The Location
Short Springs is a 420-acre natural area located in Coffee County approximately three and a half miles northeast of Tullahoma. The natural area provides an excellent contrast between Highland Rim and Central Basin geology and vegetation. Scenic features like Machine Falls drops more than 60 feet and is nearly equal in length across. The Upper and Lower Busby Falls on Bobo Creek are two prominent cascading waterfalls that can be seen from overlooks on the Bobo Creek trail. The steep escarpment with its numerous wet weather seeps are particularly impressive during the moist winter and spring months. Water is a significant feature at Short Springs as it once was the water supply for Tullahoma before construction of Normandy Dam.
The Area
Tullahoma, a city as unique as it’s name, was founded in 1852 as a work camp along the new Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad. Its name is derived from the Choctaw language, and means "red rock." The town became highly significant during the Civil War, and served as the headquarters for the Confederate Army of Tennessee in 1863. The campaign of that year, which ultimately delivered control of Middle Tennessee to the Union and led to the eventual capture of Chattanooga, is known as the Tullahoma Campaign. After the war, Tullahoma recovered slowly, but began to prosper from its vital railroad link. During this period, Tullahoma became renowned for its educational facilities, a rarity in the area at the time. Manufacturing grew up in the area, notably of shoes, clothing, and sporting goods. In the early to mid-20th century, the area benefited from considerable federal investment and development, from the Tennessee Valley Authority to the establishment of Camp Forrest, an infantry training center and later POW camp, and Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC), where the Air Force and NASA did early wind tunnel testing. Later the state located two significant institutions of higher learning there, Motlow State Community College, and the University of Tennessee Space Institute.
The Jack Trail GeoTour
The Jack Trail GeoTour is a series of geocaches along the backroads and small towns of Middle Tennessee. There is no fixed itinerary, like on a traditional trail, but rather a series of points of interest in a self-guided, goal-oriented plan. We have created a special passport, which you can download here, which lets you track your progress as you hunt specially placed geocaches along the tour. This passport will help you collect “code words” to qualify for special geocoins for completion of the GeoTour.
