Town of Pittman Center – Spring Branch Walking Trail2910 Spring Branch Rd, Sevierville, TN 37876, USA

Acre: 50

Property Type: Public


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Town of Pittman Center – Spring Branch Walking Trail

In 2008, FLC  worked with the town of Pittman Center, located in Sevier County, to carry out a dream of Emily Brunner. Her vision was to create a nature park for the community. The 31 acres were conveyed to the municipality along with 19 additional acres from the estate of Millie Blaha. These lands now consist of a 50 acre nature park.

Here is an excerpt about the Spring Branch walking trail located on the property. This information is courtesy of the Pittman Center Times – April 2019 Newsletter.

THE SPRING BRANCH WALKING TRAIL

The Spring Branch Walking Trail, located at the end of Spring Branch Road, is a peaceful, interesting destination for a quiet walk, learning about plants, birdwatching and reflection. The property was donated to the town of Pittman Center via Foothills Land Conservancy in 2009 and is open to the public for pedestrian use during daylight hours. The greenway contains an open grassy area along the creek maintained by town staff and a walking trail through a wooded area. The trail currently is a ‘Y’ with upcoming plans to complete a short loop. Interesting features include the remains of two homesites, one with a spring box and chimney pile. Of botanical interest are the large clonal (root-system connected) populations of club moss, specifically southern running-cedar, found on the hilltop along the right (eastern) fork of the trail. There are several different species of this ancient and interesting group of ‘fern allies’ in our part of Tennessee. Spring wildflowers include rue anemone, Carolina vetch, pussytoes, bloodroot and violets. Two very aggressively invasive non-native species cover over an acre near an old homesite: English ivy and wintercreeper (climbing euonymus). Once these groundcovers are removed there will be more native wildflowers to see. The Pittman Center Tree Board plans to coordinate invasive plant removal, marking the boundary and preparing a map and management plan. The University of Tennessee Urban Forestry program is interested in helping with greenway planning as a student project. Volunteers will be welcome as well.