Signs of home: Preserving the memory of Between the Rivers

For decades, little has remained to mark the homes and businesses that once stood in the communities of Between the Rivers, the area now known as Land Between the Lakes (LBL). A new project is helping former residents and their descendants preserve those memories by placing signs at the sites where their families once lived.

Faint reminders of once-thriving communities can still be found throughout the peninsula. Mark Turner and Theresa Howell, both descendants of Between the Rivers inhabitants, described how yellow daffodils bloom in late February and early March in places where homes once stood.

“Where there would be March flowers coming up, that would be their driveways,” Howell explained.

The Heritage Signs offer another way to identify those places and preserve their histories for future generations.

Turner, whose family lived in Between the Rivers for about 200 years, displayed four examples of the new Heritage Signs at the Golden Pond Homecoming held in Fenton on Oct. 4.

The square signs feature historical photographs and information about homes, businesses, churches and other landmarks that once stood Between the Rivers.

The idea came about after a family placed a sign at its former homeplace, only to have someone cut it down with a chainsaw.

Turner, a member of the U.S. Forest Service advisory board, said the family contacted him about the sign. He knew that signs were not supposed to be placed in LBL without permission, but he reached out to the Forest Service to see what could be done.

Turner worked with Jim McCoy, the current supervisor of LBL, and Chris Thornock, who heads the heritage group at LBL, to develop the Heritage Signs.

“Jim McCoy is the first one managing over here who has any sympathy for the families,” Turner said. “He understands what they went through and has been very sympathetic and very helpful.”

Turner said that McCoy put the sign back up, then worked with Thornock to come up with a design for signs that could be put up in other places. The men teamed up with the Trigg County Historical Society to have the signs made, and the project kicked off in April.

The signs cost $50 each, including the post and hardware. Families interested in commemorating a former homeplace or other community landmark can contact Turner, who carries forms for the project.

Turner said families provide the wording and photographs they want included on their signs.

“I will design the sign and then send a copy to them so they can review it before it goes to the shop to be made,” Turner said.

Many families want to be present when their signs are installed, so Turner makes sure to let them know when that will happen.

Most of the signs installed so far are on the Kentucky side of LBL, although Turner said he has also placed a few in Stewart County, Tennessee. He plans to install more in the northern portion of LBL.

Howell, who traveled from Alabama to attend the Golden Pond Homecoming, earlier this month, said she plans to purchase signs for her family.

Her mother, the late Patricia Allen Howell, was born and raised in Golden Pond, one of the communities that once existed in Between the Rivers.

Howell brought memories of her mother to the homecoming, where watercolor paintings and drawings Patricia made of her former community were displayed. The artwork depicts homes and businesses that once stood where there is now a four-lane highway or land completely returned to nature.

“Golden Pond was very special to her,” Howell said.

According to Howell, her mother loved sharing stories of her life in Between the Rivers at art shows and festivals. She wanted people to remember the communities that existed before residents were forced to leave.

“She would’ve loved the signs they’re doing now,” Howell said. “We’re trying to get one now for her family's homeplace.”