Wednesday, June 3, 2009

La Grange TN

Another minor area to visit is La Grange, Tennessee. During the war La Grange and nearby Grand Junction were relatively important cities in the area. There were many more people living there during the war than there are now. One marker in town says 3000 lived in LaGrange in 1862. Grand Junction was important because two rail lines crossed there. The two towns are only 2 or 3 miles apart.

There is not much to see there now. La Grange is tiny. I'm guessing its 4-5 blocks long and 2-3 blocks wide. I was there early in the morning and there was one business that looked like it was part general store and part museum, but it was not open that early in the morning. All I could see was a few state historical markers.



Woodlawn house was far enough off the road and surrounded by enough trees to prevent a good picture to be taken. Maybe its since been trimmed back a bit so a better view is possible.

I don't think I'd plan to visit LaGrange-Grand Junction again unless I knew it was an easy side trip, or if I was going to follow Grierson's Raid (which sounds like a great trip).

3 comments:

JimR247 said...

I HAVE NEVER MADE A COMMENT BEFORE BUT I WAS RAISED IN LA GRANGE FROM 1947 TIL I GRADUTATED FROM HIGH SCHOOL IN GRAND JUNCTION IN 1955...I HAVE BEEN IN EVERY HOME IN LA GRANGE AND USE TO PLAY AND EXPLORE THE HOME 1 1/2 MILES EAST OF LA GRANGE... I REMEMBER THERE STILL BEING STAINS ON THE FLOORS AND STAIRS GOING UP STAIRS.... I WAS TOLD BY THE " OLD TIMERS " THAT IT WAS BLOOD FROM THE SOLDERS....
I HAVE PICTUES OF SEVERAL OF THE OLD HOMES ... I EVER FOUND PARTS OF RIFLES AND A SWORD OVER BYE THE RAIL TRACKS ABOUT 3 BLOCKS FROM DOWNTOWN LAGRANDS...THE HOUSE ACCROSE THE ST. FROM US HAD A ROUND OFFICE LIKE ROOM ON TOP OF THE HOUSE AND WAS USED AS A OFFICE FOR GENERAL GRANT AT ONE TIME.....
MY E MAIL IS " JimR247@aol.com " if anayone would like to e mail me..... i'm 75 this next sunday so hurry....I may not be around much longer....lol..J/K

Pat said...

Thanks for this information. Like you, my husband and I are Civil War buffs who believe in walking battlefields. We especially enjoy going to the less well-known places. We will be at Shiloh and Corinth soon and will plan to visit La Grange as well. Like you, I blog about the war, focusing more on human interest stories in the hope of enticing people who view history as boring to become fellow Civil War Nuts.
Pat Granstra
patgranstra@gmail.com
www.civilwarprimer.com

Charis said...

Awesome!