Port Royal was the site of one of the earliest colonial communities in middle Tennessee, being first settled in the early 1780s.

With Port Royal being such an important place of travel, transportation themes play heavily into the parks and communities history.

Existing within the park are the remains of several old roadbeds, with one dating back to prehistoric times and one a certified Trail of Tears site.

Oral tradition suggests that the stone in the remaining piers originally came from the Port Royal Mills and dam which dates back to circa 1800.

The 1859 Masonic Lodge and General Store stands as the only structure of the former town and overlooks the archaeological townsite, where foundation stones from the buildings that used to line the main street of Port Royal can still be seen.