Belfast, TN
Back at it! For the full review of Belfast, click here. In brief:
Things to do and see:
Two sites on the National Register of Historic Places! Walk through the historic J.C. Tate store, seen above. Admire the architecture, the old floors, the cash register from the 1920s, and the incredible original dry goods scales. Today, you can also purchase all of the things you would imagine to be in a rural antique store.
Get a good look at the train depot, which is also on the National Register and looks a bit less haggard than the two store buildings.
Walk or drive along the historic Fishing Ford Road. Much like Denmark, Belfast is situated on an old Native American trail, which became important to the early settlers of Tennessee, as an already-established thoroughfare.
There’s a branch of the First National Bank, if that’s helpful.
Eating: You’ll need to go to Lewisburg or Shelbyville. We went with the latter, and I highly recommend Pope’s on the square if you fancy a delicious and authentic meat-n-three. I didn’t save room for dessert, but wish I had! The town will have several other options, too.
Why Belfast? As far as anyone knows, it was indeed named Belfast for the city in Northern Ireland. Nearby Manchester also was named for its British counterpart and this is an area that was heavily settled by Scotch-Irish in the early days.
Nearby: Henry Horton State Park has some great hiking trails and the Jack Daniels and George Dickel distilleries also are not too far away.
