Shacklett, TN - History Contribution Page

Shacklett, TN - History Contribution Page I created this page in May of 2015, originally to be a source for historical information on the Shacklett community alone, hence the name of the page.

However, as I began researching and documenting the history of the Shacklett community, I soon found that it was also necessary to research the history of the surrounding communities in South Cheatham County, including Pegram, Kingston Springs, Dog Creek, The Narrows, Craggie Hope, Bell Town, etc. Please help our effort by contributing to this page by sharing any old photos, stories, genealogy, or

any other history related information you may have. Your help is greatly appreciated, and will benefit the citizens and all other people who's lives are in some way connected to the communities of South Cheatham County.

06/09/2026

"Then (1978) vs now" View from Tip-a-Canoe of across Highway 70...in 1978, The Star Motel...in 2026, Foggy Bottom's canoe and kayak storage space.

"State Highway Department 'Finishes the job' in Cheatham County"Photos of Highway 70 in Cheatham County from an October ...
05/25/2026

"State Highway Department 'Finishes the job' in Cheatham County"

Photos of Highway 70 in Cheatham County from an October 14, 1928 Nashville newspaper.

The first of the two photos below was supposedly taken on the Highway 70 Harpeth River Bridge in Shacklett - at least that is what the caption reads. After glancing at this photo for the first time, I thought the caption must have been made in error, because the photo doesn't look like it was taken where the caption says it was taken...however, after looking at the photo a little closer and zooming in, I do believe this photo was taken on the far west side of the bridge in Shacklett and is looking to the west. One reason I believe this to be true is that the straight stretch of highway that goes off in the distance in the photo looks to be about the right length of Highway 70 between the bridge and the curve where the skating rink used to stand. After zooming in as far as I could, I could see that the road does curve to the left, which also matches Highway 70. It appears that in 1928 there were many more trees on the south side of the highway just west of the bridge than there are today.

I think the building shown on the left side of the photo may be the building that became Taylor's grocery store, though I am not sure of that. If anyone does know what this building might be, please comment. No other buildings can be seen because by this time, only 2 years had passed since the highway had been completed through Shacklett.

I am unsure as to the location of the second or third photos, but according to the title caption for all three photos, they were taken along the highway somewhere in Cheatham County. "State Highway Department 'Finishes the job' in Cheatham County"
What do my fellow Shacklett / Highway 70 neighbors think...do you agree with me on my assessment of the first photo?
From the October 14, 1928 Tennessean.

I got lucky today while metal detecting along Dog Creek behind our property. I found, buried 8 inches down, an antique T...
04/25/2026

I got lucky today while metal detecting along Dog Creek behind our property. I found, buried 8 inches down, an antique Tennessee license plate, likely dating from the 1930's or 1940's. The plate is not in very good condition and is extremely weathered and heavily rusted. The plate number reads "1 D - 8885"
What makes this plate special is that it was part of a series of license plates from that era that were made in the shape of the State of Tennessee. After some Googling and other research, I found out that the first number on the plate, the number 1, was the number used for plates issued in Shelby County. Unfortunately, that is all I have been able to learn about the plate so far. If I come across anything else, I will update this post.

The following article is about the carving of a date – 1767 - and some initials (WS and JB, not mentioned in the article...
04/24/2026

The following article is about the carving of a date – 1767 - and some initials (WS and JB, not mentioned in the article) that were found on a tree on Sullivan’s Ridge on the north side of the Charlotte Pike (now Old Charlotte Pike). The article appeared in the June 5, 1931 edition of The Tennessean.

“When reference was recently made in the What-Not column in The Evening Tennessean to a tree in a tract off Harding road, which bears carving of the date, 1813, W. B. Southgate, Nashville engineer and surveyor, came forward with a story of an even earlier tree carving.

According to Mr. Southgate, the above document (a tracing of the carving) was made in 1880 by his father…from a beech tree on Sullivan’s Ridge. If it were carved at the time the date on the tree indicated, it bears strong evidence that it was done by some white hunter long before the first settlement was made at Nashville.

The writing on the paper follows:
“This tracing is copied from the beech tree on which it was carved by placing this paper on the tree and rubbing the pencil over the letters and figures, making a facsimile of the carving. It was done in the presence of Esq. Sullivan. The tree stood on the north side of the Charlotte Pike on a hill 11 miles from Nashville, sloping southeast near an ancient trail leading up the hill and situated about 200 yards east of Esq. Sullivan’s house. He told me he first saw same in 1847 and it then had the appearance of great age. W. W. Southgate”

W. W. Southgate is now dead but his son, W. B. Southgate, has possessed this document for many years.

W. B. Southgate points out that the earliest settler in Middle Tennessee was believed to have been one “Charleroi”, who roamed, hunted and traded to the west of Nashville near Sullivan’s Ridge.
At the time this was traced from the tree, W. W. Southgate was surveying lands for the well known citizen of those times, Montgomery Bell.”

Note - After researching the history of this area for over 10 years now, I am not aware of there having been any settlers who were living in the area near this carving at such an early date. If true, this carving does indicate that a trail or primitive road leading west out of Nashville existed decades before James Robertson established the Charlotte Turnpike in 1804.

A History of the Lone Oak Methodist Church 1892-1953 by Lottie Mae Sears Ivy.Originally posted by Rick Robnett to this p...
04/24/2026

A History of the Lone Oak Methodist Church 1892-1953 by Lottie Mae Sears Ivy.

Originally posted by Rick Robnett to this page in 2020. This is a repost.

Rick : "I have wanted to share this but have just now gotten it scanned. It was passed down to me from my grandmother Mildred Jackson Owens, a first cousin of Lottie Mae.

There's a lot of names that might interest people from the area. The Lone Oak Church sat on a hill just off Old Cedar Hill Rd, near the Narrows of the Harpeth. Lottie Mae Sears Ivy (1899-1991) was the daughter of Green H. Sears (1872-1951) and Alberta Finch (1873-1929). They lived at the Narrows of the Harpeth. She married William "Bill" H. Ivy (1894-1960). At one time they owned and operated the store in Shacklett near the Highway 70 bridge. The "new" church that the congregation moved to is on Butterworth Rd. It's no longer a Methodist Church."

Kingston Springs Elementary faculty, 1950
04/24/2026

Kingston Springs Elementary faculty, 1950

Kingston Springs Basketball team...if you can help identify any of these students, or know about what year this would ha...
04/24/2026

Kingston Springs Basketball team...if you can help identify any of these students, or know about what year this would have been, please comment below, your help is greatly appreciated.

Edit : I went back and looked at the original post of this photo from 2018, and two people commented identifying some of the boys.

Norman Finch commented "top left - Homer Dotson, top row 4th from left - Joe Macdowell, top right - Walter Robinson, 2nd row second from left - Jerry Mays (maybe?) bottom right - Donald Parrish (maybe?)

Cricket Mays commented “Willie Robinson, Ernie Greer, Jerry Mays is #8, Mr. Hiett, maybe Kenneth Turner on the floor”

Kingston Springs Elementary 5th and 6th grades, circa late 1940's / early 1950's
04/24/2026

Kingston Springs Elementary 5th and 6th grades, circa late 1940's / early 1950's

A picture I found, the sharp curve on Highway 70 between Miller Hill and East Kingston Springs Road, during the ice stor...
02/11/2026

A picture I found, the sharp curve on Highway 70 between Miller Hill and East Kingston Springs Road, during the ice storm that crippled Middle Tennessee for weeks in February 1994.

Address

1270 Highway 70
Kingston Springs, TN
37082

Telephone

(615) 792-3623

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