Higgenbotham Turnpike Nominated For National Register

Warren and White Counties’ Higginbotham Turnpike has been nominated for the National Register of Historic Places.

Tennessee Tech History Professor Mike Birdwell said the turnpike was used during the War of 1812, the Mexican War, and the Civil War.

“It was actually a series of roads that William Eric Higginbotham connected,” Birdwell said. “These roads go back centuries. They were used by Native Americans, and when they weren’t using canoes to use the rivers, they built over land trails.”

Higgenbotham began consolidating these Indian roads in 1810 to create one road. Birdwell said Higginbotham set up toll roads to pay for each section of the road they would use.

The road spans from Nashville to Murfreesboro, then to Woodbury to McMinnville where Higginbotham worked. It continued to Beersheba Springs, Tracey City, Jasper, and parts of Alabama and Georgia.

Birdwell said part of the road is a portion of the Trail of Tears.

“Sections of the road are still accessible in Fiery Gizzard and in the Cumberland Mountains, in South Cumberland State Park there are still parts of it that still stand. He is best known for discovering the Cumberland Caverns,” Birdwell said.

Birdwell is a chairman for the National Register. The board will meet virtually May 20 for final approval.