Donelson, Tennessee
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Donelson is a suburb of Nashville, Tennessee located east of downtown Nashville along U.S. Highway 70. It is named in honor of John Donelson, co-founder of Nashville and father-in-law of Andrew Jackson, Nashvillian and seventh President of the United States. It is incorporated as part of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County.
Donelson began its development shortly after World War II. Its location adjacent to Nashville's airport led to much of its early growth; it was also the site of an early example of what would later be called a shopping center or "strip mall", Donelson Plaza.
Donelson is now an example of an early postwar suburb with a stock of mostly half-century old, red brick, detached ranch-style homes. However, there has been some tendency for infill in recent years, largely tied into the expansion of sewers. The area's desirability was increased somewhat by the impoundment of Percy Priest Lake on the Stones River in the late 1960s which increased summertime recreational opportunities greatly.
Donelson was the home of the former Opryland USA theme park, which closed in 1997. This property is now the Opry Mills shopping mall and the Grand Ole Opry. It is usually considered as something of a unit along with the adjacent suburb of Hermitage, located just across the Stones River along US Highway 70; the two communities share a Chamber of Commerce. Donelson also has the Donelson Bowl which is on Donelson Pike just south of Highway 70. Donelson Pike is the road that intersects with Highway 70 in approximately the center of Donelson in this part of Davidson County. Donelson Bowl opened in 1957 and has been providing the community with the sport of bowling ever since, remaining one of the Nashville community's leading bowling centers.
As with most unincorporated communities which are not census-designated places, making a realistic estimate of the community's population is very problematic. Donelson is generally considered to be coextensive with the United States Postal Service's ZIP Code 37214, which is the ZIP Code for the Nashville Post Office's Donelson Station.
The community will have a station on the new Music City Star commuter rail line, which is now scheduled to begin operation in August 2006.
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