Bells Bend/Scottsboro oral history project, 2012.
(Document/manuscript/pamphlet/archival material)

Digital files and CD's are identified by the project abbreviation: "BBP" which serves as a prefix. Arranged thereunder alphabetically by the last name of the interviewee.

Materials housed in Special Collections Division of the Main Library, Nashville Public Library.

In library use only. Available by appointment.

Scope and content: The collection consists of 15 audio interviews conducted in 2012 with members of the Bells Bend/Scottsboro communities by Nashville Public Library staff. The interviews highlight the historical family legacies in the communities and serve to preserve and promote the rural character of the area. Most interviews average about 45 minutes in length. Most interviews have indexes; there are no transcripts.

Interviewees include: Wesley Barnes, Helen Brown, Vincent Langley, Denny Cantrell, Martha Jones Creekmur, Jerry Graves, Roy Hooper, Billy Joe Johnson, Charles A. McDonald, David Robinson, Don Robinson, Kyle Robinson, Joyce Robinson, Loni Robinson, Phillip Robinson, Linda Smith, Alice Rogers, Earl Setters, Raymond Setters, Ernest Shelton, George Shelton, Fatima Terry Shelton, Paul Campbell, Jeff Nowlin, Lawrence Smith, Nancy Smith, George West, and Buford Winfrey.

Interviewers for this project, all from the Special Collections Division of the Nashville Public Library, were: Andrea Blackman, Jared Brennen, Susannah Gibbons, and Luke Herbst.

Cite as: [individual interview], Bells Bend/Scottsboro Oral History Project, Special Collections Division, Nashville Public Library

Copyright deeded to Nashville Public Library at time of creation.

Originally known as White's Bend, this northwest Nashville area became known as Bells Bend when Montgomery Bell, a wealthy iron producer in the first half of the nineteenth century, purchased more than 600 acres of land on the Cumberland River. The land was subsequently divided and sold. The name Scottsboro was given to the small community at the crossroads of Bell Bend Road, (which later became Old Hickory Boulevard) and Hyde's Ferry Turnpike. Many families farmed or owned property in the Bend, have lived there for generations, and have made significant contributions to its history. As of 2012, the Bells Bend/Scottsboro area was one of the last rural farming areas of Davidson County. The Bells Bend/Scottsboro Oral History Project began in February 2012 when Tim Walker, Executive Director of the Metropolitan Historical Commission, contacted the Nashville Public Library about collecting the stories from long-time residents of the Bells Bend and Scottsboro communities. Families and individuals who were long-time residents of the area were identified by Beaman Park staff and selected to be interviewed for the project. Interviews were conducted by Nashville Public Library staff in 2012 at the park.

In English

Finding aid available in repository;,interview level control,https://assets.library.nashville.org/documents/finding-aids/Special_Collections_Division_Finding_Aid_BellsBendScottsboroOHFA.pdf.

Interviews for the Bells Bend Scottsboro Oral History Project were recorded in digital format using a Marantz PMD671 solid state recorder. Interviews were recorded in .wav format at 48 khz and 16 bit and were converted to .mp3 files for access.

Describe;,2014;,Chantel Clark, intern;,under supervision of staff member Amber Williams.

No further accruals are expected.