Goodlettsville

Captain William Bowen brought his family to what is now Sumner County in 1784. He first built a double log cabin on the bank of Mansker’s Creek before erecting a brick home in 1787. Now within the present limits of Goodlettsville, the Bowen-Campbell House is the oldest brick house in Middle Tennessee. In 1995 archaeologists uncovered the original brick kiln, also the oldest in the region, fifty feet east of the house. The bricks on the original hall-parlor portion of the house were laid in Flemish bond. Family records indicate brick and stone masons, as well as window glass, were imported from Lexington, Kentucky. The Bowen-Campbell House Association, in conjunction with the Tennessee Historical Commission, restored the house in 1976. Archaeological recovery and rebuilding of the plantation’s outbuildings and appurtenances are presently in progress. Archaeologists discovered the family cemetery in 1995 and restored it in 1996. Captain Bowen was a veteran of Lord Dunmore’s War, the French and Indian War, and the American Revolution. His grandson, Brigadier General William Bowen Campbell, born in the house, served in the Seminole, Mexican, and Civil Wars. Campbell served one gubernatorial term, 1851-53 and three terms as a U.S. congressman, 1837-43. He was also president of the Bank of Middle Tennessee. Bowen’s daughter, Celia, married Barton W. Stone, cofounder of The Disciples of Christ church. Bowen’s son, John, served one term in the U.S. Congress, 1813-15.

705 Caldwell Drive, Goodlettsville, TN, 37072

(615) 859-3678

Mansker’s Station is an authentic reproduction of Kasper Mansker’s original frontier fort. In fact, it is one of the most accurate representations of a frontier fort in North America. On the west side of Mansker’s Creek, Kasper and his Immortal Seventy built their first defensive station. The inhabitants left during the winter of 1780–1781 because of increasing attacks from Creek and Chickamauga Indians. That 1779 station stood only for one year before being abandoned and burned to the ground. Yet, in 1783, Kasper Mansker returned and built a second station on the east bank of Mansker’s Creek, roughly one mile from Mansker’s 1779 Station. Almost two hundred years later, local historians, craftsmen, and community members petitioned Goodlettsville to build a replica of Mansker’s Station in Moss Wright Park. Goodlettsville opened Mansker’s Station in 1988. Research historians and reenactors even used eighteenth-century tools to build Mansker’s Station. Paid admission includes a guided tour with entry to both the Bowen House and Mansker's Station.

705 Caldwell Drive, Goodlettsville, Tennessee, 37072

(615) 859-3678