Readyville, Tennessee | |
|---|---|
 Readyville Mill | |
  Readyville  Readyville | |
| Coordinates:35°49′41″N86°10′29″W / 35.82806°N 86.17472°W /35.82806; -86.17472 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Tennessee |
| County | Cannon |
| Elevation | 633 ft (193 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP code | 37149 |
| Area code | 615 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1299014[1] |
Readyville [US:/rɪdɪvil/ ⓘ] is anunincorporated community located primarily inCannon County, Tennessee, United States and secondarily inRutherford County, Tennessee, United States. It lies approximately halfway betweenMurfreesboro andWoodbury with an assigned zip code of 37149. Readyville is not aCensus-designated place but has a zip-code based population estimate of 2,500-3,000 residents.[2][3]
Prior to the settlement ofEuropean Americans, the region was occupied by theindigenous peoples of theYuchi andCherokee Nations.[4] The Yuchi left the region in the 1700s[5] and the Cherokee were forcibly relocated in the late 1830s by theUnited States government in theTrail of Tears.[6]
The current community was founded by and named for Colonel Charles Ready, an early settler who arrived in the area in 1802.[7][8] In 1811, Ready established the first community post office, currently located inRutherford County.[9] The following year, while mayor ofMurfreesboro, he constructed theReadyville Mill on the east fork ofStones River inCannon County.[10] The mill was destroyed in a fire of unknown origin during theAmerican Civil War, rebuilt in the 1870s, and added to theNational Register of Historic Places on June 12, 1973. After a 2006 restoration, one of the auxiliary buildings was operated as a restaurant on most weekends from 2009 until February 2023 under three different owners.[11][12][13][14][15][16][17]
Colonel Charles Ready's son, also namedCharles Ready, was born in Readyville in 1802, elected to theTennessee House of Representatives in 1835, and elected to theUnited States House of Representatives forTennessee's 5th congressional district in 1853. Their former home, theCharles Ready House, is located inCannon County, directly on theRutherford County border across from the post office. The house was added to theNational Register of Historic Places on July 2, 1973.[18] The house is currently under private ownership, but was formerly available to the public as a bed and breakfast and multipurpose venue.[19][16][17][20][21]
Readyville is also home to theUncle Dave Macon House, located inRutherford County, purchased byGrand Ole Opry starUncle Dave Macon in 1900, and added to theNational Register of Historic Places on November 15, 1973.[22] The house is currently under private ownership. It is also claimed by theunincorporated community ofKittrell but has a Readyville mailing address. Pilot Knob, Readyville's notable landmark that rises about 600 feet (180 m) in elevation from its base, is referenced in the Uncle Dave Macon song "The Fox Chase" and is viewable from the Uncle Dave Macon House.[23] Pilot Knob is privately owned, and trespassing is explicitly prohibited.
Two racially segregated schools were once in operation in the community during the twentieth century but are no longer standing.[24] Construction on John Bragg Highway, which provides a direct connection between Murfreesboro and Woodbury while circumventing the central portion of Readyville, was completed in approximately 1992, causing traffic through the center of Readyville to drop significantly. The community's earliest confirmedtornado touchdown happened on April 10, 2009, at 12:19 p.m. An EF0 tornado was on the ground for 0.8 miles and caused minor damage while it moved east across Locke Creek Road, which lies to the east of the downtown area.[25]
On April 1, 2023, at approximately 1:55 a.m., Readyville was struck by a strongEF2 tornado with winds estimated at 130 mph (210 km/h). The bulk of the downtown area was heavily damaged or destroyed, including theReadyville Mill,Charles Ready House, post office, market, and numerous homes. Two people were injured.[26][27][28] The following day, theAmerican Red Cross and nearly 800 volunteers showed up for recovery efforts.[29]
Several buildings in town, as photographed in 2020:
Municipalities and communities ofCannon County, Tennessee,United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| Towns |  | |
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |