The European Tour of Tennessee

I love traveling Europe, but in the interest of my budget, decided on a European staycation! Join me as I visit EVERY town in Tennessee that shares its name with a European city (or country, as we do). Sign up for updates here

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Well, friends and followers, Milan was my final destination on the European Tour of Tennessee. I’m thankful to all of you who journeyed with me - physically or in spirit! It was my goal to complete the tour before turning 30, and it appears I’ve made it just in the nick of time, though a summary post will follow in a few weeks. 

So, for now...

For the full review of Milan, click here. In short: 

Things to do and see: 

Milan has a lot of life, but not a lot of tourism.

Stroll main street (I’d suggest a weekday), catch a movie at the Ritz-3, and learn some music history or find a guitar to buy at Elliott’s Music.

Visit the West Tennessee Agricultural Museum

Go for any number of festivals throughout the year

Eating: 

I went to Hig’s Family Restaurant - a classic, Southern all you can eat buffet

Next time, I want to try out the Chow Wagon and will come with my sweet tooth ready!

Why “Milan”?

The pronunciation (say “My Land” without the “d”) at least gives a tale that perhaps the owner of the land that became the town conversationally named it. Somehow, its eventual spelling lined up with the famous Italian city, giving us insight into mid-19th century regional dialects...

Nearby:

The world’s largest rare porcelain teapot collection (really!!) is in nearby Trenton

The West Tennessee Regional Art Center is in Humboldt and has a painting by my favorite obscure TN artist, Philip Perkins!

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Dresden, TN

For more details, click here. In short, see below:

Things to do and see: 

Study the WPA mural of Tennessee and Weakley county history by Minetta Good inside of the post office. (image above)

Stroll the town square and learn some history at the county courthouse

Visit the public library and Ned Ray McWherter museum inside

Check out homemade food and crafts as the Saturday farmer’s market

Visit in early May for the annual Iris festival

Eating: 

I went to Milan for that, but did pick up some snacks at the farmer’s market! 

Why “Dresden”?

Dresden, actually, was named for the Saxon city in modern-day Germany. It was the birthplace of the father of Mears Warner, one of the original town commissioners. Dresden, TN was established in the late 1820s.  

Nearby: 

Dresden is approximately halfway between Martin, a college town and home of UT Martin, and Paris, Tennessee.

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Normandy, TN

Full review is here, see below for the cliff’s notes:

Things to do and see: 

The George Dickel Distillery, complete with tour, tasting, and a warm fire in the visitor’s center while you wait on a chilly day.

Visit Normandy Lake for fishing, kayaking, boating, camping, etc in the Duck River reservoir

Eating: 

You’re plumb out of luck, but both Manchester and Shelbyville are nearby.

Why Normandy?

Good question! (I only have theories.) Normandy, TN was a railroad town and Normandy, the region in France, is just northwest of Paris. The interesting coincidence of their beaches, the one for it’s DDay landing in WWII and the other for its TVA dam-created lake, both post-date the naming process.

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Bristol, TN (and VA)

Click here for the full post. In short: 

Things to do and see: 

Visit the Birthplace of Country Music Museum

Go to the world’s largest outdoor coliseum: The Bristol Motor Speedway

Check out all of the sculpture around town

Stand in two states at once (multiple times) on the main street, the state line.

Go in late September for the Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion

Much More!

Eating: 

Blackbird Bakery is a must! It is open 24 hours except for Sunday. 

Otherwise, I followed the locals to Quaker Steak and Lube (which also had live music on a Friday) and The Southern Churn, a fudge shop next door with homemade soft-serve. 

There are many more places ranging from divey to fancy that I wasn’t able to try in my short visit!

Why “Bristol”?

Bristol, like Manchester, was named in the hopes that it would one day rival its “parent” English city in manufacturing. Bristol did alright, especially in the hey day of the railroad, but now like many towns in Appalachia is working to foster entrepreneurship. Unlike Bristol, England, there are no ports in this town occupying the corner of Tennessee’s parallelogram. 

Nearby: 

Johnson City, Tennessee! (I hope you sang that). 

Bristol is part of the Tri-Cities region, along with Kingsport and Johnson City, so there is a university (East Tennessee State) and quite a lot of life in the area. It’s also very close to the Shenandoah Valley and the Smoky and Blue Ridge mountains.

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Paris, TN

Click here for the long story. In short, see below!

Things to do and see: 

The World’s Biggest Fish Fry! This annual week-long festival typically takes place at the end of April.

Visit a 60-foot scale replica of the Eiffel Tower 

Enjoy Kentucky Lake, the USA’s largest man-made lake

Walk around the county courthouse and town square

Eating: 

We enjoyed catfish, hush puppies, fries, and slaw in the Fish Fry Tent, and the meal was fantastic! If you go at another time of year, visit the bistro at Paris Winery. 

Paris is quite lively, so do a little internet research and you’ll find something interesting, delicious, and local in addition to several major fast food chains.

Why “Paris”?

Paris, Tennessee was named for France’s capital in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette in 1823. It is one of 15 Parises in the country. 

Nearby: 

Paris is the county seat of Henry County and, from what I can tell, the hub of this region west of the Tennessee river and north of Jackson. We took the scenic route back to Nashville along the Memphis to Bristol Highway (#70, on which I’ve also visited Gallaway and Denmark) and had a lovely stop-off in Waverly.

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Belfast, TN

Back at it! For the full review of Belfast, click here. In brief:

Things to do and see: 

Two sites on the National Register of Historic Places! Walk through the historic J.C. Tate store, seen above. Admire the architecture, the old floors, the cash register from the 1920s, and the incredible original dry goods scales. Today, you can also purchase all of the things you would imagine to be in a rural antique store.

Get a good look at the train depot, which is also on the National Register and looks a bit less haggard than the two store buildings. 

Walk or drive along the historic Fishing Ford Road. Much like Denmark, Belfast is situated on an old Native American trail, which became important to the early settlers of Tennessee, as an already-established thoroughfare. 

There’s a branch of the First National Bank, if that’s helpful.

Eating: You’ll need to go to Lewisburg or Shelbyville. We went with the latter, and I highly recommend Pope’s on the square if you fancy a delicious and authentic meat-n-three. I didn’t save room for dessert, but wish I had! The town will have several other options, too.

Why Belfast? As far as anyone knows, it was indeed named Belfast for the city in Northern Ireland. Nearby Manchester also was named for its British counterpart and this is an area that was heavily settled by Scotch-Irish in the early days.

Nearby: Henry Horton State Park has some great hiking trails and the Jack Daniels and George Dickel distilleries also are not too far away. 

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Woodbury, TN

Read the full review here. See below for highlights!

Things to do and see: 

Visit Short Mountain Distillery - take a tour, each some lunch, and have a tasting of their historic shine and bourbon at the bar

Go antiquing on the historic square! Woodbury is the seat of Cannon County

Visit the Arts Center of Cannon County, where you can enjoy art, craft, and theatre as well as support local artisans and farmers by purchasing crafts, kombucha, and tempeh (yes, you read that correctly).

Visit yellow bird sculpture park (call ahead)

Eating:

There is a cafe at Short Mountain Distillery, which apparently has a fantastic brunch. Other than that, I can’t speak much to this as I just popped into the Dollar General Market for a snack. Woodbury is a thriving small town, though, so you’ll not be at a loss for food!

For More Info: Check out the county website.

Why Woodbury?

There is absolutely no connection to the small English village near Exeter in Devonshire. Woodbury, Tennessee was named for Levi Woodbury, who had connections to two of the presidents hailing from Tennessee. He was appointed by Andrew Jackson as Secretary of the Navy from 1831-1834 and subsequently as Secretary of the Treasury from 1834-1841. He was appointed by James K. Polk as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court from 1845-1851.

Nearby: 

Murfreesboro. And, by extension, Franklin and Nashville.

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Sherwood, TN

For the complete story, click here

In short: 

Things to do and see: 

Visit the Epiphany Mission Episcopal Church and the Our Lady of the Hills Chapel (pictured above)

Check out the Gager Lime Works (from the highway)

Eating: You’ll need to go to Sewanee...

European Connections? 

Unfortunately, I found no references to the infamous Robin Hood or his fellow outlaws, Little John and the Merry Men. Sherwood was named for Charles D. Sherwood, who’d been the lieutenant governor of Minnesota during the Civil War and, in 1878 bought over 1,000 acres of the land that would become this town. 

The town was, however, given a European connection later in its life! Under the United States’ Lend/Lease program, fifty destroyers were transferred to Great Britain. As many as possible were renamed to British cities that had American counterparts. The HMS Sherwood was instrumental in the operation to sink the Bismarck. After the war, a plaque from the ship was presented to Father Jones, who’d been elected by the community as their representative. It is now in the Franklin County Courthouse in Winchester. 

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Rugby, TN

For full commentary, click here.

In short: 

Things to do and see:

Hiking with fantastic views of rock outcroppings and taking a dip in the Gentlemen’s Swimming Hole. 

Tour the historic town. 

Research in the library (see above for a view into this slice of heaven on earth)

Check out the [letterpress] print shop. 

Come for one of Historic Rugby’s many events, like pop-up ghost tours of the cemetery.

Eating: The Harrow Road Cafe serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. If you have dietary restrictions, you might want to bring snacks. The commissary also sells crisps, cruncies, PG tips, and other British favourites.

For More Info: Visit the website for Historic Rugby. It has everything you need to know! You could also read up on this historic and well-documented settlement. 

Why Rugby? This tiny little town has the most explicit connection to its overseas counterpart of any I’ve visited yet and, likely, any to come. It was named for Rugby, England because that was the hometown of the settlement’s backer: the author, politician, and 19th century Renaissance Man, Thomas Hughes. Hughes wanted to establish a utopian community on Christian Socialist principles and chose the Cumberland Plateau of Tennessee. Rugby drew many settlers directly from England but also from other parts of the United States when it was founded in 1880. For a number of reasons, the colony failed, but its ambitious start makes for a fascinating history. And, its strong victorian ties make it a fitting repository for lovely victorian furniture that is, frankly, out of style in the modern era. Historic Rugby touts the union jack and English connections in every way it can. It’s a funny and fascinating little place for how very far out of the way it is (from my perspective). There are people who live here now: Beacon Hill, in the original plan for Rugby but never realized, has been developed in historically appropriate architecture for modern-day dwellings.

Nearby: Allons, Elgin, and Wartburg (in other words: not very much). Livingston and Oak Ridge are going to be the closest big towns.

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This post might best be titled “places you didn’t realize existed.” 

A summary is below, as well as links to the full pages. 

Allons : In Allons we met Mr. Jimmy! He found my desire to know more about this “poke and plumb” town amusing and told me every story he could.

Elgin : Formerly the train depot for Rugby, it is now its own town. There really isn’t much here aside from some strong European connections in the name, which I had great fun pondering.

Wartburg: A county seat with a population of around 1,000 people, but a rich history as a German colony and a very direct connection back to Europe.

Spread out over mountains and many miles, I stopped in all of these places during a trip to Rugby (which will be covered in a future post). I really loved wandering over and around the Cumberland plateau with my mother and, perhaps ignorantly, remarked that “it just doesn’t look like Tennessee,” or at least the Tennessee I know. It looked and felt far more like Appalachia, confirming the truth that this state is three-in-one. I will say that going through very small, often remote communities, speaking with locals in Allons and at the Alpine Volunteer Fire Department’s booth for the 15-mile yard sale, I was struck by the urban/rural divide I read so much about. Those of us in the big city really are in a bubble (as are those in the mountains). I came away from this little trip with a renewed and more comprehensive appreciation for democracy. 

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Winchester was lovely!

Read the long review here. 

In brief: 

Things to do and see: Shop! Many places around the square with antiques and gifts; The architecture on the square, including a great art deco courthouse; The Old Jail Museum; Festivals & events, including the Winchester Wriggle ; Movies at Oldham theater;  Tims Ford blueway ; Hundred Oaks Castle (only if you have a group of at least 20 people. Party bus, anyone?)

Eating: John T’s BBQ was fantastic! It’s smoked in house, and the restaurant has a great ambiance. I also loved the Swiss Pantry in nearby Belvidere, a mennonite bakery and dry goods store. Best donut of my life! I’m sure many other places in town are great, too.

For More Info: Read the historic markers on every building of the darling town square and check out the city website. The Old Jail Museum was also full of local history and tidbits.

Why Winchester? Winchester, TN was not named for the city in southwest England with a beautiful cathedral. It was named for General James Winchester, a Revolutionary War and War of 1812 veteran. 

Nearby: Sewanee, the University of the South; Tullahoma; Manchester; and several distilleries.

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All in a day on Highway, 70!

For the full post on Denmark, TN click here.

Denmark in short: 

Things to do and see: Get a tour of the Denmark Presbyterian Church, first built in 1854! It has a thriving congregation and the Big Black Creek Historical Association has regular events in the town, including ghost stories in the graveyard and  hymn-sings. 

For more information: Talk to Mr. Billy King. But really, you should. This is how you can contact him. 

Why Denmark? Like Moscow, it’s the anglicized version of a Chickasaw word for the name of the place. 

Fun Fact: It’s the oldest town in West Tennessee!

Further thoughts 

I visited Gallaway and Denmark on the same day, driving down I-40 on the way back to Nashville from Memphis. I realized along the way that not only are both towns on Highway 70, the Memphis to Bristol Highway and State Route 1, but actually, I live right off of Highway 70 in Nashville. It was crazy to think that I could have made the entire trip on that road (or that I absolutely would have in the pre-Eisenhower days). 

This journey had me reflecting, too, on the importance of trade routes to human settlement and the economy. In one day I saw Denmark, once thriving because it was at a convenient spot for river transit and a well-worn Native American trade route, then Gallaway, thriving when the railroads were more important, and Nashville, a veritable boom-town these days. It had me wondering about the distribution of our state’s wealth and population 150 years hence... 

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GALLAWAY, TN

For longhand, click here. In short:

Things to do and see - Eat at Slingshot Charlie’s Cafe, a delicious and adorable place where all the locals eat! FYI, the jalepeño cornbread is award-winning.

For more info - Talk to the people who live here! Many will be at Slingshot Charlie’s and have incredible stories to tell.

Why Gallaway? - It’s named for Thomas Gallaway, who was the first resident of the area, moving there in 1850 from NC. The Euro-connection is to Galway, Ireland. I like to think that the town was named before spellings were standardized...

Nearby - Memphis!

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MANCHESTER, TN

The long version is available here! 

In short: 

Things to do and see (other than Bonaroo): 

Old Stone Fort State Archaeological Park is very efficient when it comes to excitement for your exertion. A one-mile trail includes Native American mounds, three waterfalls, the ruins of old mills, and archery or atlatl lessons.

The town square

Foothills Crafts had a lot of variety and community. 

I HIGHLY recommend Bean’s Creek Winery! All of the wines are made from locally-grown grapes (if you’re into that) and I thought they surpassed some of the wineries a bit closer to Nashville. 

Eating: Erm. We didn’t get around that this time, other than a visit to a winery, in case you missed it. There are several restaurants and coffee shops near the town square, though.

For more info: Check out the city website! Surprisingly, everyone we chatted to was a transplant to this town.

Why Manchester? It was in fact named for Manchester, England, reflecting the milling aspirations of the town’s nineteenth century settlers. Read the long post for a few more interesting connections I discovered; unfortunately none of them have to do with soccer.

Nearby: Manchester is only an hour from Nashville! It’s also quite close to picturesque Sewanee and Chattanooga. 

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Up Next: Manchester

Tomorrow, I’m off to Manchester! Similarities I hope to find, include: 

Distinctive Regional Accents. I instinctively read “Manchester” with British flair unique to this city, but hopefully the trip will bring my Southern accent to the fore instead.

A Rich Musical History. Manchester, TN is best known as the home of Bonaroo. Manchester, England has a long musical history of it’s own, though.

First Century AD Settlements. Yes - you read that correctly! Manchester, England was settled by the Romans in 79AD and Manchester, TN was settled by Native Americans between 80 and 550AD. The similarity of name, though, dates only to the nineteenth century and Tennesseans’ hopes that their town would also become a manufacturing powerhouse. 

I know that I haven’t addressed the Brexit, yet. Since it will not be formalized until the autumn, Manchester and my other destinations with UK names are still technically part of Europe. However, the relationship between Britain and the Continent has been a tricky one for centuries...a discussion I’ll leave for another day!

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ARDMORE, TN

For the full review, click here. 

In short:

Things to do and see: Dog Days Flea Market and seasonal events: Doomsday at Dog Days (Fall), the Lions Club Tractor Pull (late June), and the Crape Myrtle Festival.

Eating: K-May Donuts & Thai, Fried Tomato Buffet, and Mildred’s Restaurant (as well as regular fast food stops like Sonic)

For More Info: I got a very quick e-mail reply from the Chamber of Commerce when I had questions about the tractor pull!

Why Ardmore? Besides the fact that the town had been named Austin and the L&N Railroad Depot’s name of Ardmore seemed superior, I have not been able to figure out why this place would be named for the gaelic phrase for “High Place.”

Nearby: Huntsville, Alabama which has NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and a lovely art museum and Athens, Alabama, a cute, historic town and home of the University of North Alabama.

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Next destination!

I anticipate literally no connections to Ardmore, Scotland or the Ardmore distillery (which actually is in Huntly), except perhaps a few people of Scottish descent.