Shiloh National Military Park provides big return to Hardin County

A soggy morning did not keep these visitors away from visiting Shiloh National Park.

After they’re done exploring the park, many will venture out to visit other parts of Hardin County for food or a place to sleep.

Selah coffee, on main street Savannah is one of those places.

“We see visitors fairly often actually, throughout the week. On the weekends we see a lot as well" says Owner Amber Carroll

Selah isn’t the only one who is benefiting from visitors.

According to a study done by the National Park Service, in 2018 Shiloh visitors generated roughly 22 million for the economy in the area.

Shiloh is one of the biggest attractions the savannah chamber of commerce markets and the visitor impact is a huge reason why according to Hardin County Tourism director Beth Pippin.

“we want them to come shopping, we want them to come dining, we want them to come stay. A lot of those visitors who do visit shiloh do come to stay, they do spend the night and are putting money into our community and that’s what it’s all about."

The park had a total of over 370 thousand visitors last year, the fourth most out of all tennessee state parks according to Shiloh Superintendent Dale Wilkerson

Superintendent Wilkerson has an idea about why so many people hang around hardin county after coming here to visit Shiloh.

“You can’t get here by just turning off by turning of an interstate. You have to want to come here, so the fact that we get so many visitors, they are purposeful visits. Those aren’t just people stopping by.”

National parks in tennessee generated over one billion dollars for the state according to the same study