My Stephens Valley Story

 

Edition 1. Issue 9.                                 August 2022

Each of us will have our own Stephens Valley history so I will encourage the rest of you to start documenting the circumstances that brought you to Stephens Valley by sharing mine.  I guess you could say that a lost golf ball gave me my first view of Stephen’s Valley. Many years ago, Temple Hills golf course was 36 holes with a very hilly back nine that overlooked Stephen’s Valley.  You could not actually see the valley because the tree line remained very dense, but one day, an errant drive sent my ball deep into the woods.  Through the trees, I saw for the first time a beautiful green valley with a few random houses and a herd of cattle grazing in the distance. After inquiring about the area, I learned it was the Stephen’s farm and that there was a connection with country music and overalls. That did it for me. The next week was spent researching the Stephens Manufacturing Company. That lead to the discovery that they advertised on the Grand Ole Opry radio show. How could such a beautiful piece of land be right down the hill from my golf course when I never knew about it? My infatuation with Stephens Valley had begun and we noticed a few houses for sale in the area. My husband has always been a history buff, so he started researching the history of The Natchez Trace discovering that the Trail of Tears intersected the Trace very near the Stephens Farm.  Thus began our adventures exploring The Trace and finding the many spectacular scenic views. We hiked down to Jackson Falls, never imagining that one of the streets in our future neighborhood would be named for it. We were also perusing the Sunday paper in hopes that one of the houses on Natchez Bend or Pasquo Road might be something we could afford. It was the mystique of the valley you could see through the trees that kept drawing us back. Ultimately, we gave up on trying to buy a place there, but Pasquo Road remained one of our favorite spots for a Sunday afternoon drive.  In 1975, I was surprised and delighted to see that the Stephens Farm was part of the Holiday tour sponsored by the Nashville Garden Club. Of course, I was not going to miss that opportunity. The house at that time was pretty much still the original log house that remains the nucleus of the Stephens home today. Upon his father’s death, Bill Stephens inherited his family’s land in the valley. Our own Neika Stephen’s is a great resource for the history of the valley after it was purchased in 1932 for $10 an acre.  I will not steal her thunder with this meager telling of the tale, but you should get to know her if you can.  She comes in a golf cart to all the gatherings in Meriwether Park.  I learn something new every time I speak with her, like where the name of the park came from. It seems that the ruins of the Grinder House, an inn on the Old Trace where famed explorer and statesman Meriwether Lewis lost his life, can be found at mile marker 401, along with Lewis’s grave. The circumstances of his death are extremely mysterious and still being debated today. A good rainy afternoon read if you like mystery. Fast forward thirty years of my life mostly spent living on hole number 11 at Temple Hills. We watched the old nine holes that overlooked Stephens Valley get handed back to nature and eventually turned into the Timberline development. Luckily Bill Stephens had a plan for the valley which will remain the subject for future stories, but my personal journey to the neighborhood began with my daughter’s friendship with John Rochford. She mercifully offered to help us downsize and clean out. Our search for a smaller house, and a smaller yard, lead us to Stephens Valley and the accommodating arms of John Rochford and Lance Fossick. The rest is recent history, but I hope this telling has inspired you to share your own path to Stephens Valley and how you first felt the mystique. Libbey Hagewood - Author