Marty Robbins Recording Studio - Hendersonville, TN

In the early 1980's it looked like Hendersonville was going to become a prime country music tourist destination. Johnny Cash set up the House of Cash on a highway named after him. Conway Twitty built his mansion and tourist destination Twitty City. Across the street, several smaller venues opened up and collectively they became known as Music Village USA. After Twitty's death, his entire property went for sale and was purchased by the Trinity Broadcasting Network which opened Trinity Music City. The smaller attractions weren't going to thrive on their own and were also purchased by Trinity.

One of these operations was this building which was a recording studio and museum opened by Marty Robbins. Robbins dies in 1982 which is right around the time it would have opened. Once owned by Trinity Music City, they have kept it as a recording studio.

Inside the Conway Twitty Mansion - his desk

Country Music legend Conway Twitty had his mansion built in Hendersonville, TN in the early 1980s. At the time, he had a museum and gift shop also open on the property, an entertainment complex known as Twitty City. Fans were welcomed to walk around the gardens in front of his house. Twitty City remained open until his death in 1993.

The property was purchased by the religious television station Trinity Broadcasting Network to create Trinity Music City. Trinity still allows visitors to walk around the gardens and offers free tours of the mansion. My guide said they get a good mix of Conway's fans and TBN fans. Most of Twitty's belongings were auctioned off, so only one of his items, a desk, remains inside the mansion. Many of the remaining interior rooms are used for TV show filming. Around Christmas, they string up an impressive display of holiday lights.

Twitty Bird made of bricks

The Twitty Bird was the mascot of legendary country musician Conway Twitty. It is a cowboy hat wearing obvious knock-off of the Looney Tunes Tweety Bird.

At Twitty City, viewable from the Gardens in front of the mansion is this Twitty Bird built into the bricks of the gift shop. Twitty City was purchased by Trinity Broadcasting Network and is now Trinity Music City. They have preserved several of these Conway Twitty items around the property.

Ferlin Husky's former museum, now WPGD - Hendersonville, TN

In the early 1980's it looked like Hendersonville was going to become a prime country music tourist destination. Johnny Cash set up the House of Cash on a highway named after him. Conway Twitty built his mansion and tourist destination Twitty City. Across the street, several smaller venues opened up and collectively they became known as Music Village USA. After Twitty's death, his entire property went for sale and was purchased by the Trinity Broadcasting Network which opened Trinity Music City. The smaller attractions weren't going to thrive on their own and were also purchased by Trinity.

This interesting building with Octagonal front room was originally built to be a museum for Ferlin Husky. Today, TBN uses this for their local broadcast television station WPGD, channel 50. Inside, there is a television studio for recording religious programming and occasional local interest shows.

Post Card Tuesday: Johnny Cash's One Piece at a Time Cadillac

One od Johnny Cash's most iconic songs was "One piece at a time." It's the story of an automobile assembly line worker who would take smuggle home one piece of a car every day until he was able to put together an entire car. Until his death, Cash had a museum in Hendersonville along Johnny Cash Highway (US31E). The building which used to be the museum is still there today, although today it is a real estate agency. See it on Google Street View.

Conway Twitty Mansion - Hendersonville, TN

Country Music legend Conway Twitty had his mansion built in Hendersonville, TN in the early 1980s. At the time, he had a museum and gift shop also open on the property, an entertainment complex known as Twitty City. Fans were welcomed to walk around the gardens in front of his house. Twitty City remained open until his death in 1993.

The property was purchased by the religious television station Trinity Broadcasting Network to create Trinity Music City. Trinity still allows visitors to walk around the gardens and offers free tours of the mansion. My guide said they get a good mix of Conway's fans and TBN fans. Most of Twitty's belongings were auctioned off, so only one of his items, a desk, remains inside the mansion. Many of the remaining interior rooms are used for TV show filming. Around Christmas, they string up an impressive display of holiday lights (but, I'm not sure if they are doing it in 2020).

Monthaven - Hendersonville, TN

Monthaven, also known as the Leonard B. Fite House, is a historic home in Hendersonville, TN and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The exact date of it's construction is not known and has multiple additions. It was used as a field hospital during the Civil War with bloodstains soaked into the poplar floors. A few skirmishes occurred on the property as well. The historic building is now home to galleries and offices of the Hendersonville Arts Council. For the full story: hendersonvillearts.org/wordpress/?page_id=15

Burial site of Johnny Cash & June Carter Cash

Johnny & June Carter Cash are buried at Hendersonville Memory Gardens following their death in 2003. The were of course prominent Hendersonville residents and Highway US31E that goes past the cemetery entrance has been renamed the Johnny Cash Pkwy.

Conway Twitty Mansion - Hendersonville, TN

Country Music legend Conway Twitty had his mansion built in Hendersonville, TN in the early 1980s. At the time, he had a museum and gift shop also open on the property, an entertainment complex known as Twitty City. Fans were welcomed to walk around the gardens in front of his house. Twitty City remained open until his death in 1993.

The property was purchased by the religious television station Trinity Broadcasting Network to create Trinity Music City. Trinity still allows visitors to walk around the gardens and offers free tours of the mansion. My guide said they get a good mix of Conway's fans and TBN fans. Most of Twitty's belongings were auctioned off, so only one of his items, a desk, remains inside the mansion. Many of the remaining interior rooms are used for TV show filming. Around Christmas, they string up an impressive display of holiday lights.

Hazel Path Mansion - Hendersonville, TN

Hazel Path is a mansion on the National Register of Historic Places located in Hendersonville, TN. An office park has surrounded in just off of US31. Today, the mansion is used for lawyer offices.

Here is the history from a Civil War Trust marker:
Hazel Path Mansion is associated with the beginnings and legacies of the Civil War in Tennessee. The home of Confederate Gen. Daniel Smith Donelson, completed in 1857, became a camp for escaped slaves during the war.

Donelson was the grandson of Pioneers Daniel Smith of Rock Castle and John Donelson of Nashville. From the age of three, after his father's death, Daniel Donelson lived with his uncle, Andrew Jackson, at Jackson's Hermitage plantation. Donelson graduated from West Point in 1825 but served less than a year in the U.S. Army.

Before Tennessee seceded in 1861, Gov. Isham G. Harris appointed Donelson a general of state troops and asked him to locate sites for fortifications. Fort Donelson, on the Cumberland River, was named for him. He became a Confederate General in July 1861 and served under Gen. Robert E. Lee in western Virginia. Donelson then served under Gen. Braxton Bragg in the 1862 Kentucky campaign and led a brigade at the Battle of Stones River at the end of the year. On April 17, 1863, Donelson died of natural causes while in charge of the Department of East Tennessee. He is buried west of here at the Presbyterian Church on Gallatin Pike.

Donelson's widow. Margaret Branch Donelson, returned in July 1865 to find the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands (Freedmen's Bureau) occupying the plantation, which had been a contraband camp since the Battle of Nashville in December 1864. About 900 former slaves had lived there, growing crops, cutting timber, and operating a sawmill. Mrs. Donelson petitioned President Andrew Johnson for the return of her property. Johnson agreed because her father, North Carolina Gov. John Branch, had been kind to him in his youth. The Berry family owned the house from 1886 to 1978.

Conway Twitty Plaque - Twitty City

Country Music superstar Conway Twitty built his mansion in Hendersonville, TN and then built a tourist attraction on the grounds known as Twitty City. In front of the mansion was a garden where he allowed fans to visit.

Twitty died in 1993 and the property was sold to the Trinity Broadcasting Network who reopened the area as Trinity Music City. They still welcome Twitty fans and offer free tours of the mansion and grounds. Soon after his death, the family placed this plaque on the grounds of his garden.

Center Point Pit Barbecue - Hendersonville, TN

Motto: Home of the three little pigs

Hendersonville, TN on US 31E

This excerpt was taken from the TN Trails and Byways Ring of Fire Trail, stop #100:
"This local landmark often welcomed Johnny Cash for a plate of BBQ and over the years numerous country artists and musicians have feasted at this unassuming spot. Taste for yourself, and spot your favorite star in the autographed pictures that decorate the walls."
tntrailsandbyways.com/trail/11/ring-of-fire/?p=5

Trinity Music City sign (at the old Twitty City) - Hendersonville

Conway Twitty had a mansion in Hendersonville, TN off highway US31E, and built an entertainment complex around it called Twitty City. After Twitty's death, the complex was purchased by the religious televison station Trinity Broadcasting Network.

By the sign, it looks like Diamond Rio was scheduled to perform here soon after the picture was taken.

Drakes Creek Park Pedestrian Bridge

in Hendersonville, TN, just off Highway 31E is this bridge to a nice little Island in this area of the Old Hickory Lake