It can be a little hard to find photographs of Nashville during a certain time period, but the Metro Historic Records has a neat collection of photos that highlights a bit of Nashville during the 1970s. How crazy is that?! Quite a few of these spots still exist today, having herded thousands of young folks onto beautiful futures. How many have you seen...? Did you graduate from any of these Music City schools, or your kids? How many times have you been to the arcade recently...?
10. It's so neat to see such a wild blast from the past.
A school based in North Nashville, the American flag flies high and proud.
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9. Recognize this school?
It's Martin Luther King, Jr. High School, originally built to house Pearl High School.
8. We love this vintage shot of the Belmont Mansion.
Nowadays, it's swarming with kids as Belmont University continues to boom.
7. A cascade of water at Montgomery Bell State Park.
A minute from Nashville, but not too far. It's a solid day trip for us!
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6. It wouldn't be the south without a bit of Sunday horseback riding.
Don't you think?
5. We bet you've grabbed lunch here sometime during a hectic work week.
It's the Nashville Arcade, located downtown.
4. Marathon Motors doesn't look too different...
Except it definitely wasn't a high end event venue back then.
3. A gorgeous shot of Fisk University.
Still looks pretty similar, don't you think?
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2. A moment at the Grand Ole Opry House.
We're looking at the Ryman, but also those outfits! Such a blast from the past.
1. An awesome aerial shot of Nashville, circa 1970.
It's almost shocking how much we've built up in so little time. The skyline looks eons different now!
We're pretty sure this is one of the coolest sets of school photos we've ever seen. Hey there, old Nashville! Still pretty as ever.
The city of Nashville really is an incredible historical facet of the nation to study. It's not only a city that was founded on Christmas Eve (what a celebratory city!), the home of one of the oldest capitol buildings in the United States, and one of the fastest growing towns out there nowadays, but it's a city that's proud of where it came from and where it is going. Check out these fifteen old photos of Nashville that were taken throughout the 20th century and get to know the city as it once was.
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1. It's not hard to figure out whether or not Tennessee is a hunting town or not...
Folks have been indulging in the sport for ages! Can you imagine going along on the Hillsboro Hounds Fox Hunt? This event took place in 1936. This photo really gives a sense of what was Nashville like in the 1900s.
2. Do you recognize Lower Broad?
This photo is from the 1960s, a bit closer to the millennium, but we can't get over how much the area has changed.
3. It's weird, isn't it, to see the capitol building standing all alone on Capitol Hill.
It's now surrounded by office buildings and skyscrapers, though this shot was taken during the capitol building renovation in the mid 1950s. Don't you just love looking at historic photos of Nashville? I know I sure do!
4. Just a quiet, normal, everyday experience in Nashville.
This undated photo gives us a solid blast from the past, especially with the old cars and outdated streetlights.
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5. The War Memorial building, circa 1960.
Now you'll find festivals and community events held in the War Memorial Plaza, a far cry from the parking lot it once was.
6. An aerial photo of the city always exemplifies the growth of a town.
This photo was taken in 1935, a gorgeous overhead shot of the city we know and love so well.
7. Wait a second...
...this isn't quite a photograph, but it is fascinating to look at a city map drawn out in 1888.
8. The Parthenon was built for the city's centennial celebration in 1879, and it's remained a magnificent part of the city ever since. It's one of the oldest places in Nashville.
Centennial Park has always been expansive and gorgeous, even all the way back in 1935.
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9. Check out the Davidson County courthouse back in 1920.
What a beautiful place to report for jury duty.
10. Check out this aerial view of East Nashville, just above Main Street and Woodland Street.
Who would've thought that this side of the city would be overrun by hipsters in just a few short years?
11. The west side of Capitol Hill looked a lot different back in the mid-century.
It's incredible to see just out the city has built itself up in the last seventy years.
12. The Shelby Street Bridge was just as gorgeous and beautiful back in 1908, wasn't it?
A stunning monument in the heart of downtown, most folks cross it for work every day, from the east side of the city to downtown.
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13. Can you tell what part of town this 1963 photograph covers...?
It's Green Hills! Sans the ridiculous traffic at all hours of the day, of course.
14. This photo is of the old City Hospital, taken in 1894.
They just don't make hospitals like this anymore, do they?
15. This photo was taken looking north over the Shelby Avenue Bridge.
It's undated, but we do appreciate the spare skyline at the edge of the Cumberland River.
Take a look at this video of the old days of Nashville by @wnpt:
What do you think of these old photos of Nashville? Do you remember how the city looked in the 1900s? How much has it changed? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
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You can explore the city the way it exists nowadays with a visit to this classic diner -- it's the perfect way to experience the heart of a town. Through its food!
Have you ever heard of the town of Old Jefferson, Tennessee? It's long been a mystery in the Nashville area, one of many wacky stories from Nashville history. There are rumors that there's a town under Percy Priest Lake... who knew there was an underwater town near Nashville?! But what's true, and what's wildly false? It's a terrifying story because this is the tale of a ream of human mistakes that allegedly led to a town under Percy Priest Lake. Someone made a bad call, and it literally tore a town out of history.
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Old Jefferson was the first county seat of Rutherford County from 1803 to 1811, when the county seat was moved to Murfreesboro.
The town was located in Rutherford County, right at a bend of Stones River. Main Street ran from the wharves at the water's edge all the way to the county courthouse.
Old Jefferson is actually situated right on the Trail of Tears, the infamous route west that nearly 60,000 Native Americans took when they were forcibly removed from their homelands.
The historic Liberty Hill House, also called the Johns-King House, in Smyrna, Tennessee, is not far from where Old Jefferson once stood.
It was in the mid-1900s that the Stewart's Family Reservoir, now known as Percy Priest Lake, was approved. In 1963, construction began on this man-made body of water.
It took about 4.5 years to build the dam. The residents of Old Jefferson were told that their town would be underwater by the town the reservoir was finished.
All of the land was bought, and the houses burned to the ground. An entire town was gone, just like that. Percy Priest Lake was supposed to swallow up the town of Old Jefferson.
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As the lake was being filled, the workers realized that the water was actually draining not into the town of Old Jefferson, but into undiscovered caves. This area is known known as Long Hunter State Park.
The borders of the lake did not extend quite as far south as it was thought that they would. Old Jefferson was actually not within the lake's range, and would have been spared by the lake. Sadly, it instead fell victim to the fire and was demolished in preparation for the flooding.
What a tragic end for a once thriving city.
Next time you hear someone ask "what's under Percy Priest Lake?" you'll know that there's not actually an underwater town near Nashville! The area where Old Jefferson once stood is not far from Smyrna. Had you ever heard about a town under Percy Priest Lake? Share your thoughts in the comments!