Good times down the Line.

If you start in downtown Grenada, be sure to take a stroll down Line Street where the city almost ended before it was ever begun, thanks to a stubborn streak roughly the width of that same street.  According to local lore, in the 1830s, Line Street was known as Rabbittrack, the neutral zone between the warring cities of Pittsburgh on one side and Tullahoma on the other.  When Pittsburgh was awarded the first post office, the angry citizens of Tullahoma sneaked over in the middle of the night and dragged the building back to their side of Rabbittrack.  In the morning, the outraged citizens of Pittsburgh armed themselves and descended on Tullahoma.  Serious mayhem seemed imminent when a local preacher brokered a symbolic marriage, and the two towns were united as Grenada, which is a Native American word meaning “united” or “married.”

Of course, Grenada’s refusal to give up ground has stood the city in good stead through wars and epidemics and the menace sometimes known as “progress.”  When a developer intent on demolition purchased Grenada’s Masonic Temple, a 1920s neoclassical masterpiece complete with third-floor ballroom, the city stepped in to purchase the majestic structure rather than see it destroyed.

A tour of the city includes a number of other beautifully restored buildings, both public and private, including the First Presbyterian Church, a gothic sanctuary built in 1835 and adorned by 26 stained glass windows.  Each of the stained glass windows at All Saints Episcopal Church tells a story, including one of a child stricken by yellow fever.  During the epidemic, the All Saints congregation was especially hard hit, yet its pastor remained committed to ministering to all, regardless of creed or color.

The Katherine Whitaker Manse is another city highlight, and at the colonial Golladay Home, built in 1850, Jeff Davis once made his headquarters; today, otherwise sane and sensible residents swear that a 1932 unsolved murder in the house has left an otherworldly victim who still haunts the premises, refusing to “give up the ghost.”

There are no ghosts but plenty of memories, civic, military and religious, at the downtown Historical Museum, and an amazing amount of Coca-Cola memorabilia in the Coca-Cola museum located in the same building on the floor above. The Confederate and Yellow Fever graveyards aren’t haunted, either, but walking among the headstones of these historic hallowed grounds can be a haunting, moving experience.

There’s more history out at Grenada Lake, and an opportunity to immerse yourself in some extraordinary natural habitats.