Travel: Postcard from Clarksville, Tennessee

Once an outpost on the early frontier and later a port for steamers carrying tobacco and cotton, this town in northern Tennessee is today a hidden gem.

Clarksville, the seat of Montgomery County, has maintained a small-town vibe even though its population of 166,722 souls at the last census makes it the Volunteer State’s fifth-largest city.

Downtown sits on a hill above the Cumberland River, near its confluence with the Red River. With some exceptions, including parking garages and the newly built 5,500-seat F&M Bank Arena, the streetscape on and around Main and Franklin streets is mostly red brick buildings from the second-half of the 19th century. Other more recent additions belong to the campus of Austin Peay State University.

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Four buildings — two temporal, two spiritual — serve as downtown landmarks: the postbellum Montgomery County Courthouse, the Customs House Museum and Cultural Center, Trinity Episcopal Parish and First Presbyterian Church. It’s remarkable that any of the buildings survive, given the number of fires and tornados that have afflicted Clarksville over the years.

As its name suggests, the museum — actually, one of the better local museums that I have visited over the years — occupies a one-time federal building that served to collect duties on imported goods. Arguably Clarksville’s crown jewel, the circa 1898 building looks like a Renaissance-era guild hall in a provincial town somewhere in France or Belgium.

Meanwhile, the churches are fairly typical with pointed-arch windows that reflect the then-fashionable Victorian Gothic style. First Presbyterian seemed more impressive if only because unobstructed views of the facade and twin spires can be had from Downtown Commons, an urban park occupying the whole block directly opposite the church. You’ll need to attend a Sunday service to see the interior of either church, as visitor hours outside scheduled worship times are limited or nonexistent.

Fifteen miles from downtown is Historic Collinsville. The 40-acre, open-air museum depicts rural life in Tennessee before and after the Civil War with 16 original buildings and interpreters. Unfortunately, it closed for the season this month and won’t reopen until the spring.

If you go

Visit the old-school Roxy Theatre, which was built in 1947 to replace an earlier theater that burned down. While no longer a venue for films, it hosts theatrical productions. Upcoming shows include “A Charles Dickens Christmas” between Nov. 29 and Dec. 14. Speaking of the holiday season, Christmas on the Cumberland returns with over a million lights illuminating the riverfront at McGregor Park every night from Nov. 23 to Jan. 3, 2025.

Grab a coffee or light meal at the Sanctuary on Main. The hipster cafe, which includes a space for yoga and special events, is housed within one of Clarksville’s oldest buildings. Once a Methodist church, the meeting house-style building dates to the 1830s.

Other recommended eateries are The Mailroom inside the 1930s decommissioned post office and federal building, Yada on Franklin and Old Glory Restaurant & Silo Park.

I stayed at the Holiday Inn Clarksville Northeast. While it was a perfectly fine hotel, I would probably book a room at the recently opened DoubleTree by Hilton Clarksville Riverview on a return visit due to its superior downtown location. Many of the 156 rooms have sweeping views of the Cumberland River.

Nashville, which has the closest major airport, is an hour away. Clarksville is four to five hours from St. Louis, Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Atlanta by car.

Dennis Lennox writes a travel column for The Christian Post.