Goodpasture House

LOOKBOOK6 2 4 0 H I L L S B O R O P I K E | N A S H V I L L E | 3 7 2 1 5

The historic Goodpasture House at 6240 Hillsboro Pike is among the oldest existing homes in Nashville. Nestled along the banks of Otter Creek, the house stands just a few hundred yards east of an ancient buffalo trail. The trail later served as a pioneer road westward to Lierper’s Fork, Natchez, Mississippi, Texas, and beyond, and today we know it as Hillsboro Pike. The two acres surrounding the house were once part of the much larger land holdings of William Nash—Nashville’s 18th century namesake.

During the Civil War, portions of the Battle of Nashville were fought just to the north, and the Confederate army built a redoubt near the modern intersection of Hillsboro Pike and Harding Pike. Decades after the war, this area developed into a rural enclave, bordered to the west by the 5,000 acre Belle Meade plantation.

While tax records for the house do not exist prior to the 1950’s, the actual structure is much older. Judging from the type of construction methods employed, the roof joists date back to at least the 1920’s, and probably much earlier. The “blacksmith’s cabin” that makes up the house’s east wing contains beams fashioned from the American Chestnut, a tree that has not been commonly used for well over a hundred years and is now extinct in the wild. A previous owner told us that the easternmost wing of the home, which now functions as a lofted artist studio is, in fact, the oldest part of the house. Original, hand-hammered iron hinges and door hardware, along with milled plank wood, testify to the age of the room.

Originally a separate structure, the cabin was eventually connected to the main house with the construction of the stone great room. The house has undergone many expansions. And what began as a small one or two room country cottage became, over time, a rather grand and imposing structure. The kitchen area was added , as well as the area that now makes up the master suite. Upstairs bedrooms were also added. In the 1950’s, the home was purchased by Robert Goodpasture, a local expert in antique architecture. It was Goodpasture who was responsible for much of the house’s present design, and, fittingly, the property now bears his name.

Goodpasture added the rear portion of the house and imported antique beams from England, which now line the floor of the family room. He also imported vintage lampposts, fixtures, massive beams, and door hardware, and turned the small house into a grand Tudor estate home. The highly detailed, hand-carved front door was salvaged from an old Whiskey distillery, we were told.

We Were Told...

In the decades that followed, the home passed into the hands of several prominent Nashville families. It was owned by a member of the Tyne family in the 70’s, whose family had long ago lent its name to Tyne Boulevard. A local pediatrician and his family also owned the house. His wife, a native of Great Britain, was drawn to the house’s unabashed English style. Conversations with previous owners, inspectors, experts, and historical records filled in some of the details of the house’s past. We even found a tiny cookbook buried in the wall of the kitchen, inscribed, perhaps, by a previous owner. Still, much of the house’s history remains a mystery.

In more recent years, the house fell on hard times. It began to show its age and fell into disrepair. In the latter part of the 2000’s, the house fell into foreclosure, and the owner at the time reportedly began to sell off some of the materials, including, reportedly, a pricey Stark carpet that once adorned the formal living room. Afterward, the home sat empty and was abandoned for several years. And although the bank that owned the house did do a renovation before we purchased it, the house was still in fairly dreadful shape. Believe it or not, at the time it was still heated by a giant furnace Robert Goodpasture had installed more than 60 years earlier. Imagine the energy bills!

We believed the house deserved better. We set about restoring it wall-to-wall. We replaced all the major utility systems in the house, and brought the kitchens and bathrooms into the modern era, while attempting to preserve the extraordinary historical details of the house wherever possible. Today, the “guts” of the house are all new, while the surface retains almost all the priceless and irreplaceable historical materials that make the house one of a kind. The home’s ultra-low energy footprint makes it compatible with today’s environmental sensibilities, despite its grand physical scale—a fitting feature for any owner who appreciates the beauty of nature.

Bordered to the south by fifty acres of unspoiled woods and pasture, the property is home to a local family of red hawks, which come back to nest each spring. Blue Heron regularly fish in the bubbling creek. Thoroughbred horses graze just over the fence line. Wild turkey and deer forage through the yard. Even more than all the charms of the house itself, it may be the beauty of nature that is this property’s greatest asset.

Welcome to the Goodpasture House.

5249 square feet4425 square feet on main floor

(including main bedroom)4 bedrooms

3.5 bathrooms2 private acres

$899,615

Geothermal HVAC system:- New Bosch geothermal, multi-zone HVAC system installed in 2012. Saves about 80% off

of traditional heating and cooling costs each month.- Includes separate temperature controls for downstairs, upstairs, master suite, and den.

- Humidity control system.- All new duct work

- Multi-stage air filtration- Ultraviolet air quality system kills airborne contaminants including viruses and bacteria.

Other Green Energy Improvements:- New high-efficiency spray foam insulation in attic installed in 2012.

- New weather stripping

Interior Improvements:- All new kitchen in 2012

- Updated master bath, and three guest baths with new fixtures- New tile work- New lighting

- New paint- Refinished hardwood floors in upstairs guest bedroom

- New maple floors downstairs- Converted unfinished “blacksmith’s cabin” on east wing into finished artist studio.

Exterior Improvements:- Professionally painted exterior

- new rain gutters- all new professional landscaping

Other major systems upgrades:- All new water supply lines in 2012

- New sewer line in 2014- Updated electrical system with new circuit panel, new electrical in kitchen.

- New water heater in 2012