Woodlawn

The Woodlawn mansion, on the southwest side of Woodmont Blvd., was built around 1822 and was the home of the Nichols/ Williams family until 1900. During the Battle of Nashville in December 1862, Woodlawn was reportedly Brigade Headquarters and then a Confederate field hospital. Camp Harker, a Union camp, was established in front of the house in 1865. Major changes were made in 1916 when Woodmont Boulevard was built; the house used to face an older road. Woodlawn was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, when it had been the home of the Young/ Moore family for over fifty years. The house was converted into legal offices by the 1990s and the rest of the property has been developed.

Woodlawn became the family home of John Nichols after it was built around 1822. There was likely an earlier house on the 1,800-acre plantation; a county history gives 1807 as the year Captain John Nichols settled on his land. A year after the mansion was built, Nichols' daughter, Nancy (1807-1844) married Willoughby Williams Jr. (1798-1882), a North Carolina native. Willoughby was a banker and later president of the Bank of Tennessee; he also served as sheriff of Davidson County in the 1830s. Willoughby was a good friend of U.S. president Andrew Jackson, who reportedly visited Woodlawn frequently. One of Willoughby's aunts was married to Jackson's brother. Nancy Nichols Williams died in Nashville in July 1844; Willoughby never remarried and raised their eight children. Willoughby appeared on the federal agricultural census in 1850 back in Davidson County (surrounding Nashville); he had 800 acres of improved land and 1,000 unimproved on a farm valued at $54,000. There were 111 enslaved persons counted at Woodlawn in 1850.

The widowed Willoughby and two of his sons were living in Davidson County in 1860, presumably at Woodlawn. Willoughby was a 60-year-old farmer with real estate worth $100,000 and personal property valued at $85,000. His elder son, John Henry, was a 34-year-old farmer with extensive real estate - even more than his father - and personal property. John Henry was married to Elizabeth (age 30) and had two children - John H. Jr. (6, born in Tennessee) and John [sic] B. (9, born in Arkansas). The younger son of Willoughby, Andrew, was a farmer (19); he reportedly died while serving in the Civil War. Willoughby was given a presidential pardon after the war by President Andrew Johnson.

In 1870, Willoughby was still a farmer with over $100,000 in real estate. He shared Woodlawn with a surviving son, John Henry and John Henry's family; the four children of John Henry at home ranged from 8 months to 15 years old. A probable servant named Kate Clooney (25) and a carriage driver named Waller William (45) also lived in the household. Six of the eight children of Willoughby and Nancy were still alive in the late 1870s. Woodlawn underwent extensive modifications in the late nineteenth century; one story wings were added to the main block. Willoughby divided his time between Woodlawn and another large plantation he owned in Arkansas. In December 1882, Willoughby died in Louisville, Kentucky at the home of his daughter; he was buried in Nashville. John Henry's daughter, Mrs. Verner Williams Hart, sold Woodlawn in 1900 to Duncan Kenner. Kenner later sold the property to local businessman Henry Richardson.

Many changes were made to the mansion in 1916 by Richardson. The house's main entrance faced northwest toward Harding Road until 1916; the main entrance was changed to face northeast toward a new road, Woodmont Boulevard. The northeast wing was removed, and a new front in Greek Revival style was built onto the main block's northeast side. The new entrance featured two-story Doric columns and a balcony. The whole house was stuccoed in 1916, and a sun porch plus sleeping porch were added to the main block's southeast side. Richardson sold Woodlawn in 1922 to the Young family; their daughter still owned and resided at Woodlawn in the late 1970s. By then, the house was on two acres and had multi-story apartment houses as neighbors. The mansion has been the site of legal offices since the 1990s; it currently contains offices of Kinnard Law.

Clayton, W. W. A History of Davidson County, Tennessee. Philadelphia, PA. J. W. Lewis & Co., 1880.

Compton, John H. Woosley, Elizabeth Moore. NRHP nomination of Woodlawn, Nashville, Tennessee. National Register. Washington, DC. National Park Service, 1978.

Hill, James. Memorial for Nancy Davis Nichols Williams (1807-1844), Find A Grave. November 17th, 2008. Accessed October 17th, 2022. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/31481959/nancy-davis-williams.

Hill, James. Memorial for Col. Willoughby Williams Jr. (1798-1882), Find A Grave. November 17th, 2008. Accessed October 17th, 2022. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/31481392/willoughby-williams.

Hoobler, James A. A Guide to Historic Nashville. Charleston, SC. The History Press, 2008.

Kinnard, Clayton & Beveridge. Wanted: J.D., R.N.. ABA Journal. June 1st, 1997. 108 - 108.

U.S. Census. Agricultural production on farm of Willoughby Williams in District 11, Davidson County, Tennessee. Washington, DC. U.S. Government, 1850.

U.S. Census. Household of Willoughby Williams in District 11, Davidson County, Tennessee, dwelling 72, family 72. Washington, DC. U.S. Government, 1860.

U.S. Census. Household of Willoughby Williams in District 11, Davidson County, Tennessee, dwelling 80, family 81. Washington, DC. U.S. Government, 1870.