This issue examines the planned development and eventual decline of Nashville’s “Grand Avenue,” the ambitious civic vision laid out in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Centered on West Avenue and anchored by the 1898 brick Berrien County Courthouse, the newsletter traces how early city planners intended a broad, impressive boulevard lined with banks, public buildings, and the Nashville Public School (completed in 1904). The issue charts the rise of significant structures along the avenue—including the First National Bank, Farmers Bank, T.H.T. Sutton residence, and First Baptist Church—and details how disputes, shifting priorities, architectural changes, and mid-century development gradually eroded the unified plan. By 1973, West Avenue was formally closed and absorbed by the First Baptist Church, ending the Grand Avenue concept. Later revitalization efforts in 2011 restored only a single block as a pedestrian parkway.

Subject(names): Alexander, J. A.; Carter, L. A.; Goodman, W. B.; Hendricks, R. A.; Mathis, Simpson S.; Morrison, Dawn; Shaw, Bryan; Sutton, T. H. T.

Businesses mentioned: Berrien County Courthouse (Nashville, Ga.), Nashville Public School (Nashville, Ga.), First National Bank of Nashville (Ga.), Farmers Bank (Nashville, Ga.), First Baptist Church (Nashville, Ga.)