Bledsoe's Lick Archaeological Project
Castalian Springs, Sumner County, Tennessee
A Cooperative Project of the Bledsoe's Lick Historical Association, Sumner County, and Middle Tennessee State University
Project Director: Kevin E. Smith, Middle Tennessee State University
The Bledsoe's Lick Archaeological Project was established in 1994 as a long-term cooperative archaeological research project jointly sponsored by the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Middle Tennessee State University and the Bledsoe's Lick Historical Association.
The primary objectives of the project are to identify, investigate, and preserve important historical and archaeological sites in and around Bledsoe's Lick, a mineral springs and salt lick that has provided a central point on the Tennessee landscape for thousands of years. The following links provide information on the region, results of archaeological and historical investigations to date.
Summer archaeological field school projects were conducted in 1995 (Bledsoe's Spring and Lick Bottom); 1996, 1997, 1998, and 2001 (Bledsoe's "Fort" or station); and 2000 (Wynnewood Slave Cabins). Future projects are planned in coming years.
Prehistory and History of Bledsoe's Lick
The mineral springs emerging at Bledsoe's Lick made it a significant central plance
on the Middle Tennessee landscape for the last 20,000 years.
Education and Training
To date, the BLAP has involved over one hundred university students and three hundred
volunteers during seven seasons of archaeological research at the Cave of the Skulls,
Bledsoe's Lick bottom, Bledsoe's Fort, and the Wynnewood Slave quarters.
Archaeology at Bledsoe's Station, 1996-2001
Fort Reconstruction Project (2002-2003)
Links to the Frontier
Links to other web pages of interest
Funded in part by:
Department of Sociology and Anthropology at MTSU
Bledsoe's Lick Historical Association
