Donelson is a neighborhood of
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
, about 6 mi (10 km) east of downtown Nashville along
U.S. Route 70. It is named in honor of
John Donelson
John Donelson (1718–1785) was an American frontiersman, ironmaster, politician, city planner, and explorer. After founding and operating what became Washington Iron Furnace in Franklin County, Virginia for several years, he moved with his famil ...
, co-founder of Nashville and father-in-law of
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...
, Nashvillian and seventh
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
. Donelson is governed by the
Metropolitan Council of Nashville and Davidson County
The Metropolitan Council (officially the Metropolitan Council of Nashville and Davidson County) is the legislative body of the consolidated city-county government of Nashville, Tennessee and Davidson County.
Membership
The Council has 40 membe ...
, because the government of
Davidson County is
consolidated with that of Nashville.
History
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.
[Allen, Dan S.; ''An Archaeological Survey of the Buchanan's Station Cemetery''; Murfreesboro; Dan S. Allen and Associates; (2013)][''Buchanan’s Station and Cemetery''](_blank)
WebPage; Nashville Historical Newsletter online; retrieved December 2022
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
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, and its location next to Nashville's
airport
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...
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. The Bluefields Historic District was added to the
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
J. Percy Priest Lake is a reservoir in north central part of Tennessee. It is formed by J. Percy Priest Dam, located between miles six and seven of the Stones River. The dam (easily visible from Interstate 40) is located about east of do ...
on the
Stones River in the late 1960s which increased summertime recreational opportunities.
Donelson was the home of the
Opryland USA
Opryland USA (later called Opryland Themepark and colloquially known as Opryland) was a amusement park, theme park in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. The park was located between the Cumberland River and Tennessee State Route 155, Briley Pa ...
theme park
An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...
, which closed in 1997. This property is now the
Opry Mills
Opry Mills is a super-regional shopping mall in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. The mall was owned by the Mills Corporation and Gaylord Entertainment Company until 2007, when the Mills Corporation was acquired by Simon Property Group. It o ...
shopping mall and the
Grand Ole Opry
The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a regular live country music, country-music Radio broadcasting, radio broadcast originating from Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, on WSM (AM), WSM, held between two and five nights per week, depending on the ...
. 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
A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to a ...
.
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.
In recent years, Donelson has shown high demand as a desirable place to live, and is commonly discussed as one of the next Nashville neighborhoods set for explosive growth. A 2016 article on
Realtor.com
Realtor.com is a real estate listings website operated by the News Corp subsidiary Move, Inc. and based in Austin, Texas. It is the second most visited real estate listings website in the United States as of 2021, with over 100 million monthly a ...
cited Donelson as the 15th most desirable zip code in the United States. Donelson is one of about 26 suburban neighborhoods of Nashville.
As with most communities which are not
census-designated place
A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only.
CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...
s, making a realistic estimate of the community's population is very problematic. Donelson is generally considered to be coextensive with the
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...
's
ZIP code 37214, which is the ZIP code for the Nashville
Post Office
A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...
's Donelson Station. According to the
US Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...
2016 estimates the population for the zip code 37214 was 30,230.
The community has a
station
Station may refer to:
Agriculture
* Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production
* Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle
** Cattle statio ...
on the
WeGo Star commuter rail line, which began operation in September 2006.
Image:First Baptist Church Donelson Tennessee 04032012.JPG, First Baptist Church of Donelson
Image:Ellendale's Restaurant Donelson, Tennessee 03052012.JPG, Ellendale's Restaurant in Donelson
Image:Donelson Bowl Neon Sign 01242012.jpg, Donelson Bowl
Geography
Donelson is located adjacent to Nashville International Airport.
Climate
The mean annual temperature at Nashville International Airport is . Monthly averages range from in January to in July, with a
diurnal temperature variation
In meteorology, diurnal temperature variation is the variation between a high air temperature and a low temperature that occurs during the same day.
Temperature lag
Temperature lag, also known as thermal inertia, is an important factor in diur ...
of . Diurnal temperature variation is highest in April and lowest in December, but it is also relatively high in October and relatively low in January. Donelson's climate classifications are
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
''Cfa'' and
Trewartha ''CFak'' thanks to its very hot summers (average over ), mild winters (average over ) and long (8+ months) growing seasons (average over ). Precipitation is abundant year-round without any major difference, but there is still slight variation. The wet season runs from February through July, reaching its zenith in May with 128 mm of rain. The dry season runs from August through January with an October nadir of 85 mm and secondary December peak of 113 mm.
Notes
References
External links
Historic Bluefields
{{authority control
Neighborhoods in Nashville, Tennessee