Welcome to Old Hickory
A real town, not just a neighborhood. With one of the largest lakes in Tennessee in its front yard.
Old Hickory was built with intention: a planned community constructed in 1918 for workers at the DuPont munitions plant, with walkable streets, modest cottages, a country club, and the kind of civic infrastructure that most neighborhoods spend decades trying to develop. More than a hundred years later, the bones are still there. And the lake is still there. That combination of genuine small-town character and 22,500 acres of water is not something you stumble across often.
Old Hickory sits about 15 miles northeast of downtown Nashville, tucked into the bend where the Cumberland River was dammed in 1954 to create Old Hickory Lake. It is one of the few places in Middle Tennessee where you can buy on the water without leaving Davidson County, and one of even fewer places where the water in question is the kind that serious boaters and fishermen plan their weekends around.
What to Love About Old Hickory
- 22,500 acres of lake with 44 free public boat access points
- World-class striped bass fishery — 50+ pound catches are real
- DuPont-era bungalows and village streets that genuinely can't be replicated
- Davidson County address with some of the widest lots in the area
- Price range from renovated cottages in the low $200s to lakefront luxury over $2M
- Cedar Creek Marina with on-the-water dining and live music
- 20-minute drive to BNA
- Old Hickory Country Club with two golf courses, a pool, and tennis
What is Old Hickory, TN like as a neighborhood?
Old Hickory has something that takes most communities generations to develop: a real identity. The village center (the original DuPont-era core) still reads as a neighborhood in the oldest sense. Streets are walkable. The homes are close together but not cramped. There's a rhythm to the place that newer subdivisions, no matter how well-designed, simply don't have yet.
The name is a nod to Andrew Jackson, who earned the nickname "Old Hickory" for his toughness in battle. His spirit seems fitting for a community this self-contained. It has stayed largely true to its character even as Nashville has grown and changed around it.
Old Hickory is not frozen in time, though. The village has seen steady reinvestment over the past decade. Original bungalows and cottages are being renovated rather than razed. New retail and dining have slowly filled in. The parks have been updated. The bones drew people back, and those people have been improving what they found.
What you get here is a community that knows itself: quiet streets, neighbors who stay, and an address on one of the most significant bodies of water in the region.
What is the history of Old Hickory, TN?
In 1918, DuPont broke ground on a munitions plant along the Cumberland River and needed to house the workforce quickly. The result was Old Hickory Village, a purpose-built company town with residential streets, civic buildings, retail, and recreational facilities, all constructed to DuPont's specifications. It was one of the more ambitious industrial community projects of its era.
The plant operated through both World Wars and continues in some capacity today, though with a fraction of its original workforce. What remains from that original build is significant: the street grid, many of the original cottages and bungalows, the country club grounds, and, most importantly, a community culture built around neighbors actually knowing each other.
That history shows up in how people talk about Old Hickory. Longtime residents don't describe it the way most Nashville neighborhoods get described. They talk about it the way people talk about small towns, with a kind of ownership and loyalty that outsiders sometimes find surprising until they spend a little time there.
How far is Old Hickory, TN from downtown Nashville and what is the commute like?
Fifteen miles northeast puts Old Hickory at a reasonable commute distance: 25 to 35 minutes downtown in typical conditions, depending on your exact location and the time of day. The drive runs primarily on surface roads through established neighborhoods, which many residents find preferable to interstate commutes.
For buyers whose work involves regular travel, BNA is accessible in about 20 minutes via the Donelson corridor. That alone makes Old Hickory a legitimate option for frequent flyers who want to decompress between trips rather than sit in airport-adjacent traffic.
Adjacent to Hendersonville, Old Hickory also benefits from easy access to that city's commercial corridors without the Sumner County address. Residents get practical convenience from two directions.
What is Old Hickory Lake like for residents who live there?
Let's be direct about what Old Hickory Lake actually is: a 22,500-acre reservoir on the Cumberland River stretching nearly 100 miles, with 44 free public boat access points and 11 marinas. This is not a recreational pond. It is one of the largest and most capable lakes in Tennessee, the kind of place where people keep proper boats, fish seriously, and treat the water as the organizing principle of their weekends from April through October.
The fishing reputation deserves particular mention. Old Hickory Lake is home to a world-class striped bass fishery, with regular catches exceeding 50 pounds. Largemouth bass, crappie, sauger, catfish, and white bass round out what is, by any measure, one of the better fishing lakes in the region. Spring and fall are the peak seasons for bass and crappie; summer is prime for stripers and catfish.
On the water, residents have options:
Old Hickory Beach on Burnett Road: A sandy shore with a public boat ramp, grills, and open green space. Free access, family-friendly, and genuinely nice. The kind of spot that becomes a Saturday habit.
Cedar Creek Marina: A full-service marina with a restaurant, live music, and an outdoor bar. One of the better on-the-water hangouts in this part of the Nashville area, accessible by both car and boat.
Old Hickory Country Club: Two golf courses (Generals Retreat and Presidents Reserve), a pool, and tennis on grounds that have been part of the community since its early days.
For buyers who have spent time on the water in other markets, Old Hickory Lake tends to be the part of this address that closes the deal. Genuine lakefront here comes in at a price point that still reflects what the broader market is working out about this neighborhood.
What are home prices like in Old Hickory, TN and what types of homes are available?
Old Hickory has one of the widest price ranges of any Davidson County community, which works in a buyer's favor. The area functions at multiple levels of the market simultaneously.
On the entry end: original village bungalows and smaller condos starting in the low $200s, many of which have been partially or fully renovated. These are character-rich homes with real craftsmanship from an era when details mattered, and they tend to attract buyers who want something with a story rather than something that looks like every other Nashville new build.
The broad middle of the market covers the high $300s into the $900s, including renovated originals, newer construction in the surrounding neighborhoods, and townhomes. This is where most of the activity happens and where CHORD sees the most varied buyer interest.
At the top: true lakefront property along Riverway Drive, in communities like Waterford and Brandywine Pointe, ranging from $1 million into the $2 to $3 million range for the most premium positions. For buyers who've been searching for waterfront value in Middle Tennessee, Old Hickory consistently rewards the search.
What CHORD is watching right now: 2026 is a favorable environment for buyers in Old Hickory specifically. Inventory has risen, days on market have extended, and sellers are at the table in ways they weren't a few years ago. For anyone who has been waiting to make a move on this neighborhood (lakefront in particular), the current conditions are worth a conversation.
What restaurants and things to do are in Old Hickory, TN?
The village itself offers the basics: local spots and a few longtime neighborhood staples, supplemented by Hendersonville's more developed dining and retail scene just minutes away. Old Hickory has never been the destination for a big night out; that's not what it's for.
What it does offer is a lifestyle built around the water, and the social scene that forms around that naturally. Cedar Creek Marina has become a genuine gathering spot for residents and visitors alike. Live music on weekends, an outdoor bar, the kind of casual summer energy that's hard to manufacture and easier to find when you're actually on a lake.
Old Hickory Country Club fills the social void for members: golf, the pool, events, and the institutional history that comes with a club that's been part of the community for decades. Membership here is a meaningful part of daily life for a good portion of the neighborhood.
The broader Hendersonville corridor covers everything else, including grocery stores, shopping, and a well-developed restaurant scene.
What schools serve Old Hickory, TN?
Old Hickory falls within Metro Nashville Public Schools, with students primarily moving through DuPont Elementary, DuPont Hadley Middle School, and McGavock High School. The DuPont name on two of the campuses is not coincidental. The schools were part of the original company town infrastructure and carry that connection to the community's founding.
As with any public school system, CHORD always recommends that families research current campuses directly, visit before making decisions, and confirm zoning at the time of purchase. Metro Nashville's assignment policies have shifted in recent years and should not be assumed to be static.
Private school options are available via the Hendersonville corridor and the broader I-65 corridor for families with those preferences.
Who is buying homes in Old Hickory, TN right now?
The buyers CHORD sees in Old Hickory tend to share one thing: they found this neighborhood by looking specifically for it, not by stumbling across it. This is not a place that gets heavy foot traffic from casual explorers. People who buy here usually know what they want.
Water buyers are the most consistent segment. People who have been on the water before and know what a 22,500-acre lake means for how they want to live. These buyers are often coming from coastal markets or from other lake communities and have very specific requirements. Old Hickory Lake meets them.
Value-focused families who want more home and more land per dollar while keeping a Davidson County address. The Nashville ZIP code matters to this group for tax, school-choice, and resale reasons, and Old Hickory delivers it.
History and character buyers drawn specifically to the DuPont-era village homes: the original bungalows and cottages that don't exist in new development because they can't be replicated. These buyers tend to be renovators with a particular aesthetic and a longer investment horizon.
Relocating professionals and executives who prioritize proximity to BNA, a manageable commute, and a lifestyle that doesn't center on Nashville's nightlife. Old Hickory delivers on all three without requiring Williamson County prices.
Is Old Hickory, TN a good place to live?
For the right buyer, it's one of the best in Davidson County, and we say that with conviction.
The counterpoint: Old Hickory is not for buyers who want walkable dining, urban density, or a neighborhood built around a restaurant scene. It has never tried to be that, and it doesn't need to be.
What it is: a community with more than a century of identity, a world-class lake in the front yard, a price point that still makes sense for what you're getting, and the kind of neighbors who have chosen this place deliberately and tend to stay. That's a combination that's harder to find than most buyers realize until they start looking.
CHORD has watched Old Hickory's waterfront and village market closely for years. If you want to understand what's available, on the market or off, we're the right call.
Nearby Neighborhoods
Old Hickory sits at the edge of Davidson County, close to several communities worth knowing about depending on what you're looking for.
- Hermitage — Directly south along the Cumberland River corridor, with Percy Priest Lake access and a similar east-Nashville value story.
- Madison — Just west, with an emerging arts and food scene and some of the most character-rich homes in Davidson County at approachable prices.
- Donelson — The neighborhood most buyers discover on the way to Old Hickory. Walkable to a growing dining scene, minutes from BNA, and appreciating steadily.
- Hendersonville — Across the county line in Sumner County, with additional lake access on Old Hickory Lake and a well-developed suburban retail and dining scene.
- Goodlettsville — A quieter option further north with easy interstate access and more land per dollar.
