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Martha's Quarry, Lebanon, Tennessee
Depths to: 60 feet (18 m) Visibility: 30-40 feet (9-12 m) Water temperature: up to 88 degrees Fahrenheit (31 degrees Celsius) Marine life: Bluegill, sauger, spotted or "Kentucky" bass, and catfish Fees: $15 per diver per day On-site amenities: Dive center, air fills, training platforms, concessions, changing areas. More info: Call (615) 860-0000 or visit www.marthasquarry.com Open: 9 a.m. Saturday to 6 p.m. Sunday from the first weekend of April to about the last weekend of September, depending on the weather, and New Year's Day. Open other times by appointment. C-cards required. Getting there: Take Interstate 40 east (toward Knoxville) to Exit 232. Go north (toward Gallatin) on Highway 109. After crossing railroad tracks (about 3.5 miles), turn left onto Quarry Loop. Then take the first left, at a white fence, onto Quarry Road. Turn right at gravel drive with a steel, red and white gate, (just before railroad tracks).
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Fred
Massie has operated Martha's Quarry as a dive site for 12 years, trying his
best to preserve the water and surrounding area as a haven for wildlife. No
electricity is available at the site and the rock surface isn't suitable for
tents with pegs. But primitive is how Massie likes it. Still, Martha's
Quarry offers a dive site that is open weekends and by appointment. A
frequent visitor is the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency which trains
employees and conducts experiments at the site. Night-dive tournaments are a
new attraction this year and divers will find the remnants of a
once-thriving quarry, including a four-story rock crusher house and a
three-story "shaker" house. In 55 feet of water sits a coach bus,
and in other parts of the quarry are two pumphouses, a bluegill garden and a
pickup truck.
