Germantown, Tennessee is only 15.3 miles southeast of Memphis, and it is worth the short drive to visit the town that calls itself "one of the safest, most beautiful cities in the Mid-South." It is also said to have the lowest crime rate in the state of any city its size. There are interesting places to visit such as Fort Germantown (marking the spot with cannons to commemorate where a fort was built by Union troops during the Civil War), Wolf River Nature Area (with butterfly gardens, plant and animal displays, picnic areas, etc.), a railroad depot and tracks built in 1948 replicating the 1868 original, large horse farms, and more. Annual events include the Charity Horse Show in June and the arts and crafts Germantown Festival in September.The Germantown Performing Arts Center has an intimate hall that easily creates a "circular response" by the audience. Settlers founded Germantown in 1825, which was originally known as Pea Ridge until the name was changed in 1836 to Germantown because of the growing German population. The population escalated from 400 in 1950 to 40,000 in 1999.
