Middle Region

Middle Region covers the central third of Tennessee, the broad rolling country running from the Kentucky line south to Alabama and from the Cumberland Plateau west to the Tennessee River. The terrain is the Highland Rim and Central Basin — the Highland Rim’s plateau wrapping around the lower Central Basin where Nashville sits, the Cumberland Plateau rising in the east, and the Cumberland River cutting west through the middle. Most of the state’s population lives in this region. Forty-three counties cover the region. Davidson holds Nashville (the state capital and the largest city, the home of country music); Williamson holds Franklin (the historic Civil War town); Rutherford holds Murfreesboro and Middle Tennessee State University; Maury holds Columbia; Cumberland holds Crossville and Fairfield Glade; Moore holds Lynchburg (the home of the Jack Daniel’s distillery); Sumner holds Gallatin. The Country Music Hall of Fame, the Grand Ole Opry, the Tennessee State Capitol, the Hermitage (Andrew Jackson’s home), and Stones River National Battlefield anchor the major attractions. Most trips here center on Nashville. Nashville handles the music-and-honky-tonk itinerary — Lower Broadway, the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Ryman Auditorium, the Grand Ole Opry, Music Row; Franklin runs the Civil War-and-Main-Street weekend; Lynchburg runs the Jack Daniel’s distillery tour; Cookeville and the Cumberland Plateau pull weekend travelers to Fall Creek Falls.