It was a historic event on Friday, May 16, 2025, as the Veterans Memorial Park was dedicated in the Fork, the Knox County lands between the French Broad and Holston rivers. However, the act of paying tribute and honor to heroes there actually gave the site its name long ago.

The new park is located on a section of Paint Rock Bluff  across from the East Tennessee Veterans Cemetery along the French Broad River at Governor John Sevier Highway. As mentioned in my March 11 article, the bluff got its name because of pictographs painted on its stone face that were noted by early historian John Haywood (1762-1827) in his book The Civil and Political History of the State of Tennessee from Its Earliest Settlement up to the Year 1796. The Cherokee were known to paint images on stone bluffs, and researcher Fred E. Coy Jr. states in his article included in the book Rock-Art of Eastern North America, some of those images were used to commemorate the heroic actions of a particular person or group. So, it’s fitting that quarry owner Bluewater Industries, now Martin Marietta, donated the nine acres to Legacy Parks to honor today’s military service men and women.

The idea for a park on the bluff was actually suggested in the late 1930s, as recorded in the book Scenic Resources of the Tennessee Valley, produced by the Tennessee Valley Authority. At that time, 100 acres on the bluff were identified as a potential recreational area, because it reveals “good views up and down the river, as well as a glimpse of the Great Smoky Mountains.” Of course, those were the days of ferries for river crossing, and the Dr. John H. Gammon bridge didn’t exist then to obstruct part of the river view.

The grading for the park was accomplished by Senior Director Jim Snowden’s group of skilled professionals from Knox County Engineering and Public Works. The park offers a pavilion, restrooms and picnic tables and will eventually include trails. A walkway marker was revealed to honor Cpt. Robert “Buzz” Buswell, the recipient of several service medals, including the Purple Heart and Bronze Star, and who is the director of veterans and senior services for Knox County. His impressive work on behalf of veterans is ongoing.

While the U.S. flag was hoisted by ROTC members near the facility entrance, flags of each branch of the service grace the view toward the cemetery, raised for the occasion by the East Tennessee Veterans Honor Guard. A marker created by Brimer Monument and donated by the Bud Bacon Chapter of the East Tennessee Flying Cross Society was dedicated by retired Lt. Col. Grover Wilson, and the Blue Star Marker was dedicated by garden club representatives Denise Thorne and Lelia Johnson, along with Janie Bitner, chair of District IV Blue and Gold Star Memorial Markers.

The momentous occasion was attended by dignitaries and representatives of various government, military, and civic agencies, several of whom were introduced by Carol Evans, executive director of Legacy Parks, who gave opening and closing remarks. Local bagpiper and Fork native Kelly Shipe began the ceremony with her moving rendition of Shall We Gather at the River and closed appropriately with Amazing Grace. A military helicopter buzzed along the river at the ceremony’s conclusion, as attendees waved in acknowledgment.

The Native Americans who first used stone bluffs to honor their heroes had the right idea. How wonderful to live here, where heroes are not forgotten in the Fork!

Jan Loveday Dickens is an educator, historian and author of Forgotten in the Fork, a book about the Knox County lands between the French Broad and Holston Rivers, obtainable by emailing ForgottenInTheFork@gmail.com.

Follow KnoxTNToday on Facebook and Instagram.   Get all KnoxTNToday articles in one place with our Free Newsletter.

.