The second of the two early avenues of arrival for settlers into the northeastern area of Sumner County was a collection of pathways referred to as the Fort Blount Road.  Roughly speaking, these rustic roads meandered their way in a generally northeastward direction from Fort Blount in what would eventually become Jackson County to Franklin, Kentucky and beyond.  Arguably, this road split into a number of forks that have since given rise to a number of backroads still in use today in Jackson, Smith, Trousdale, Macon, and Sumner counties, but for purposes of this narrative, the paths will be followed that led to the areas around today’s Westmoreland.  

The namesake of the road, Fort Blount, was situated on the north bank of the Cumberland River in the Smith Bend of Jackson County.  The classic palisade-style fort was constructed in 1794 at a major crossing of the river by settlers.  It remained in existence until 1798.  Today, scant evidence of the fort remains, though archeological excavations have determined the exact location and size of the structure.  

The fort was a wayfare along the Holston Road coming out of East Tennessee.  Upon leaving the fort, travelers took a path that roughly followed today’s Smith Bend Road and other modern avenues to Difficult and then on to Pleasant Shade.  From there, the road seems to have ventured along today’s Toetown and Young Branch Roads to a point near the intersection of the Dixon Creek Road.  At this point, the road split, with the Holston Road turning to the southwest and traveling to Dixon Springs, Hartsville, and on to Bledsoe’s Lick, while the Fort Blount Road would turn northwest and follow the road bearing its name still today to an intersection with the Oglesby Road and then through fields along the Hickerson Branch to Stubblefield Road, followed by just over two miles of off-road fields and hollows to a rendezvous with today’s Highway 141 about ¾ of a mile south of Harris Branch Road. (Intrepid modern-day explorers Doug Drake, Jack Masters, and Bill Puryear, logged many years mapping and exploring these ancient pathways that culminated in their Founding of the Cumberland Settlements, The First Atlas, 1779-1804, an excellent source of information regarding early settlement of the area.  Their research is an invaluable tool in the study of this time period and one source of substantiation for my own research on the topic.) 

At this point, modern-day Browning Branch Road follows the course of the ancient Fort Blount Road to its intersection with the Willard Road at Templow where it, again, apparently split with one branch merging with the Gibson’s Trace, leading southwest through the lands of Jordan Gibson that surrounded today’s Old Hopewell Church, and then on to Bledsoe’s Lick.  The other branch made the sharp turn to the east just before the Willow Grove Church (formed in 1792) and followed today’s Willard Road to Hawkins Branch Road, which followed this branch of the Fort Blount Road to its intersection with Wolf Hill Road, which it followed to the crest of the hill, the highest point in Sumner County, where it immediately descended the hill and followed the course of the Otter Creek, along the path of today’s Wolf Hill Road, past the Bledsoe Spring, to its intersection with Highway 31E.  

Next, the Fort Blount Road made its way northward to the top of the ridge following the “Kentucky Road”, the route of today’s Old Hwy 31E.  Once on the ridge, the route led into what would be Sumner Drive today before turning toward the west on the remnants of today’s Tricia Drive before continuing west along Old Hwy 52, in part, following along the creek bed of Dutch Creek.  (Here, it should be noted that by the mid-1800s, the road that would become Hwy 141 in Trousdale and Macon Counties would be cut which would contribute to the creation of what would become Clyde Wix Road, Bledsoe Street and Tunnel Road in Westmoreland.)  

Just beyond today’s Forrest Chapel Church, Harve Brown Road follows the path of the Fort Blount Road all the way to its intersection with Minor Road and then North Sumner Road to Brackentown.  Along Minor Road, a portion of the old roadbed remains visible as it parallels the modern road.   

Leaving Brackentown, the Fort Blount Road followed today’s Hwy. 259 to Mitchellville and then on to Franklin, Kentucky.   Some of the early deeds in the area include references to this road as either the Fort Blount Road or the Old Franklin Road.  
Follow the links below for more information about Jackson County’s Old Fort Blount and for information about Founding of the Cumberland Settlements: The First Atlas, 1779-1804.

https://talesfromtennesseeandbeyond.blogspot.com/2017/10/fort-blount.html

http://www.cumberlandpioneers.com/volume1a.html