Guide To: Old Hickory, TN
Just outside of Nashville, Old Hickory, TN boasts waterfront property in a growing town. Everywhere you turn, new independent businesses pop up, and homes receive a fresh coat of paint. Old Hickory may still be one of Nashville’s best kept secrets, but the word is getting out.
The north entrance to the city is your first clue that something special awaits. With an Oz-like presence, the Old Hickory bridge over the Cumberland River is a hallmark of home for residents and signpost for visitors that something special awaits. Named in honor of President Andrew Jackson whose nickname was “Old Hickory” after his toughness and determination, the town itself was originally a planned community and company town, settled in 1918 for the large DuPont to provide gunpowder for the war effort. One year later, after the WWI armistice, it changed hands and changed trades, moving into rayon and cellophane production. Today, though the plant only retains a few hundred workers, its mark on homes in the area is felt, as the company built many small bungalows for factory workers that still remain today.
The town of Old Hickory is well-known to newcomers for lake and river access with the Cumberland River to its north and west and Old Hickory Lake to its east. As you get closer to the river, homes get larger, the sidewalks widen, and the trees stretch out even more. In this town, lazy wrap-around porches and colorful shutters make what is already a picturesque lake view into something truly welcoming.
Old Hickory is a place where you envision inviting neighbors for sweet tea, teaching your young children to ride a bike, and supervising them while they climb great trees. It’s almost in Nashville but remote enough to have its own identity and history complete with small town charm and lakefront luxury that is more inclusive than most.
If Old Hickory were a song:
“Sittin’ On The Dock Of The Bay” by Otis Redding