Davy Crockett Birthplace State Park - The Park Today

The Park Today

Visitors to Davy Crockett Birthplace State Park are often surprised to see the birthplace cabin situated on a flat river terrace rather than a "mountaintop," as Crockett's birthplace was described in the 1950s-era song, "The Ballad of Davy Crockett." According to Stonecypher family lore, Samuel Stonecypher, who purchased the land in 1824, dismantled the Crockett cabin and used the logs to build a small house nearby that became known as the Stonecypher cabin. The Stonecyphers claimed that the footstone of the original Crockett cabin, however, remained at that cabin's original site. Sometime in the 1880s, the footstone was adorned with an inscription reading, "On this spot Davy Crockett was born Aug 17 1786." In the 1950s, the Davy Crockett Birthplace Association used the logs from the Stonecypher cabin to build the Crockett cabin replica. The inscribed footstone was placed in front of the cabin replica, where it remains today. Since the Crockett cabin's original design was unknown, the DCBA modeled the cabin after a late-18th century log cabin located elsewhere in Greene County at the time.

In 1967, the Limestone Ruritan Club placed a large, round monument near the replica cabin. The monument wall contains the names of all 50 U.S. states engraved in stone native to each state. Demonstration areas have been set up behind the cabin to emulate Appalachian frontier life. Other exhibits are located in the park's museum.

The park's facilities include 88 campground sites, picnic pavilions, a swimming pool and a public boat launching ramp. Several short hiking trails follow the riverbank and bluffs.