First National Bank at dusk - Dickson, TN

Grand Old Hatchery neon sign - Dickson, TN

Where Opry stars are born, I suppose. Dickson, TN

Dickson, TN Train Station at dusk

This train station was originally built by L&N and along tracks belonging now to CSX. Across the street is the historic railroad hotel, Hotel Halbrook which is now operated as the Frank Clement museum.

Hotel Halbrook Museum at Dusk - Dickson, TN

Once known as Edwards Hotel, this building was built in 1912 and now on the National Register of Historic Places. Once common, it is rare these days to find a small town railroad hotel, as this one is located across the street from the Dickson Depot.

The hotel has another local interest claim to fame as in 1920 it was the birthplace of Frank Clement who went on to become the Governor of Tennessee and father of Congressman Bob Clement. At the time of his birth, the Hotel was operated by his parents. The street in Dickson has been renamed to Frank G. Clement Place.

In 2009, the Hotel opened as the Clement Railroad Hotel Museum featuring exhibits on railroads, the Clement family and local history.
www.clementrailroadmuseum.org/

Greetings from Dickson, TN Mural

seen along (OLD) US70 when entering the old business district from the east side. Inside the D is a steam locomotive to focus on the town's railroad heritage. I am not certain about the significance of the military in the IC or the church in the K. The S is the Renaissance Center. O is a golf course. N is the county courthouse in Charlotte.

On Memorial Day, Remembering Those Who Gave All

If you live near Murfreesboro, I recommend you check out the Flags of Remembrance. The grassy lawn on Medical Center Parkway next to The Avenue has been transformed into an awe-inspiring field of over 1500 United States Flags in honor of those Americans who serve and sacrifice.

Many cities and counties build memorials to remember the local people who died for our country and our freedom. Here is a sampling of some of those memorials.



First is the Stewarts County Veterans Memorial in Dover, TN, and the Sullivan County Memorial in Blountville, TN



Here is the Dickson County War Memorial behind the War Memorial building in Dickson, and the Hickman County Memorial in Centerville



Here we have the Simpson County Memorial in Franklin, Ky and the Bradley County memorial in Cleveland, TN



Finally, we have a couple of memorials to a couple of specific soldiers. On the left is a memorial to PFC Jerry Wayne Gentry in Cartersville, GA whose actions saved the lives of four other soldiers. On the right is a memorial to Medal of Honor winner Sgt. Francos Green in Erin, TN.

Old Texaco Ad barn

This is quiate an old, faded advertisement mounted on a barn near Dickson, TN. This as was meant to reach westbound travelers on Interstate 40 before exit 172. Alas, this is quite a busy area today and the Texaco appears to be no more.

If you can't read it, it has the Texaco logo at top. the next line, which has been partially covered up to keep the tractors from being exposed to the elements has GROC NEXT EXIT BEER

As I was driving down I-40, I wondered if I saw this the way I thought I did out of the corner of my eye, and I spent the next 30 minutes hunting down this barn.

Ragan's Friendly Neighbor Store - Dickson, TN

a.k.a. Ragan's Arcade
Was a movie theater in the 50's, I think it was called the Dickson Theater.

I was hoping to buy some friendly neighbors, but all they had for sale was furniture. They did have some neat old pictures of town all over the walls.

Today, you can't even tell this Main St. location was a movie theater, except by the outer appearance. The best I could tell, the interior had been completely gutted several decades ago. Today, there are a few smaller stores visited via a central walkway (Hence the Arcade.)

Hotel Halbrook

Claim to fame: 1920 Birthplace of Frank Clement, former Governor of Tennessee and father of Bob Clement who has long been an important Democrat in middle Tennessee. At the time of his birth, the Hotel was operated by his parents. The street it is on in Dickson, TN has been renamed to Frank G. Clement Place.

The hotel was built in 1912 and is one of the few remaining rural railroad hotels. The building is currently being converted to a railroad & Local History Museum.

At one time, was known as Edwards Hotel. On the National register of Historic Places.

Faded U.S. 70 Mural - Dickson

While not as historically significant as the "National Road" (US 40) or "Lincoln Highway" (US 30), U.S. 70 was one of the prominent east-west highways across America, and was known as Broadway of America. In the heart of Dickson, TN, this is all that remains of a mural that depicts the route of Broadway of America through Tennessee, however with East and West switched.

Towns identified along the mural are Bristol, Kingsport, Rogersville, Rutledge, Knoxville, Kingston, Rockwood, Crossville, Sparta, McMinnville, Woodbury, Murfreesboro, Nashville, White Bluff, Burns, Dickson, Tenn City, McEwen, Waverly, Camden, Bruceton, Huntington, Jackson, Brownsville and Memphis. For those of you that are interested in such things, the route shows here follows what is now US 70S instead of US70 from Nashville to Sparta, which is an older configuration. Before it was part of Broadway of America, this route was originally known as the Memphis-to-Bristol Highway or State Route 1. East of Knoxville, US 70 splits off from this route as it heads toward Ashville, NC

I'd love to find more information about this, or see an old picture of it in it's glory days.