Welcome to Fernvale, the rural home of Bill Lee
FERNVALE, Tenn. — The road is windy and long to reach the patch of Tennessee that the state’s governor-elect calls home.
Bill Lee’s family has lived on the same road for generations out in Fernvale, and the same goes for many of his neighbors.
To find Fernvale, head west on Highway 96 out of Franklin, then south on Old Harding Road. Rush by too fast and drivers can easily miss the green road sign that points the way. The quiet area of Williamson County is 22 miles southwest of Nashville and home to peaceful enclaves and rolling farmland.
Leaning against a wooden fence that enclosed two miniature donkeys in his front yard, Fernvale resident Jerry Miller listened to the insects chirp. Seldom did a car drive by on Old Harding Road.
Miller owns a small 1840s cabin, which tourists can rent for a rural getaway.
“You know, I tell people where I live, and they give me a puzzled look,” he said. “Most people have never even heard of Fernvale. But I know we are happy to call it home.”
HISTORY OF FERNVALE
The Fernvale area started to find its footing in the 1800s, shortly after William-
son County was founded in 1799.
But it wasn’t until 1879 that the area boomed enough to warrant its own post office and postmaster, according to Williamson County historian Rick Warwick.
Warwick wrote “Out There in the First District,”a book about Fernvale’s history.
In the community’s prime, it had a hotel and attracted visitors to its medicinal springs, according to articles from the Nashville Daily American and the Franklin Review Appeal. The Fernvale Hotel opened in 1887, with 100 rooms.
“Business men will come to Fernvale, a most desirable, convenient and pleasant place,” the 1901 hotel brochure stated.
But historical records show the hotel burned down twice, and it permanently closed in 1910.
Warwick said a family later bought the property and transformed it into a dairy farm. A couple of churches and one gas station also took up residence in the community, along with a post office that’s no longer in service.
The church and the structure where the gas station was still remain.
“Mostly after its hotel years, the community has been quiet,” Warwick said. “And quite honestly, it’s stayed quiet ever since.”
WHAT IT’S LIKE NOW
Fernvale is still an unincorporated portion of the county.
Williamson County Mayor Rogers Anderson said he figured that fewer than 1,000 residents lived in the community.
Lee has lived his whole life out in Fernvale, where his family still runs Triple L Ranch and raises beef cattle. His family has owned the hundreds of acres of land since the 1960s. While he still does some farming, Lee has primarily run the family owned Lee Co., a Franklin-based HVAC, plumbing and electrical repair business.
In Fernvale, “for sale” signs on various pieces of land along Old Harding Road indicate the faces of the area could change, according to Schenly Nalls. His family has connections to Fernvale that stretch back to 1836, with property records that show his family owned nearly 400 acres of land.
Nalls still owns a small portion of that land.
On a sunny October day, Nalls and his wife, Marcy, stood on the porch of the old Shell station at the head of Fernvale Road. Paintbrushes in hand, the couple worked on restoring the structure. While the Nalls now live in Colorado, the two regularly return to Williamson County to visit.
“Welcome to the center of town,” he laughed.
Nalls said he remembered multiple summers at the family store, which he’s owned since 1982. As a child and into his adulthood, community members gathered at the store to buy goods and swap stories on the front porch, Nalls said.
“That was Fernvale,” he said. “It was a small community like many others. It might change. It might become a place with new people we don’t know. But I know it’s always going to be a place that — if you’ve lived here — you can’t keep from coming back.”
Contact Emily West at erwest@tennessean.com or 615613-1380 and on Twitter at @emwest22.