From the 1930s to the 1970s, Horn Springs Swimming Pool was one of the most popular recreation spots in Middle Tennessee. People from communities throughout the region made their way to the watering hole for all kinds of summer fun.
I barely remember the pool but have heard tons of stories about it. I have talked to people who worked as lifeguards. I have heard stories of rumbles between rival high schools. I have also heard of blossoming romances within the area’s environs.
These stories come to me because my parents bought the property a few years after the swimming pool closed, and I have spent some time researching the property’s history. There are newspaper articles about the swimming pool and plenty of photographs, but the best information comes from the people who were there.
I have given presentations about Horn Springs to numerous groups, and I always ask for stories. Few people speak up, but one thing always happens. After the presentation, an older gentleman will come up to me and say, “I have a story, but you cannot tell anyone.”
You would not believe what some of those stories entail.
There are a few things that I can say about the swimming pool.
It was built by the Horn family, but Dr. R.D. Wilkinson owned it for most of its existence.
The water was always cold because they used well water to fill it.
They rang a dinner bell to signal when people had to get out of the water.
There was a tall diving board that tested the bravery of a lot of kids.
It was a special place to thousands of people.
For years after my parents bought to property, people would ride by to see if the pool was still open. One day, my brother noticed a man driving slowly by and asked if he needed anything. The man was a salesman who was traveling through the area and wanted to see if he could find the swimming pool. He went there as a kid and found his way to the entrance many years later. He was disappointed to find it closed.
When my parents bought the property, the swimming pool had become a garbage dump and was beyond repair. They filled it in, and the place where thousands of people visited became a place for cattle to graze.
The other day, my stepdaughter and I were riding the Gator through that part of the farm, and I thought about all of the things that happened there. I thought about all of the stories that I have heard.
There is not much left of the recreation area. A dilapidated picnic pavilion is the only building that remains.
Horn Springs Swimming Pool is gone, but it remains in the memories of the people who were there. Even if many of those memories cannot be shared.
SBI: A Thinning Crowd 