CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – In celebration of National Travel and Tourism Week, Clarksville-Montgomery County and the state of Tennessee honored Jimi Hendrix and Dunbar Cave State Park by installing “Tennessee Music Pathways” markers.

Assistant Commissioner of Marketing Brian Wagner, with the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development, joined local officials and community leaders in the unveiling of the markers on Friday. The marker remembering rock star Jimi Hendrix was unveiled on the Third Street side of Downtown Commons, and the marker for Dunbar Cave was unveiled in front of the visitor center at the park.

Tennessee Music Pathways marker installed at Dunbar Cave State Park in Clarksville on May 6, 2022. (Lee Erwin)
Tennessee Music Pathways marker installed at Dunbar Cave State Park in Clarksville on May 6, 2022. (Lee Erwin)
Tennessee Music Pathways marker at Downtown Commons for Jimi Hendrix in Clarksville on May 6, 2022. (Lee Erwin)
Matt Cunningham, Clarksville Mayor Joe Pitts, State Senator Bill Powers, and Montgomery County Mayor Jim Durrett, at the unveiling of Tennessee Music Pathways marker for Jimi Hendrix at the Downtown Commons in Clarksville on May 6, 2022. (Lee Erwin)
Local and state officials pose with the Tennessee Music Pathways marker for Jimi Hendrix unveiled at the Downtown Commons in Clarksville on May 6, 2022. (Lee Erwin)
Officials pose for the Tennessee Music Pathways marker for Jimi Hendrix unveiled at the Downtown Commons in Clarksville on May 6, 2022. (Lee Erwin)
Joel Wallace and Michelle Dickerson at the unveiling of the Tennessee Music Pathways markerfor Jimi Hendrix installed at the Downtown Commons in Clarksville on May 6, 2022. (Lee Erwin)
Local state officials gather at the unveiling of the Tennessee Music Pathways marker installed at Dunbar Cave State Park in Clarksville on May 6, 2022. (Lee Erwin)
Dunbar Cave Park Ranger David Britton at the unveiling of the Tennessee Music Pathways marker installed at Dunbar Cave State Park in Clarksville on May 6, 2022. (Lee Erwin)
Local and state officials at the Tennessee Music Pathways marker unveiled at Dunbar Cave State Park in Clarksville on May 6, 2022. (Lee Erwin)
Tennessee Music Pathways marker installed at Dunbar Cave State Park in Clarksville on May 6, 2022. (Lee Erwin)

Hendrix, who was from Seattle, got his first guitar at the age of 15 and later  enlisted in the Army, joining the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell in 1961. He played in clubs in and around Clarksville, which included Nashville, where he briefly resided in the early ’60s. Hendrix’s last known trip to Clarksville was in 1963 to Collins Music Store on Commerce Street.

Dunbar Cave and the surrounding area was a popular resort for many years from around 1875 to 1973, when it became a state park. Early in its development, cabins were added and an artificial lake, now Swan Lake, was built and later enlarged. Many popular big bands played at the bandstand at the mouth of the cave starting around 1931. Country music star Roy Acuff purchased the site in 1948 and made many additions to the resort before selling it in 1966, and the state bought the property in 1973.

For more on Dunbar Cave and for cave tour information, visit tnstateparks.com/parks/dunbar-cave.

Launched by the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development in 2018, Tennessee Music Pathways is an online planning guide that connects visitors to the state’s rich musical heritage at tnmusicpathways.com.