Fountain Head

One of the Gwin sons deserves a longer look. William McKendree Gwin, born near Gallatin, was named for the bishop under whom his father James preached. He trained as a physician at Transylvania University, graduating in 1828, and went west to become a senator from California. When the Civil War began, General Edwin Sumner arranged the arrest of Gwin and other secessionists on their return east, and Abraham Lincoln intervened to have them released. His father was a pioneer Methodist minister who served on the frontier.

What the plaque says

Fountain Head Fountain Head was named for a large spring which emerged 2.4 miles northeast of here near Drake's Creek. Long hunters had explored the area, but James Gwin and family, who came in 1792, were among the first permanent settlers. Gwin fought in the Revolution and later served as a chaplain with Andrew Jackson at New Orleans in the War of 1812. Gwin had several sons who contributed to the growth of Fountain Head and of the nation. His son, Samuel Gwin became the first postmaster of Fountain Head in 1828. Another son, William M., settled in the West and became one of the first U. S. Senators from California. Among other early settlers was William McKendree, who became a bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In Nov. 1812, at the home of Micajah House, he and Bishop Francis Asbury presided over the formation of the Tennessee Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. A school, McKendree Academy, was opened in 1874 and was named for the bishop.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Wynnewood State Historic Site — 15 mi
  A National Historic Landmark log inn at the Bledsoe's Lick springs, beside a Mississippian mound center and tied to the domestic slave trade.
• Andrew Jackson's Hermitage — 24 mi
  Andrew Jackson's cotton plantation east of Nashville, where visitors can walk to the quarters, Alfred's Cabin and the Enslaved Cemetery as well as the mansion.

More markers nearby

• Bishop William McKendree — 0.8 mi
• Richland — 2.2 mi
• Parker's Chapel "Old Taylor Field" — 2.5 mi
• Zollicoffer's Headquarters — 2.8 mi