Sumner County

Sumner County can be likened to the ultimate country music star: at home with its country roots and rural inclinations on the one hand, and indulgent with the trappings of lakeside luxury and superstar compounds on the other. So it’s no wonder that this contradictory county, just northeast of Nashville, is home to such country music luminaries as Johnny Cash, Garth Brooks and, before lighting out for L.A. to inflict herself upon the rest of the nation in her own sitcom, Reba McIntyre. With Old Hickory Lake to the south and rolling pastures and parkland stretching all the way up to the Kentucky border, Sumner County has plenty of room.

Old Hickory Lake, a part of the Cumberland River turned into a recreational nirvana by the Old Hickory Dam, draws innumerable bathing-capped and fishing-vested visitors throughout the year to its over 400 miles of shoreline, which is accessible via 12 Army Corps of Engineers ramps located between the dam and Highway 109, just south of Gallatin, the county seat. There are also several marinas on the lake, including Anchor High Marina, in Hendersonville (615) 824-2175, Drakes Creek Marina, also in Hendersonville (615) 822-3886 and Gallatin Marina, in Gallatin (615) 452-9876.

Sumner County is also known for its historic attractions and antebellum estates. An abbreviated list of the county’s sites includes: Cragfont mansion, located outside of Gallatin (615) 452-7070; Wynnewood Inn, which sits above the sulfur springs at Bledsoe’s Lick in Castalian Springs and which once contained the tree inside of which the resilient Thomas Sharp Spencer, one of the earliest settlers of Tennessee, spent an entire winter (615) 452-5463; the popular Rock Castle in Hendersonville (615) 824-0502; and Historic Mansker’s Station Frontier Life Center, a reconstructed fortification located in Moss Wright Park in Goodlettsville and a sure bet for those who are suckers for employees wandering around in period costume (615) 859-3678. Some, like the former Fairvue Plantation outside of Gallatin, are still private residences. (Most historic sites that are open to the public are listed at www.sumnertn.org.)

As for food, Sumnerites fare well on that count, too, although don’t expect an overly elegant dining experience. Jackie Billy’s, a fried catfish-lover’s paradise, and the quintessential meat-and-three Stars and Stripes are locals’ favorites in Gallatin. Irene’s Frontier Kitchen (another superb meat-and-three) and The Mason Jar garner lots of local support in Hendersonville, to name but a few. In general, if you like country cooking and you find yourself in Sumner County, things could be worse.

Some of the more unique sites the county can boast of make perfect day trips from Music City. The Long Hollow Winery, in Goodlettsville, had been fermenting in the minds of Grand Ole Opry star Stu Phillips and his wife, Aldona, for some time before its opening two years ago. With a decidedly more mellow product than its older, more famous cousin in Lynchburg, Long Hollow offers wine tastings and tours (615) 859-5559. More devout day-trippers can visit Trinity Music City U.S.A. (615) 822-8333. Though we lost one of the more entertainingly named tourist traps in Tennessee to this Trinity Broadcasting facility—the site was formerly known as “Twitty City,” paid for and built by Conway Twitty—those who prefer their sightseeing to have a higher purpose will find Trinity highly fulfilling. The facility offers tours and biblically inspired movies, and has a Christmas display made up of over a million lights.

Last, but certainly not least, no visit to Sumner County would be complete without a stop at the Museum of Beverage Containers and Advertising (615) 859-5236 just outside of Goodlettsville, at the intersection of Route 65 and Route 31 West. If you think you’re lax about recycling your bottles and cans, this place will humble you but good. With somewhere around 30,000 different beverage containers arranged in various orders, the museum can’t help but give one pause for thought—maybe not in the same way Trinity U.S.A. does, but still.