The June 21 meeting of the Jackson Purchase Historical Society will explore the natural and human history of Reelfoot Lake. Author Jim Johnson will draw upon reflections in his recent book, Reelfoot Lake: Oasis on the Mississippi. The free public event begins at 10:30 on Saturday, June 21, at the Obion County Public Library at 1221 E. Reelfoot Avenue in Union City, Tennessee. The event is co-sponsored by the Obion County Historical Society. This is a change in venue from earlier announcements.
Each year nearly a quarter million visitors come to Reelfoot Lake, also known as “The Earthquake Lake,” to enjoy its natural splendor. With its twenty-five thousand acres of shimmering water, haunting cypress swamps, and two-hundred-year-old lily marshes, the lake is rich in natural beauty and natural history. Yet, despite being one of the most unique lakes in the country—this natural body of water formed during the New Madrid earthquakes in the early nineteenth century—it is relatively understudied.
Biologist and environmentalist Jim W. Johnson grew up on the lake and experienced its natural and cultural history firsthand. As a wildlife biologist, he spent much of his career managing Reelfoot and its surrounding area. Reelfoot Lake: Oasis on the Mississippi is part personal remembrance, part guidebook, and part cautionary tale on river and wetland ecology, conservation, and land management, written by an author intimately knowledgeable about the lake and life on it. The book is available from the University of Tennessee Press.
