For many of us, this is a long weekend. With the 4th of July falling on a Tuesday, it is a no-brainer to take Monday off and create a 4-day weekend. But if you aren’t traveling, what will you do with all that time off? We suggest you celebrate National Hop-A-Park Day!

Hop-A-Park Day is Saturday, July 1st, and nestled in the heart of the Berry Farms Town Center lies Hughes Mill Park. Originally established in 2012, Hughes Mill Park is dedicated to the family of Colonel “Buck” Martin and his sister Sally Hughes. After he served under Andrew Jackson in the War of 1812, Colonel Martin returned back to his home in Tennessee, right where Town Center stands today in Berry Farms.

In 1830, he convinced his sister Sally Hughes and her family to move to Berry Farms where they built a beautiful Federal-style brick home; similar to the style and architecture of the homes and buildings being constructed in Berry Farms today. The view from the dining room was said to be “the perfect picture of…serenity and beauty.”

The Hughes family also built a wooden mill at the junction of Five Mile Creek and the Harpeth River, but it burned down during one of the three Civil War combats fought right here at Berry Farms.

So start your long holiday weekend at Hughes Mill Park for National “Hop-a-Park” Day. And make it an annual tradition, because there’s no better way to celebrate America’s birthday weekend than at the park with your family and friends!

 

By Welton Pride, July 1st, 2017