Visiting Clarksville, Tennessee – Why it’s Middle Tennessee’s Underrated River Town

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Making a visit to Clarksville, Tennessee, can fill your days with fun, history, great food and shopping.  Did you know it’s the fifth largest city in Tennessee in population, just behind Chattanooga?   Thank you for Visit Clarksville for hosting our stay.  All opinion are my own.  #hosted

Most can’t think of Clarksville without thinking of Fort Campbell, which is on the Tennessee and Kentucky border.  After talking to several locals, I found many came to the area for the military but decided to stay and call Clarksville home.

Clarksville is also home to Austin Peay University, which is another reason it brings many into town whether just to attend, teach, or love the area and stay after graduating. 

What to do in Clarksville

Where to start – food, history, shopping, to do…

 We found no shortage of any of these and with our three days, it’s not nearly enough time to enjoy all the bountiful offerings of the area.  Located on the North Central border of Tennessee, it’s about an hour from Nashville, so it can be a great day trip from the Middle Tennessee area.

Where to Eat

Loving food as much as we do, and especially finding great local places is always at the top of list when we travel to a new area.   Here’s some suggestions including several we visited and really enjoyed.

The Mailroom – located  in the middle of downtown in and old Post Office and Federal Building.  Offering brunch and a patio, it’s a place to consider for any time of the day.  Service and food was worth a second trip.

Sike’s Old World Bakery – this bakery has two locations, in the same parking lot.  One is more bread and cookie bakery, and the other is a deli type offering all kinds of sandwiches, pizzas, baked goods such as whole cakes or by the slice, and dessserts.  

Blackhorse Pub & Brewery – located in Strawberry Alley, a little side street in the downtown area.  There was a large selection on the menu which I found typical of a pub or bar.  After having a large breakfast, we found the Strawberry and Spinach Salad the perfect lunch during our day out.

Old Glory Restaurant – maybeone of our favorite meals even though it was a burger and fries.  But oh my – what a great burger & fries.  Here’s the description so your mouth will water.  I promise you, it was delicious.  We also took a tour of the distillery, but more on that later.

• Duck Fat Fries – House-Cut Fries, Duck Fat, Parmesan, Tarragon Aioli, Bourbon BBQ Sauce, White Rum BBQ Sauce, Bread & Butter Gin Pickles
• The Grind Burger – House Blend Of Ribeye, Brisket, & Chuck, Swiss-American Cheese, Sharp White Cheddar, BBQ Mayo, Bread & Butter Gin Pickles

Miss Lucille’s Cafe and Dock 17 – located in a whole complex of shops, including the Vintage Marketplace.  Both restaurants serve a completly different menu.  We chose the cafe for breakfast and thoroughly enjoy what you think of a typical Southern breakfast of pancakes, bacon and eggs, plus delicious coffee.  Dock 17 is located next to the bowling alley.  Yes you can spend all day around Miss Lucille’s for food and entertainment.  No wonder the coffee was so good, they recently opened a separate coffee shop as you enter the Marketplace and Cafe.

Dock 17 offers live music at night but it didn’t make us enjoy our lunch any less.  I was told not to miss one of their specialties, the boneless pork chop.  Delish!

Harvest Kitchen & Spirts-located in the Doubletree and walking distance from our B & B.  We have found most hotels have really upped their game in the food department.  This was a great choice for breakfast as we were spending the morning walking around the downtown area.

The Catfish House – you had me at catfish.  I grew up going to catfish farms for fresh catfish, and sometimes it’s hard to find that.  Located along the river not far from downtown, it served all the traditional plates of food you find at a fish house.  The cornmeall coated fish was fried to just the perfect crispiness.  It will be on my list to visit again.

Flora & Ivy Coffee & Goods – such a cute shop.  The morning was a bit dreary, but the coffee drink selections were warming along with a homemade cinnamon roll and scone.  There’s also shopping available with newer  gift items and a little used and vintage.  Don’t pass this up for shopping.

Other places to consider – there were so many wonderful sounding places but just couldn’t fit them all in:

• Strawberry Alley Ale Works
• Yada on Franklin
• Parlor Doughnuts
• Mug Shot Coffee Co
• Mexican Bakery – Leche y Miel
• The Amsterdam Cafe
• Asulon Collective,
• Plumb Line Coffee
• Khairos Coffee Co.
• B’s Cheesecakes
• Pbody’s

What to Do and See in Clarksville

From the above list, it sounds like all we did was eat while in town, but we worked up our appetites by having so much to see and do in three days.  The weather wasn’t great for a lot of the outdoor plans we had, but it wasn’t like we didn’t find enough to do on the inside.

Miss Lucille’s Vintage Marketplace – after enjoying coffee or breakfast, stroll though the marketplace where you will find over 200 booths in a 32,000 square foot building.  It’s one of the cleanest and most well-organized marketplaces I have visited.  From being well-lit to just a friendly place, you will find new gift items, holiday gifts, antiques, clothing, and even gifts for your pets. 

We found several shops around town including thrift, antique, vintage, book and record stores.  You know my husband loves his records and books.

• Refinery on the River
• Hudubam Booktraders
• Clarksville Bookshop
• AndVinyl Records
• Warehouse 41

A fun statue you will find downtown is of Frank Spencer Sutton, better known as Sgt. Carter from the Gomer Pyle USMC show.  “I can’t hear you” was his famous phrase.  A native to the area he was also a Veteran and Patriot.

History Around Clarksville

Two of the top places to visit to learn about history of Clarksville and Tennessee are Fort Defiance Civil War Interpretive Center and Customs House Museum.

Fort Defiance Civil War Interpretive Center is full of trails which can look down on the Cumberland and Red Rivers, both playing parts in the Civil War.  During the Civil War, Clarksville was occupied by Union Soldiers. 

The center has great docents who can answer questions and explain so much about the park and so much about the history.  I have always admitted I am not a big history buff so many of these facts were new to me. 

 Customs House Museum is Tennessee’s largest general history museum is fun for all ages.  It’s all about Tennessee.  You will find a post about this museum later as there’s so much to share. 

Some of the highlights for me included – Artists from Tennessee, Sports, The Model Railroad

Of course I loved seeing a Rock City Barn.

An interesting piece of what some might call art, is an original spire from the top of the museum torn from the top during a 1999 tornado which hit the town.  It was found several blocks away.

Last Train to Clarksville

Can you say this and not hear the Monkees singing it?  Although it has kind of become a song which Clarksville will embrace, it wasn’t written about the town.  Since Clarksville is so well known for the military, they will use the song for its strong, accidental connection to the military and the Vietnam War era.

Well Known Sports Personalities

Two of the biggest names related to sports is Pat Summitt and Wilma Rudolph.  I’ll have more about them too in my Customs House Museum post.

Each have a statue at the Libery Park.  Another great area for exploring along the river.

 

Visting Clarksville

As a few final notes, this was our first visit and won’t be our last.  There’s just so much to see, do and eat.  Have I made you want to visit Clarksville?

 

Just a few more things to see in Tennessee:

Nashville – Attend and Indy Car Race

Chattanooga – Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum

Memphis – Things to do in Memphis

Lychburg – Jack Daniels Distillery

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