APRIL
1912
Gallatin Road became a free road on April 15, 1912, when County Judge George W. Jackson purchased the entire length of road owned by the Gallatin Turnpike Company for $25,000. Acting on behalf of the Sumner County Court, Judge Jackson’s transaction included the company’s right of way, bridges, culverts, franchise to take tolls, spare stone and contract with the Interurban. The importance of the Interurban contract was that the train would be allowed to operate on tracks on the road. At the time, the road was handling horse-drawn carriages (the primary transportation through Hendersonville) and some automobiles. Covering the 27 miles from the Sumner/Davidson border through Bethpage, the purchase did not include the toll houses or the gates. The six toll gates were opened for good the following day at noon.
1969
Seeking more education dollars, several Sumner residents on April 2, 1969, formed the Citizens Committee for Better Schools and Community. Most of the members were Hendersonville parents unhappy about the county’s refusal to build new schools. The small amount of money that was being spent on new space was going to areas with less need while, according to a state report, the county should have been purchasing land for three elementary schools and two junior highs in Hendersonville.
A bond issue for $1.2 million provided funds for a new junior high, Knox Doss. That would eliminate Hendersonville Junior High School’s need to continue using the Sunday school classrooms of First Baptist Church. Nannie Berry Elementary students would continue using space at First United Methodist Church, and Lakeside Park Elementary students would continue double shifts. Half attended from 7 a.m. until noon while the other half from went there from 12:30 p.m. to 5:30.
1975
In April 1975, the Hendersonville Arts Council was formed by the city commission. A year later it hosted Old Time Music Day at Memorial Park. In 1984 the board of directors moved into the Bradford-Berry House (pictured above in 2015), near the GE plant (now Aladdin). The tree-lined drive to the house invited the arts council to rename and relocate its annual event in 1988, creating the Cedar Lane Festival. Meanwhile the arts council fostered Lakeshore Quilters, a photography club, the Hendersonville Artists Guild, a music club, the Hendersonville Community Singers, and summer youth programs of arts and crafts. The Hendersonville Arts Council later moved into Monthaven, another historic building in Hendersonville.
1979
In 1977 Hendersonville residents packed a meeting room to plea for a hospital to be built. Needing permission from the Tennessee Health Facilities Commission, the residents supported a proposal by Phil Bredesen’s company, Hospital Affiliates International. Local government leaders and the League of Women Voters coordinated the effort, facing opposition from Robert Trimble, Madison Hospital’s administrator. Trimble claimed that a hospital in Hendersonville would cause his facility to lose between 10 and 12 percent of its annual revenue. Hendersonville city commissioner John Steinhauer replied, “I don’t think the good people of Hendersonville should have to pay the price of other hospitals’ building too many beds.” The commission agreed, and Hendersonville Community Hospital was dedicated on April 29, 1979.
1981
On April 24, 1981, the city closed the book on five years of controversy about possibly buying the building that had been the home of the Hendersonville Church of Christ. Vacated by the church when it moved to Rockland Road, the building at 315 West Main Street was appealing due to its size and its location. The site was in the center of the business area adjacent to the library and the offices of the Hendersonville Utility District.
Several citizens protested the idea, accusing the mayor and city manager of conflicts of interest. Both were members of the church. In 1978 the protesters forced a failed referendum to remove the commissioners and city manager while pressuring church leaders to rescind their agreement to sell.
Consequently, city employees moved into the renovated former home of the Shannon family, behind McDonald’s on Main Street, on April 24, 1981. Between the Shannon family moving out and the city taking it over, the building had been used as Hendersonville House Smorgasbord restaurant and the offices of developer Bill Towe. Towe later moved into part of the church building after much of it had been demolished and renamed the 315 Building.