Mark Twain Spring

Jamestown was once called Sand Springs, because several fine springs bubbled up from its sandy soil, and this is the only one that remains. The town was established in 1828 and named for James Fentress, the Speaker of the Tennessee House who helped pass the bill creating the county in 1823. John M. Clemens, who lived by the spring, worked as an attorney, circuit court clerk and county commissioner. A city park now carries the family's name, though Fentress County was only one stop for them.

What the plaque says

Mark Twain Spring This historical landmark of Fentress County was named for Samuel Langhorne Clemens, know worldwide as Mark Twain. It was the source of water for early settlers of Jamestown, including Clemens' parents who settled on adjoining property to the north, where they lived from 1827-1832. In the spring of 1835 they left for Missouri, where Clemens was born that November.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Sgt. Alvin C. York State Historic Park — 8.0 mi
  The Wolf River valley farm, gristmill and grave of Alvin York, the conscientious objector turned Medal of Honor soldier, now a National Historic Landmark district.
• Pickett CCC Memorial State Park — 11 mi
  A Civilian Conservation Corps park of sandstone buildings, natural bridges and rock shelters beside the Big South Fork, and an International Dark Sky Park.
• Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area at Bandy Creek — 14 mi
  The Tennessee gateway to a 125,000-acre Cumberland Plateau river gorge, from the Bandy Creek Visitor Center near Oneida, with Twin Arches and the old No Business country.
• Cordell Hull Birthplace and Museum State Park — 17 mi
  A replica of the log cabin where the secretary of state and Nobel laureate was born in 1871, with a museum of his belongings, in Pickett County's hills.

More markers nearby

• Alvin C. York — 1.2 mi
• Wolf River Cemetery — 8.2 mi
• Rugby — 14 mi
• "Tennessee Lead" — 15 mi