May 30, 2024 - Farmington, Missouri to Clarksville, Tennessee

We had a slow start to our day because we really hadn't planned much for the day. Our first scheduled stop was the Bollinger Mill State Historic Site and Buford Covered Bridge but we had to make a quick detour to grab a photo of shoppers at the local Dollar General in Fredericktown!
It was fun to see since we had seen lots of signs to slow for horse and buggies!

After receiving a Spanish land grant, George F. Bollinger led a group of families from North Carolina to this area and in 1800 began construction of a mill and dam on the Whitewater River. It was successful and by the 1820s, a road linked Bollinger Mill with surrounding communities.

The mill and dam, originally constructed from logs, were rebuilt in stone in 1825 and the limestone foundation and dam are still visible today. When he died in 1842, his daughter, Sarah Daugherty and her two sons continued to operate the mill. During the Civil War, Union forces burned the mill to prevent the passing of flour and meal into rebel hands! Only the stone foundation survived. In 1867, after the Civil War, the mill was rebuilt again. It operated until the 1950s and was later donated to the Cape Giradeau Historical Society, then later to the State of Missouri in 1967.
We enjoyed seeing the displays inside the mill of the separators, scourers, roll stands, millstones, bran dusters, conveyors and chutes and learning more about the history of this area.
The Buford Covered bridge adjoining the mill is one of only four covered bridges remaining in Missouri. It is 140 feet long, 14 feet high, and 12 feet wide and was completed in 1868. It was originally a toll road and was made of yellow poplar wood. It has been renovated several times, as flooding and time have damaged the bridge.

From here we headed toward Metropolis, Illinois, home of the world's largest Superman statue. We crossed the Mississippi River along the way and the route soon changed.

We wondered several times what we had gotten ourselves into! Half the time we were in the middle of nowhere and had no cell service so we couldn't tell if there was a better route or not!

FINALLY, we made it to Metropolis!
The bronze Superman statue, located at the center of town, is 15 feet tall and 4000 pounds. There were plenty of tourists visiting while we were there and Tobey wondered if they came from another direction because we didn't see any cars on most of the roads we were on!

There was a HUGE store/museum with more Superman stuff than I have ever even imagined could be available!

It was a fun stop and we spent a while walking around the downtown area.

Back on the road, we made our way to Paducah, Kentucky to see the world's largest sewing needle.

Not nearly as exciting as Superman!

Along the banks of the confluence of the Ohio and Tennessee Rivers is an interesting floodwall mural project. The first twenty-panel section timeline was completed in 2001 and the last painting in the three block section in 2022. The panels depict the history of Paducah and there were interesting information plaques describing each painting.

Paducah Coca Cola Bottling Company was founded in 1903 by Luther F. Carson. The business moved to this building in 1939!

One of the first Boy Scout Troops in the USA was in Paducah. This mural depicts the history of Boy Scout Troop 1 in Kentucky.

We also walked a little while along the river side and enjoyed seeing some of the boats in the water.

We made one last stop in Paducah before heading off - Hancock's of Paducah, one of my favorite fabric shops! It is huge - actually a warehouse that mainly does mail order - and even though I don't need any fabric, I did make a few small purchases. Tobey was a good sport, but thankfully the shop is air conditioned and has WIFI and a bench for non-shoppers to patiently wait for their spouses!

Back in the car, we headed on to Clarksville, Tennessee for the night. I need to do a little research to figure out events for tomorrow, so good night!