The Bowie sisters were unique in many ways, not the least of which was that all three were medical doctors. Anna, Byrd, and Evangeline grew up in Nashville; Byrd was among the first two women admitted to Vanderbilt University in the 1920s, a time when females didn’t traditionally attend college. The three were pioneers in medicine and education at Vanderbilt, and none ever married.
Perhaps just as interesting: the ladies were early real estate barons, owning large swaths of land across multiple counties, as well as residential lots in Nashville. Evangeline, the youngest, set her sights on Fairview in the 1950s, and began buying every available plot of acreage. Soon she had assembled more than 700 acres near the heart of town.
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What she had purchased was abused farmland, where much of the topsoil had washed away and large gulleys cut through the barren fields. She was told that the only thing that might grow there was loblolly pine trees, and so she procured 500,000 seedlings, paying local children a penny per tree to plant them. But first, she embarked on an extensive hydrological restoration effort, filling in the gullies, sculpting the topography to control the flow of water and creating several lakes to hold it. It’s a successful landscape-scale restoration that impresses ecologists to this day.
But when it came time to harvest the pines for timber and paper pulp, she couldn’t do it. The woods had become her refuge, and the trees her children. In the final stages of her life, she chose to deed the land to the city to be preserved forever and opened to the public as a park.
Today, the Bowie Nature Park is a treasure for locals and visitors alike, with 720+ acres open for a range of uses. Five lakes offer fishing and picnic areas, the 17-mile trail system is open to hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding, and a state-of-the-art treehouse playground is available for kids.
But perhaps most impressive is the immersive programming. From fishing rodeos to movies in the park, arts and crafts fairs and photo contests, something is always happening at Bowie Nature Park. The Nature Center is home to native animal exhibits and home base for programs ranging from aquatic critter study to foraging, meteorology, animal tracking and more. An open-air, covered outdoor classroom seats 100, and hosts weekly programs.
Spring and summer camps are available as well, with June and July sessions held for 6-8 and 9-12 age groups, respectively. With names like Wilderness Wanderers and Eco-Explorers, you can imagine the type of nature-focused fun that a camp day might hold.
New this year in late July is the Star Seekers camp, where local astronomers will have telescopes on hand for kids to explore the night sky. Details on camp registration deadlines and other details are available on the park’s website.
The Bowie sisters were passionate about ecology and education, and wanted to leave a legacy that enhanced both the land itself and the generations who would come to love it. What stands today as Bowie Nature Park is a resource unlike anything else to be found in Middle Tennessee.
Located on the edge of the Nashville basin, the topography is distinctive, as are the ecosystems. Wetlands and grasslands, mature pine ridges and hardwood bottoms, spring-fed creeks and other riparian areas make for a fascinating exploration, with 17 miles of maintained trail running throughout.
Likewise, Williamson County is diverse and unique, and Fairview, on its northwest corner, is no exception. Known for its scenic beauty, quirky shops and local eateries, it’s a 25-minute drive from downtown Franklin that is absolutely worth taking.
