NASHVILLE, TN - On Friday, January 13, 2023, NashvilleSites.org launched the Edgehill neighborhood walking tour, the sixth tour the organization has launched this year. This tour includes sites like Edgehill Village, William Edmondson’s homesite, the Eighth Avenue Reservoir, Rose Park, and of course Polar Bear Plaza.The tour experience can be customized - visit one or all the tour stops in any order. Take the tour in-person by walking to nearby locations or visit virtually using any device. Each stop has audio narration, a map, and historic images. Visit www.nashvillesites.org/tours/edgehill to start taking the tour today.
Funded by the Mellon Partners for Humanities Education Collaboration Grants with Tennessee State University and Vanderbilt University, the Edgehill neighborhood tour was written by Vanderbilt University graduate student Kayla Anderson and Belmont University Honor’s student Madison Luster, with assistance from TSU’s Dr. Learotha Williams and Nashville Sites interns Maia Roark and Kate Miller. The tour was narrated by Dr. Sherleta Sanders, Edgehill resident and executive principal of Carter-Lawrence Engineering Magnet School. Dr. Sanders attended Belmont University through a scholarship from Organized Neighbors of Edgehill (O.N.E.) “I could not be more honored to share the story of Edgehill - a place that has and continues to be so good to me,” says Sanders.
According to Dr. Mary Ellen Pethel, Nashville Sites Executive Director, “An Edgehill walking tour has long been on our wish list for Nashville Sites. This historic neighborhood has such a unique story, and so many prominent Nashvillians - like William Edmondson, DeFord Bailey, and the McKissacks - trace their roots here. Telling the story of Edgehill is an important part of telling the story of Nashville."
Nashville Sites offers 30+ free, self-guided walking and driving tours about Nashville history that can be taken virtually or in-person. Each tour features a map, historic and current images, written and audio narration, and metadata information for citation and credibility purposes. We work with scholars and experts to research and write the tours, and the website is mobile-friendly with no need to download an app to use on any device. This is all made possible by the project’s many stakeholders, including community members, private foundations, non-profit organizations, and local universities.
About Nashville Sites
Nashville Sites’ mission is to engage users through inspirational stories and images that connect the city’s past and present. Nashville Sites tours highlight the forgotten and lesser-known stories of Nashville, expanding upon the city’s traditional historical narratives. The team welcomes the challenge and opportunity to re-define the city’s written history. By making these stories easily accessible, the Nashville Sites team hopes that the content will inspire curiosity and instill a passion for knowledge. Launched in 2019, Nashville Sites is a program of the Metro Historical Commission Foundation, a registered 501(c) 3 non-profit whose mission is to assist the Metropolitan Historical Commission in its efforts to identify, protect, study, and interpret the rich history of Nashville.
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