Buffalo Valley  

 Sundial: 1013
State/Province:  Tennessee Country:  USA
Dial Type:  Horizontal Dial Condition:  Excellent
  Latitude and Longitude: 36° 08.394′ N  85° 48.309' W
Location:
  • I-40 Welcome Center Smith County, I-40 about 1 mile west of Buffalo Valley, Mile Marker 267, 38548 Tennessee. The Rest Area is on the North side of the Interstate. West bound traffic has simple off-ramp access. East bound traffic must exit and then circle around and go over the Interstate to the Welcome Center. The big horizontal sundial is a little SE of the parking area, on a slope.
 
Description:
  • This monumental size sundial is called "Marking Time: and spreads over an area 100 x 50 feet (30 x 15 m). The gnomon is a 12 foot (3.6 m) tall welded stainless steel structure. The last several feet of the gnomon is a thin metal bar ending in a sharp point. Multiple time markers are arranged in hour lines from 6am to 6pm. These marks have the names of all 95 Tennessee counties and the noon line has only one county, Davidson, in tribute to the state capital in Nashville, Davidson Co. The large concrete base of the gnomon has fossil type imprints on the surface.

    Doug Mason of Knox News stated "It was a 121-mile commute for Farabow to supervise the installation of his art. He received a $73,000 commission from the state. Anything left over after grading the land, pouring the concrete slab the piece sits on, and other labor and construction costs was the artist's fee."
 
General Information:Inscription:
  • Owner: State of Tennessee
  • Marking Time; Preston Farabow, artist; 2007; A public art project created in partnership with First Lady Adrea Conte; Tennessee Arts Commission; Tennessee Department of Transportation; Tennessee Department of Tourist Development.
  • Designer: Preston Farabow
  • Builder: Ironwood Studios
  • Construction Date: Dedicated May 24, 2007
 
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Last Revised: 2021-07-19 02:13:06