986 act of the state legislature that the road’s foes say required 840 be built as an interstate. See linked page for remainder of article.

Update: 2001 8 February. As to current status, TN AIM writes, "The outcome of the Kellytown lawsuit - Road widening in Wm county- has effectively halted all removals. Short of this is no info is now coming on private developements as they know they can't proceed until that lawsuit is decided. So we are sure sites are being destroyed just not reported." TN AIM also writes: "A judge in WM County halted that part of the construction (840) due to environmental concerns. TDOT is expected to appeal the decision."

Update: 2002 April 22 Court action is not over in ancient graves case

Update: 2002 May 3 Native Americans, TDOT to be back in court May 9

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