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John Oden during taped a interview for the Brentwood History series. The DVD thatof interview is available at the Brentwood Library.

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HE T shared with me many of the topics that are covered in the book as well as some personal his- personal some as well as book thein covered are that topics the many of me with shared family. Oden the toryabout the onup first shows family Oden the In 1815, Thomp- Countyin Williamson in tax records Brent- to migrated family The Station. son’s tract large a bought and later years few a wood farm Oden The acres. 404 containing landof ex- Carondelet now is what of all encompassed small The Road. Franklin to over west tending on entrance Carondelet theat cemetery family today. family theto deeded Pikeremains Wilson grand- great author’s the Sr., Oden, H. Thomas the of trustees five original the ofone was father, first The Church. Methodist United Brentwood was called, was it as Academy”, “Brentwood H. and Thomas property church the on located Frier- on sat Church Methodist timethe thatAt school. that of president the was Oden,Sr. The Bugle The Society Historic Brentwood the of publication a Bugle, The book about a Oden John with talk to down sat I when recently quote that of reminded was I Brent- in raised and born was Oden Mr. Brentwood. about writing of process thein is he He years. early Brentwood’s of knowledge with intimate an armed is such as and wood

The Bugle Brentwood Historic Society Post Office Box 788 Brentwood, Tennessee 37024-0788 Page 2 The Bugle Volume 12, Issue 2 Page 7 son Street where the Towne Centre Theatre speculators created housing developments classmates, friends, and family. On July 24, sits today. and began selling lots. Both of these Mr. McLean and a Historic Commission speculators began lobbying the railroad to representative placed a historic marker at the Dr. Solomon Fletcher Oden, son of Thomas put a train depot in their development. site. Between planning, organizing, and exe- H. Oden, Sr, was born in Brentwood in 1848. The first development named Brentwood cution, over 220 hours were devoted to Mr. Dr. Oden practiced medicine in Brentwood was created in 1855 and consisted of a little for well over 50 more than 30 lots. McLean’s Eagle Scout Project and it gar- years retiring around It was located just nered accolades from the Brentwood His- 1920. John Oden’s north of Old Hick- toric Commission and the Brentwood City father, Marion, was ory Boulevard Commission where he presented his com- a pharmacist and near where Target pleted project at the June 6th meeting. sits today. The went into business with Albert Noble, second develop- Even though this project has successfully A group of tired but proud volunteers take a break for also a pharmacist, in ment named Vil- lages of Brent- come to a close, Mr. McLean plans to con- a photo. Schultz McLean is in the back row as de- 1929 opening a phar- noted by the arrow. macy at the corner wood was created tinue his preservation efforts of this historic of Franklin Road in 1856 and con- site. He hopes to work with professional ar- and Old Hickory sisted of 81 lots. chaeologists in the future to hopefully locate Boulevard where Two early photos of Noble’s Pharmacy. Below, Albert This second devel- all of the gravesites that have been lost to the Noble (left) and Marion Oden inside the pharmacy. Walgreens sits to- opment encom- shadows of time. day. passed the area between Old Hickory Boule- To join the Brentwood Historic Society or renew your membership, please complete the following: Mr. Oden’s book starts around 1850 vard to the North, Hardscuffle/ Membership Levels-tax deductible when Brentwood as ___Individual $ 15 we know it today Church Street to ___Family 25 began to take shape. the South, Frank- ___Contributing 50 ___Corporate/Benefactor 100+ What could be con- lin Road to the West, and to an sidered downtown ______Brentwood prior to area just east of the interstate to- Name Address/Zip Code that time was off Old Smyrna Road day. Mr. Oden ______near where the Cottonport home still stands has identified the location of a majority of Phone Email Address today. Around 1850 the railroad came to these lots and has also drawn from mem- Brentwood and the town center shifted and ory a very detailed map of the stores and Detach this form and send, along with your check payable to: grew. residences in this downtown area in the time between 1936 and 1950 which will be Brentwood Historic Society; Attention: Linda Lynch; City of Brentwood, P.O. Box 788; Brentwood, TN

included in his book. 37024-0788 Seeing that the railroad was going to be com- For more information: www.brentwood-tn.org/aboutus/history or Linda Lynch, City of Brentwood, 371-0060 ing through Brentwood, two competing The railroad located the depot in the area The Brentwood Historic Society is a citizen organization supporting the Brentwood Historic Commission, the Boiling Spring Academy School Program, and dedicated to the study and preservation of Brentwood’s history and culture. Page 6 The Bugle Volume 12, Issue 2 Page 3 had deposited their webs of forgetfulness effort among himself, other scouts, and of the second development (Villages of Brentwood Country Club. As Brentwood upon it. The Beech Creek Baptist Church members of the Beech Creek Missionary Brentwood) and the rest, as they say, is his- grew around the railroad, the post office burned in the 1950’s and the new church Baptist Church. Several members of the tory. The first depot in Brentwood was ac- took on the name of this new town and its was relocated to the Bordeaux area in youth group of the church turned out to help tually a railroad boxcar on the side of the first postmaster, George W. Simpson, was North Nashville. clean the cemetery and most of those volun- road. The first free stand- named in September of ing depot building was 1856. At that time, the teers had never seen the site before and were built in 1860 near Church building was located near Remnants of the foundation of the church excited to recapture a long lost piece of their Street. This building also the corner of Wilson Pike and outhouse are still located in the under- own history. contained a post office and Old Smyrna Road. brush closer to the and a grocery store at one Over time, the post office road. I have it on Mr. McLean and his point. As Brentwood con- moved closer to the town good authority that team cleared and tinued to grow, a new de- center and was located in the foundation made mulched a 150 yard pot was built in 1890 to several places including a great fort for area hiking trail to the replace the one built in the first railroad depot 1860. Mr. Oden’s book building off Church Street. kids to play in years cemetery location. A shows a rare photograph In the 1930’s, the post of- ago. It is amazing in large area of the ceme- of both of these depot fice moved into a building all the tromping tery was cleaned al- buildings alongside the with a grocery owned by through the woods though only five grave railroad tracks in Brent- Albert Noble. The gro- that these young ex- markers were located. wood. One of the depot cery store only stayed in plorers did that they It is estimated there buildings was still stand- business for a few years never noticed the are approximately 50- ing when Mr. Oden was a and when the grocery cemetery hidden 80 gravesites in the young boy though it was store closed, the post of- amongst the trees and overgrowth. cemetery. At the end of the project’s com- no longer in use as a de- fice moved to the phar- pot. He remembers play- The first post office to bear the Brentwood macy. Mr. Oden’s father, pletion, more than one ton of mulch had name still stands near the intersection of ing in the building as a Marion Oden, was a post- been laid along the newly established path. Wilson Pike and Old Smyrna Road. Oral history says that Ophelia McClanahan boy. Prior to 1912 the master at this location. donated the property in the 1890’s. The This was no simple feat given that the resto- railroad through Brentwood was at ground The building that housed the grocery store church was established and built in 1906 ration took place shortly after the floods, level. Between 1912 and 1914 the railroad and post office was moved back from with rocks located on Ms. McClanahan’s mandating the need for logistical changes in cut was made placing the tracks 50 feet or Franklin Road and converted into a home property. Ms. McClanahan also donated the staging area. Using Scales Elementary more below street level through downtown for Albert Noble and his family. The build- the logs used to build the Johnson’s Chapel School as the new staging area for the supply Brentwood. The depots became obsolete at ing still stands today and houses the offices United Methodist Church. As no early re- drop off, Mr. McLean continued the success- that point and the buildings took on other of Enterprise Rent-A-Car. cords of the church remain, it is thought ful execution of the project. The crew that uses over the years. that the core members of this new church weekend consisted of over 50 people, includ- In 1936, John Oden worked as a “soda were primarily former slaves from the area. ing Boy Scouts from Troop 1 and other Another chapter in the book focuses on the jerk” at Noble’s Pharmacy. He remembers development of the post office in Brent- being at work on July 11, 1936 and smelling troops in the area, Girl Scouts, Brentwood Historic Society members, Beech Creek Mis- wood. The first official post office was smoke. He walked out the front door of the Mr. McLean took the initiative to contact called Good Springs Post Office and was building and watched as the Brentwood sionary Baptist Church Youth Group, BHS the church and organize a joint cleaning located on the property of the present day United Methodist Church burned to the Page 4 The Bugle Volume 12, Issue 2 Page 5 ground. Mr. Oden has photos of the build- From 1900 to 1950, the population in Brent- of Franklin Road. The most upscale of One was located near where Target sits to- ing shell after the fire and photos of the wood was declining but things were by no these clubs was The Palms. It straddled day on Old Hickory Boulevard on the newly built church after the incident. means slow. In 1947, Noble’s Restaurant the Davidson/Williamson county line Davidson County side of the line and was a where the Exxon station and Corky’s Bar- known hangout of political personalities of was added to the existing pharmacy build- B-Q are located today. This location the day and had the proverbial game room Yet another chapter discusses the Interur- ing. For the next 40 years it would remain served its customers well. During Prohi- hidden in the back. There was also a night- ban Railroad that operated between Frank- the social center of town. In 1954, the No- bition, nightclubs were prone to raids by club on Wilson Pike Circle called the Tum- lin and Nashville. It was along the same ble family built the Traveler’s Rest Inn adja- law enforcement. The Palms had a door- ble Down Shack that was frequented by concept as light rail today taking passen- cent to the restaurant on the South side. man who also served as the club’s look- many in the Hardscuffle community. gers from the suburbs to downtown Nash- Many of the city’s most recognizable busi- out. When authorities from Davidson ville making several stops a day in Brent- ness landmarks sprang up during this time County came to raid the club, the door- wood. The Interurban began operating in as well. Leed’s Store which was more of a A section of Mr. Oden’s book will also look man would inform everyone and they 1908 and ceased operations in December general store was built in 1931 on the corner into the lives of many of the people that lived would move to the Williamson County of 1940. In the following years, the tracks of Church Street and Wilson Pike. In 1949, in Brentwood in the early years. The stories, side of the club and vice versa when the were removed and the steel was used in the Huff’s Grocery was built near the same in- photographs, and historical content of this Williamson County authorities showed war effort. Remnants of the Interurban tersection. The Pewitt Brothers opened book make it a must read for anyone inter- up. This club was so popular during its still exist today. Portions of a bridge still their original garage in 1938. Gooch’s Tele- ested in the history of our city. day that Dinah Shore performed at the remain intact on the Legend’s golf course. vision came to Brentwood in 1953. Though club when she was a student at Vanderbilt One of the train stops, a simple stone struc- Beverly Gooch was in the television busi- This book is not yet published but hopefully University. A few yards South of the ture covering a bench, still stands in the ness, his father, Johnny Gooch, shared the will be available in the next 12-18 months. Palms on the same side of the street sat Meadowlake subdivision today. One of shop and built handmade furniture. Johnny The Stork Club, another upscale night- The Bugle will inform its readers when the the powerhouse substations for the Interur- Gooch was a major league club. There were, of course, less upscale book becomes available for purchase. ban was located on the corner of Old Hick- for the Pittsburg Pirates, venues available in the Brentwood area. ory Boulevard where the Shell Station is and among others. While located today. with the Pirates, he played in two , winning in 1925 and losing to the Local Scout Clears the Path of History New York Yankees in 1927. He opened his woodworking By: Preston Bain shop in 1953 after retiring sion, he was presented with an opportunity from a successful Robert “Schultz” McLean, a local high manufacturing business he school student and Boy Scout, recently that intrigued him—the Beech Creek Ceme- had created in Nashville. undertook an historical project for his Ea- tery. The Historic Commission has been gle Scout award. The Eagle Scout is the working on a multi-year project to identify Probably the most intriguing highest rank attainable in the Boy Scout and restore all of the cemeteries located in part of the book was the focus program. One of the requirements to earn Brentwood. The location of the Beech Creek on Brentwood nightlife from this prestigious honor is a service project Cemetery had been previously identified but the 1920’s through the 1940’s. that the scout plans, organizes, leads, and it was in a state of disrepair. During that time period, sev- manages. After searching for potential A photo of one of the railcars from the Nashville-Franklin Interurban eral nightclubs lined portions Railway from the Bill Volkmer Collection project ideas and having discussions with The cemetery had most likely not been vis- several members of the Historic Commis- ited regularly in several decades as the years