Hendersonville residents enjoys one of the premier lakes in middle Tennessee... Old Hickory Lake being the largest in the Nashville area….Is it a river or a lake? BOTH! It’s on the Cumberland River with 22,500 acres of water and 440 miles of shoreline. You will find many public boat ramps all around the lake. It’s a Tennessee Valley Authority dam….with controlled water levels. You can actually get to the Gulf of Mexico from Old Hickory Lake by going through a series of locks over to the Mississippi River.

Old Hickory Lake has hosted several major national and regional championship bass tournaments over the past few years...including Wal-Mart FLW, Everstart, Bassmaster Megabucks, BASS Tennessee Eastern Invitational, Super Bass Classic National Championship and Bass Pro Shops Crappiemasters National Championship. Hendersonville has a Fishing Rodeo open to children ages 15 and under.  A fishing area is netted off and stocked with catfish....with prizes for the winners!  It's a lot of fun for the whole family.

You can bring your own boat and use one of the many public boat ramps in the area.......or rent a canoe or pontoon boat.  Or you might want to rent jet-skis.  It's a great way to explore the secluded coves of the lake, have a fun day on the water.....and perhaps stop to have a picnic.

There are several day use fee areas located at Cedar Creek, Laguardo and Old Hickory Beach.  The cost is $4 per vehicle on a daily basis....or you can purchase an annual pass for about $30.  Each area offers swimming, sandy beaches, restrooms, picnic tables, grills and launching ramps.  Many areas offer sand volleyball and fishing platforms. 

You can reserve a shelter for a family event and some areas even have kitchen facilities.  Hendersonville has a children's playground area, tennis courts and picnic shelters on the lake.  Feed the ducks and enjoy the day!  IT's great fun to find a shady spot to sit and watch people boating and skiing.  I always enjoy watching the sailboats.  Bank fishing areas (with fish attractors) and  accessible fishing piers are located at Rockland, Sanders Ferry, Shutes Branch and Bledsoe Creek State Park. 

Old Hickory Lake is home to Black Bass, Largemouth Bass, True Bass, Striped Bass (Rockfish), Sauger and Crappie.  Just be sure you have the required fishing license, which may be purchased at any County Clerk's Office as well as many commercial establishments.  

There are many gorgeous lake homes on Old Hickory Lake. Private docks are permitted. This lake offers eight commercial marinas offering services for visitors. Anchor High Marina, Drakes Creek Marina, Creekwood Marina, Gallatin Marina, Old Hickory Marina, Shady Cove Resort, Cedar Creek Marina, and Cherokee Resort.

Geography

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 40,620 people, 15,823 households, and 11,566 families residing in the city. The population density was 573.9/km² (1,486.4/mi²). There were 16,507 housing units at an average density of 233.2/km² (604.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 92.93% White, 4.12% African American, 0.27% Native American, 1.10% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.65% from other races, and 0.90% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.71% of the population.

There were 15,823 households out of which 35.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.3% were married couples living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.9% were non-families. 22.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.8% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 31.5% from 25 to 44, 24.8% from 45 to 64, and 10.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 94.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $50,108, and the median income for a family was $57,625. Males had a median income of $40,823 versus $27,771 for females. The per capita income for the city was $24,165. About 5.2% of families and 6.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.2% of those under age 18 and 7.7% of those age 65 or over.

History

Hendersonville was settled around 1784 by Daniel Smith when he began work on Rock Castle. In 1790, William Henderson, for whom the area was named, settled in. With the completion of Old Hickory Dam in 1954, the city of Hendersonville started to grow into the most populous city of Sumner County and also one of the most populous suburbs of Nashville, along with Franklin and Murfreesboro.

The city now contains around 0.7% of the population of Tennessee.A two-volume history of Hendersonville was written by Tim Takacs and Jamie Clary. Takacs' book, The City by the Lake: A History of Hendersonville, Tennessee 1780-1969, was published in 1992. Volume II, Clary's book, The City by the Lake: A History of Hendersonville, Tennessee 1968-1988, was published in 1999.After a lengthy prologue, Volume I of The City by the Lake covers Hendersonville history in two parts: "The Village" (from 1799 to 1945) and "The Town" (from 1945 to 1969). The Village begins with the story of antebellum Hendersonville, by telling the tale of the intertwined Sanders and Smith families.

The remaining chapters in Part I take readers through the building of the Louisville & Nashville (L & N) Railroad, the founding of Hendersonville's first schools and churches, early merchants and landowners, Hendersonville first bank (the Bank of Hendersonville), the Blue Grass Line--the interurban electric railroad that ran from Nashville to Gallatin through Hendersonville during the early decades of the 20th century, the Grasslands International Steeplechase, and Hendersonville during the Depression and World War II.

Part II, The Town, picks up the story of Hendersonville post-World War II, showing how a confluence of factors--the rise of the Hendersonville Civic Club, improvements to Gallatin Road (Hendersonville's Main Street), and the building of Old Hickory Dam--transformed Hendersonville from a small Southern town to a suburban community populated largely by "immigrants," a community of transient white- and blue-collar workers from throughout the United States, as well as white Nashville residents who fled to the suburbs.Volume II, written by Jamie Clary, consists of one part:

Hendersonville during the period of its being "The City." Hendersonville, the incorporated city, came into existence in 1969 after a referendum in 1968. During the 20 years that followed, Hendersonville was transformed from a point on a map to the state's tenth largest municipality with a surrounding population of nearly 50,000.According to a review of Clary's book (written by Takacs), Volume II recounts the stories of many interesting and curious happenings, such as that:

• The city has four times faced referendums to change its form of government.

• The population grew by 14,000 persons one night in 1972.

• For years Hendersonville had an airport authority intent on building an airport for the city.

• A serious effort was made by several residents to secede from the city to create their own.

The chapters include emphasis on churches, clubs, recreation, schools, business development and other facets that make Hendersonville what it was during those twenty years.As much progress as is evident through those years, Clary's story also relates the missed opportunities that would have made the city better. Whether it was caused by lack of foresight in the city's leaders or an anti-progressive ideology among the citizens, Hendersonville grew much more than it progressed during those years.

The vocal minority often won over the passive majority and the politically-attentive leadership. As evidence of that, Clary recounts the origination of concerns the city has today, such as unsightly utility lines, congested Main Street, retarded business development, school overcrowding, and separation of the City and Utility District.

He also relates the successes: consistently low tax rates, long-term solutions to waste, good schools, a strong sense of community, the Community Pastors Association, excellent recreational opportunities and, of course, the lake, without which Hendersonville would still be just a wide spot in the road between Gallatin and Nashville.

Famous Hendersonvillians

• Johnny Cash, country singer
• June Carter Cash, country singer
• Gary Allan, country singer
• Michael Curtis, famous songwriter, "Southern Cross"
• Lennon Murphy, singer-songwriter
• Conway Twitty, country singer
• Roy Orbison, rock-n-roll singer
• Marty Stuart, country singer
• Connie Smith, country singer
• Jeff Jarrett, professional wrestler
• Tommy Rich
• Taylor Swift, country singer
• James Wilhoit, placekicker, University of Tennessee football team