A Brief History of the Nashville - Charlotte Turnpike
In 1804, James Robertson cut the path of what would later be known as the Nashville - Charlotte Turnpike, often referred to as the Charlotte Road or Charlotte Pike. Robertson owned several iron furnaces in the area, including several in Dickson County near the town of Charlotte, which was founded in 1803, the same year Dickson County was established. Charlotte was named after Robertson's wife.
Two years after Robertson had cut the path, one of the earliest mentions of the road comes from The Nashville Impartial Review, dated July 12th, 1806, announcing various mail routes in Middle Tennessee, in this case the opening of a route between Nashville and Charlotte. Stages would "leave Nashville every Friday at 6 A.M., and arrive in Charlotte by noon." It took 6 hours to travel the 40 miles or so of the road at that time.
The next mention of the road being used as a thoroughfare for business or trade comes from an advertisement in The Arkansas Gazette of February 2nd, 1830. The ad itself is dated December 12, 1829, and announces the start of a stage line between Nashville and Memphis, with operations beginning in January 1830. The stage coaches would operate 3 days a week, with a one way trip between the two cities taking three and a half days (not taking into account broken axles, muddy roads, and other obstacles) It boasts "four horse Coaches, fitted up in superior style" for the passengers. (see photo below)
The Nashville - Charlotte Turnpike Company had been chartered sometime around 1829, and when this ad ran, the Company was owned by Jetton, Walker & Co.
By the 1840s, at least 2 tollgates had been established on the Turnpike. The first was located 6 miles or so from Nashville on top of the first of several ridges known as Sullivan's ridge. Samuel Adkisson, the engineer who had built the tunnel at the Narrows in 1818, operated the 2nd tollgate located near his home on Dog Creek. This would have been located near modern day Dog Creek Cemetery.
With the advent and rapid construction of railroads by the 1850s, the use for turnpikes in Middle Tennessee waned, and the use of stage coaches as a means of transportation became an inconvenience. The Nashville & Northwestern Railroad had been completed from Nashville to Kingston Springs by the beginning of the Civil War, and on to Dickson in 1863. The trip from Dickson to Nashville took only 3 hours or so by train, compared to the 6 hours it took by stage.
From the late 1860's up until the turn of the century, those still making the journey along the road could stop for a rest or an overnight stay at Nichol's Inn, operated by Lydia Nichols, whose husband was killed fighting for the Confederacy during the Civil War. The large orchard that surrounded the Inn was famous for its apples and pears. The structure still stands to this day on Old Charlotte pike, one mile from the first climb up Sullivan's Ridge.
The entire length of the road was still traversable as late as the 1920s, but with the construction of the Memphis -Bristol highway, sections were cut off or closed, an example being the section that had ran along Dog Creek Road.
Sources:
1. "West Nashville, Its People and Environs" by Sarah Foster Kelly, 1988
2. The Economic & Social Beginnings of Tennessee" by Albert C Holt, page 303
3. The Arkansas Gazette, February 2, 1830
4. The Daily Republican Banner (Nashville) February 6, 1830
5. Early North Carolina & Tennessee Land Records, ancestry.com
