This area was settled by European Americans after the American Revolutionary War, when pioneers began to move west of the Appalachian Mountains. William Nolen, a war veteran, his wife, Sarah, and their five children were passing through the area in 1797 when their wagon wheel broke. Surveying his surroundings, Nolen noted the rich soil and abundance of natural resources. He decided to settle here and the community was later named for him as Nolensville. William Nolen purchased a portion of a land grant made to Jason Thompson, on which Nolensville later developed. Nolen’s historic house was moved to a new location in 2009.
In the early 19th century, a large migration from Rockingham, North Carolina, brought the Adams, Allen, Barnes, Cyrus, Fields, Glenn, Irion, Johnson, Peay, Scales, Taylor, Vernon, Wisener, Williams, and other families to the area. Built along Mill Creek, the town was incorporated in 1839.
Foraging and skirmishing took place here during the Civil War. Gen. John Wharton’s Confederate cavalry unit was stationed in town briefly and Gen. Joseph Wheeler’s command captured a Union supply train here on December 30, 1862. William A. Clark successfully defended a Union wagon train a year later in September 1863, earning the Medal of Honor for his actions.
From the post-Reconstruction period into the early 20th century, whites lynched a total of five African Americans in Williamson County. They did not allow the legal system to prosecute these men, but conducted extra-judicial murder. Among the victims was 15-year-old Samuel Smith, an African American who was lynched in Nolensville in December 1924. He was arrested there for shooting and wounding Ike Eastwood at his house, after Eastwood shot Smith’s uncle; the grocer also shot and wounded Smith. Smith was taken for treatment to a hospital in Nashville. A group of masked men took him from the hospital and, with a larger mob, back 22 miles to Nolensville. There the mob hanged the youth near Eastwood’s house and shot him multiple times. Although the Nashville Chamber of Commerce offered a $5000 reward in the case, no one was convicted of Smith’s murder. On June 5, 2017, a plaque was installed in his memory at St. Anselm Episcopal Church in Nashville, Tennessee; it memorialized two other local lynching victims as well.
Post-World War II to present
On both sides of Nolensville Road, from north of Oldham Drive to the south as far as York/Williams Road, are many structures from the 19th century that are still in use as homes and/or stores. The Home Place Bed & Breakfast was built in 1820 as a private residence. Within the described area above is a historic section, which in the 19th century was the center of Nolensville. Of note is the Waller Funeral Home, built in 1876; the Nolensville Mill Company, which operated from 1890 to 1986 (today it houses a store featuring Amish goods); and the Nolensville Co-Op Creamery, which operated from 1921-1957. Now serving as an antique store, the Creamery had produced butter known for its excellence throughout the area. The house north of the cemetery today serves as a veterinary clinic.
Nolensville voted by referendum to re-incorporate in August 1996. In October 1996 the first election was held, electing the first three-member Nolensville Board of Mayor and Aldermen. The first Mayor of Nolensville was Charles F. Knapper, elected along with Aldermen Thomas “Tommy” Dugger, III, and Parman Henry. The town for the first time hired a Town Attorney, Robert J. Notestine, III.
Since 1996, Nolensville has had sustained growth. New home developments have been built around the town, including Bent Creek, Winterset Woods, Burkitt Place, Silver Stream, Ballenger Farms, Sunset Farms, Summerlyn and more. Nolensville has had 290 residential building permits since the 2010 census; it boasts of having the lowest property tax rates in Williamson County. Other signs of growth are the new multi-million-dollar town hall, numerous business plazas, and new restaurants.
To accommodate the many new students brought by families settling in the area, the Williamson County School Board purchased 95 acres (38 ha) on the south side of Nolensville for the construction of new elementary, middle and high schools. These opened in the fall of 2016.
