NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Sometimes history hides in plain sight. Case in point; a home in a Nashville neighborhood that recently went for sale. Very few had any idea the sort of important role it played in Nashville history.
Even with all that's new, there's still a lot that's so familiar about the Edgehill neighborhood for Brenda Morrow.
"We moved to Edgehill in 19...," she paused and laughed as she tried to remember. "It was the 60s!"
A house at 1501 DeFord Bailey Ave. is one of those sights that's so familiar.
"A friend of mine lived in this house," Brenda said.
Historian and documentary filmmaker Mark Schlicher told Brenda a history about this place, reaching back a hundred years.
"In 1925, the parent company that started WSM radio built studios downtown, but they needed a transmitter site off the edge of town," Mark said. "They found a spot in Edgehill. Very shortly after that was the birth of what we know now as the Grand Ole Opry. It beamed out over the airwaves from this little cottage, the transmitter site in Edgehill."
"It's more than interesting, it's amazing!" said Brenda.
"We just keep finding stuff," Mark said.
"Yeah, we keep finding stuff," Brenda agreed.
"And there's so much to find."
"This was the primary transmitter for WSM from its sign on in October 1925 until 1933 when they got a large power upgrade," Mark continued. "They built the tower many people know, it's iconic and historic, down in the Brentwood area. This site [in Edgehill] continued as the backup transmitter site until the 1950s."
Mark said now's the time to get the story out because the site is up for sale.
"This is one of the oldest standing buildings in Edgehill," Mark said.
Today, the house is rented out as a duplex. Mark said the owner did not know the story of the house.
Mark and Brenda have their own ideas of what they'd like to see happen.
"If historians and people who have money could pull their resources and come together, I'm hoping that we save this, that we have it become a historical site," Brenda said.
"What I hope doesn't happen is more gentrification, more tall and skinnies going up," Mark added. "A site like this should be protected and reused in a way that's a public service, a public asset."
"We're trying to preserve the history of this community, and it's so rich," Brenda said.
Details on the sale of the home can be found here.
Do you have a positive, good news story? You can email me at forrest.sanders@newschannel5.com.
Breaking barriers and moving to the beat! One local dance company is making it possible for young people in wheelchairs to move and groove like everyone else. Good for your mental health, good for your physical health and good for your dose of positive news today. I hope you check out what they're doing!
-Rebecca Schleicher
