Grand Opening Held at Buffalo River Public Access Point

A Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting ceremony was recently held at the Buffalo River Blueway Public Access Point at the Mouth of Grinders Creek. The event celebrated the successful completion of a major economic development project led by Lewis County Government and the Hohenwald/Lewis County Chamber of Commerce. Over $100,000 was invested in this project by the State of Tennessee, which included the purchase and development of 4.5 acres of land, as well as the construction of a new gravel road, parking lot and concrete boat ramp. The state grants that funded this work required no match, therefore no local tax dollars had to be used on this project! The county-owned site provides a great opportunity for Lewis County residents and tourists to enjoy the great outdoors while picnicking with their family, playing with their pets, wading for fish, or swimming with their children. The site can also be used to safely launch kayaks, canoes, tubes and flat-bottom boats into the Buffalo River. This project has been the top priority of the Buffalo River Blueway Committee, which was created by Lewis County Mayor, Jonah Keltner, in the Fall of 2018 to increase the utilization of the Buffalo River for recreational and tourism purposes. The committee currently consists of Mayor Keltner, Lewis County Commissioner Austin Carroll, Professional Consultant Dr. Bridget Jones, Chamber of Commerce Director Debbie Landers, and Lewis County Government’s Chief Operating Officer Houston Hamblin. A host of state agencies have partnered with the committee and have been directly involved in this project, including the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development, as well as the South Central Tennessee Development District. In addition to the County and Chamber, other local agencies making major contributions to the project include the Lewis County Sheriff’s Department, the Lewis County Workhouse, the Lewis County Transfer Station, the Lewis County Maintenance Department, the Lewis County Litter Control Department, Meriwether Lewis Electric Cooperative, and the Hohenwald Walmart. The Grand Opening event also included the official launch of Lewis County’s new tourism brand by Ms. Landers, who was joined by Dominic Gialdini of the South Central Tennessee Tourism Association. According to Ms. Landers, Dr. Jones played a key role in developing Lewis County’s new tourism brand, the logo of which honors Lewis County’s beautiful natural resources, while the phrase, “Chart Your Journey”, pays tribute to Meriwether Lewis’ historic expedition across the United States in the early 1800s. Tourism is Tennessee’s second leading industry and continues to break visitation records and exceed economic impact numbers year after year. According to the Tennessee Department of Tourism, in 2021, Lewis County directly received over $4.5 million in local tax revenue from tourism. With the development of this public access point to the Buffalo River, that number is expected to increase even higher in the future.