When Putnam County officials conducted a survey on what to call the memorial site for victims of the March 2020 tornadoes, the name was nearly unanimous.
“Hope Park was by far the No. 1 choice by everyone,” Mayor Randy Porter tells WPLN. “It would always make them remember that, no matter how bad it got, there was always hope that things were going to get better in the future.”
In Putnam County alone, the storm killed 19 people and destroyed hundreds of properties, making it among the most catastrophic natural disasters in Tennessee history.
McBroom Chapel Road, where the memorial site was built, was one of the hardest hit parts of town. The mayor says it was intentional to convert the disaster-torn area into a community space for generations to enjoy.
Hope Park, which opened Sunday, includes a playground, pavilion, and lots of green space. Despite being a memorial site, Porter says, it won’t include explicit references to the tornadoes. The only two markers will be the park’s name and 19 dogwood trees planted — one for each victim.
Porter says community members asked that the park would focus less on the tragedy and instead show the resilience and compassion of the community in the months that followed.
“They didn’t want something that was going to remind them of the loss of life. They wanted something that would be a peaceful place for them to go. That’s the reason we decided to do two locations,” Porter says.
The second tribute park, which might include a plaque about the tornadoes, is still under construction.
On Air - 90.3 WPLN-FM