Donelson, Tennessee
Donelson, Tennessee
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2016522

Donelson, Tennessee

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2016522

Donelson, Tennessee

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Donelson, Tennessee

Donelson is a neighborhood of Nashville, Tennessee, about 6 mi (10 km) east of downtown Nashville along U.S. Route 70. It is named in honor of John Donelson, co-founder of Nashville and father-in-law of Andrew Jackson, Nashvillian and seventh President of the United States. Donelson is governed by the Metropolitan Council of Nashville and Davidson County, because the government of Davidson County is consolidated with that of Nashville.

Donelson encompasses the site of historic Buchanan's Station where settlers in the early Nashville settlements held off a major incursion into the area by a united Native American force comprising Lower Cherokee and Creek Indians hoping to destroy Nashville and drive the American frontiersman back across the Appalachian Mountains. The vastly outnumbered defenders held out, eventually driving the attackers away. Today, the only extant remains of the compound is the Buchanan cemetery on the northwest corner of Elm Hill Pike and Massman Drive.

Donelson was originally called "Spring Place" with the name not only referring to the former spring where Old Lebanon Road meets Lebanon Pike. But also the many mineral springs in the area. The spring was utilized as a stopping point for travelers to or from Nashville on what is today Lebanon Pike.

In the 1880s Donelson was a station on the Tennessee and Pacific Railroad just south of the former village of McWhirtersville on the Lebanon Pike. It began its modern development shortly after World War II, and its location next to Nashville's airport led to much of its later growth. It was also the site of an early example of what would later be called a shopping center or "strip mall", Donelson Plaza.

Donelson's oldest neighborhood is Bluefields. The development of the Bluefields subdivision began in 1929 by the Bransford Realty Company of Nashville, Tennessee. Home construction began in the early 1930s, with fifty to sixty homes built by the Bransford Realty Company by the end of 1938. The final phase of building, Bluefield Square, was developed in the 1970s on the property once occupied by the Swiss Farm Dairy within Bluefields proper.[citation needed] The Bluefields Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places listings in Davidson County, Tennessee on March 22, 2016.

Donelson is now an example of an early postwar suburb with a stock of mostly half-century-old, red brick, detached ranch-style homes. However, there has been some tendency for infill in recent years, largely tied into the expansion of sewers. The area's desirability was increased somewhat by the impoundment of Percy Priest Lake on the Stones River in the late 1960s which increased summertime recreational opportunities.

Donelson was the home of the Opryland USA theme park, which closed in 1997. This property is now the Opry Mills shopping mall and the Grand Ole Opry. It is usually considered as something of a unit along with the adjacent neighborhood of Hermitage just across the Stones River along U.S. 70; the two communities share a Chamber of Commerce.

Donelson is home to hundreds of small and medium-sized local businesses. Hip Donelson, a tax exempt 501(c)3 created to promote and develop the local community, lists over 100 Donelson, Tennessee businesses that operate in the neighborhood. Donelson is also home to the national headquarters of HarperCollins Christian Publishers, a new branch of Nashville State University, and over 40 hotels and motels that cater to tourists and business travelers using BNA International Airport.

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