Warren County
Cardwell Mountain
Project Partners
The Conservation Fund, The Nature Conservancy in Tennessee, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation
Perched atop the rolling valleys of Warren County, Tennessee, Cardwell Mountain is one of the most important intact portions of the Cumberland Plateau. In March 2021, TennGreen Land Conservancy, The Conservation Fund, and The Nature Conservancy in Tennessee joined together to acquire 534 acres that would become Cardwell Mountain State Archaeological Park. This represented the first joint acquisition of the three nonprofits and built a framework for continued collaborative conservation efforts across Tennessee.
Initially, Cardwell Mountain was listed for sale to the public and placed at significant risk. TennGreen Land Conservancy, The Nature Conservancy in Tennessee, and The Conservation Fund quickly acquired the property and held it until the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation was ready for transfer. The land was officially dedicated as Cardwell Mountain State Archaeological Park in May 2026, marking pivotal historic, cultural, and natural conservation for the region.
Prior to European colonization of North America, this region of Tennessee was home to Indigenous peoples who lived, built, cultivated, hunted, and moved through the landscape for millennia. Archaeological research has identified a complex cultural landscape with evidence of Archaic, Woodland, and Mississippian period occupations—spanning thousands of years of human activity.
The most prominent landmark protected by the park is an earthen monument constructed approximately 1,000 years ago.
The area around Cardwell Mountain was also part of major travel routes used by Indigenous American groups and later by European settlers. During The Trail of Tears, the mountain and its surroundings witnessed the forced removal of Cherokee families, leaving a somber chapter in American history etched into the soil and memory of the land.
In the centuries after, Cardwell Mountain was tilled, farmed, and homesteaded by Euro-Americans, carrying the site’s legacy into modern times. With archaeological evidence of these eras preserved, the new state park marks the creation of a premier educational destination for the historic and cultural heritage of the region.
Archaeological sites like those at Cardwell Mountain are irreplaceable windows into the human past. Once disturbed, developed, or destroyed, the stories they hold are lost forever. Preservation successes such as Cardwell Mountain State Archaeological Park must remain scientific and cultural priorities in kind.
We are proud to have played a key role, in partnership with The Nature Conservancy in Tennessee, The Conservation Fund, and the State of Tennessee to protect Cardwell Mountain. By safeguarding these irreplaceable cultural and historical resources, we are helping ensure that all the layered stories, history, and meanings that define our region are preserved and accessible in perpetuity.
Christie Henderson, Deputy Director, TennGreen Land Conservancy
