East Nashville has recently become known as hipster-central, a place where walkability is high and history runs deep, though now crawling with millennials. Is it bad? Probably not. Different? Most definitely. We're going to step away from the locally-sourced vegan restaurants and coffee shops to remember East Nashville the way it was, so very long ago.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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!
