Davidson County · Middle Tennessee
Living in Whites Creek
Whites Creek is an unincorporated community in northwestern Davidson County, named for the creek that runs north and south along US-431. It holds a 157 acre National Register district of buildings from the 1830s to the early 1900s, described as Nashville’s only historic rural district, and unlike the rest of this list it sits in the General Services District, which means a lower Metro tax rate and a lower level of Metro service.
- Status
- Unincorporated community inside Metro Nashville, ZIP 37189
- Tax district
- General Services District, $2.782 per hundred for 2025, not the urban rate
- Historic district
- National Register, listed August 16, 1984, 157 acres
What’s actually there
- The Whites Creek Historic District along Whites Creek Pike and Old Hickory Boulevard, buildings from the 1830s to the early 1900s
- The Frederick Stump House and the Old Bank and Centre Star Lodge among the contributing buildings
- Whites Creek High School at 7277 Old Hickory Boulevard, grades 9 through 12
- Beaman Park nearby on Old Hickory Boulevard, which grew by 300 acres in July 2026
- The Grove at Whites Creek, on the front sixteen acres of the former Fontanel property
The housing stock
Inside the historic district, buildings from the 1830s to the early 1900s on rural acreage. Outside it, low density rural residential on large lots. New construction here is contested rather than routine: a proposal for roughly 200 homes in a cluster-lot subdivision on Brick Church Lane, in an area with about twenty existing homes, was filed in 2017 and again in 2021 and was defeated, and the opposition documented nearly 800 additional homes already approved within a mile and a half. I could not source a current median sale price for Whites Creek or the 37189 ZIP, and I will not borrow the Davidson County figure, because the housing here is nothing like the county at large.
Getting around
Roughly nine miles from Public Square as the crow flies, and meaningfully further by road depending on the route. US-431 and Whites Creek Pike are the through routes. This is the one on my list where the drive genuinely varies, so drive it at your own hour before you rely on a number.
Things to do in Whites Creek
Places worth knowing before you decide whether you want to live here.
Whites Creek Historic District
A 157 acre National Register district listed August 16, 1984 along Whites Creek Pike and Old Hickory Boulevard, with buildings from the 1830s to the early 1900s. Contributing resources include the Frederick Stump House and the Old Bank and Centre Star Lodge.
Beaman Park
Nature center at 5911 Old Hickory Boulevard, grounds open dawn to dusk. Highland Rim forest with steep slopes, narrow hollows, streams and waterfalls, a quarter mile accessible boardwalk with ridge-top views and a canopy walk. Metro announced the acquisition of 300 more acres of forestland on July 24, 2026. It is in the same quadrant rather than adjacent, so it is a drive, not a walk.
The Grove at Whites Creek
On the front sixteen acres of the former Fontanel property. The Inn at the Grove and the Grand Hall event space are open and taking wedding bookings. Suites and cottages come from the 2013 Southern Living Idea House. A restaurant was expected in summer 2026, so check before you plan around it.
Beaman Park
5911 Old Hickory Boulevard, 2,700 acres of ridge and hardwood forest with a nature center.
Ted Rhodes Golf Course
1901 Ed Temple Boulevard, the closest public golf on the way into town.
Checked against each business as of August 16, 2026. Nashville loses restaurants faster than most cities, so if something here has closed since, tell me and I’ll get it corrected.
Subdivisions and named developments in Whites Creek
Once you are actually looking, you stop searching by city and start searching by subdivision. These are the names that come up, and what is true about each one that will still be true in three years. No prices, no dues, no days on market, because those change and this page would go stale telling you about them.
Cobblestone Creek
The largest subdivision in Whites Creek, built through the 2000s, and it has a cemetery platted into it.
- About 163 parcels across Phases 1, 1-A, 2 and 3, recorded between August 2004 and October 2008.
- Lots run roughly twelve to sixteen hundredths of an acre under R8 zoning, which is small-lot product by Whites Creek standards.
- The Phase 1 plat includes a separately recorded cemetery parcel on Cobblestone Creek Drive. A platted cemetery is permanent and non-developable, which is worth knowing when you read a lot line.
- Runs along Cobblestone Creek Drive and Daniel Ray Drive.
Creek Trail
The acreage end of Whites Creek, and the widest lots in the zip by a distance.
- Lots run from about ninety-six hundredths of an acre to 3.2 acres, zoned RS20.
- About 33 parcels. First plat recorded February 27, 1991, with additional lots in 1995 and a resubdivision in 2016.
- Creek Trail at three acres and Willow Trace at eight hundredths of an acre are about three miles apart. That spread is the defining fact about this zip code.
- On Creek Trail Drive and Meghana Drive.
Willow Trace and Deer Meadows
Two small-lot 1980s developments, both built as attached or zero lot line product.
- Willow Trace runs about 84 parcels on lots of roughly eight to eleven hundredths of an acre, recorded 1989 and 1990.
- Deer Meadows runs about 83 parcels at roughly eleven to twelve hundredths of an acre, recorded through zone lot division plats starting March 14, 1984.
- Both are zoned R10 despite the small lots, because zone lot divisions carve a conventional parcel into attached units.
- Willow Trace sits on Willow Trace Drive and Court, Rock Creek Court and Brook Manor Drive. Deer Meadows is on Tisdall Drive and Flint Ridge Drive.
Prestwick Place and Cherry Grove
The mid-2000s arrivals, and one has street names that make no sense until you know they were chosen.
- Prestwick Place is a single plat recorded July 23, 2004, about 51 parcels on Emerald Bay Boulevard, lots roughly thirteen to twenty-three hundredths of an acre.
- Its streets are named Emerald Bay, Sailwinds Cove, Shorecrest Point and Waveport Place, which is nautical naming on a landlocked site well away from any water.
- Cherry Grove runs about 27 parcels recorded across 2005 through 2007, on notably larger lots of roughly four tenths to seven tenths of an acre, zoned R15.
- Whites Creek Manor adds about 28 parcels recorded in late 2006 at roughly a quarter acre.
Hickory Hills, which is not a neighborhood
A name that looks residential in a listing search and is zoned for offices.
- Zoned OR20, an office and residential district, with tracts running from about 3.9 acres to over 12 acres.
- An adjoining 43.8 acre tract is under a Specific Plan district.
- About 20 parcels on Hickory Hills Boulevard. This is an office park development, not a subdivision of houses.
- Worth naming so that a search landing here understands what it is looking at before driving out.
What gets called Whites Creek and is not
Five names commonly attached to Whites Creek that sit in a different zip.
- Quail Ridge, Timbertrail, Heritage Creek, Dalemere and Saddleback Farms are all in 37207, on the Brick Church Pike and Dickerson side.
- Whites Creek proper is 37189, and it is genuinely small: about 2,152 parcels across 72 named streets in the entire zip.
- The Whites Creek at Lloyd Road urban design overlay, adopted in 2017, governs how new building meets the street in part of the area.
- A zip that small means comparable sales are thin, so a published median here is describing a handful of houses rather than a market.
Schools
Metro Nashville Public Schools
Look up an address with the district →
Metro Nashville Public Schools serves Whites Creek, and Whites Creek High School sits at 7277 Old Hickory Boulevard covering grades 9 through 12. Metro assigns by address and runs choice and magnet applications alongside zoned assignment, so confirm any address with the district Zone Finder.
I publish district and school zoning as published fact and nothing more. No ratings, no rankings, no comparisons. School zones are set by the district, assigned by address rather than by subdivision or city name, and they change. Confirm any address with the district itself, and evaluate the schools yourself against what matters to your family.
What a buyer needs to know here
Septic, and specifically the number of bedrooms the septic system is permitted for, which can be lower than the number of bedrooms in the listing. Whites Creek is in the General Services District, outside the urban services area, and much of it is not on public sewer. Septic in Davidson County is handled by the Metro Public Health Department, which does the soils interpretation, the system design and the percolation test monitoring. Metro maintains a request form specifically for how many bedrooms an existing residence is approved for, and that form exists because the mismatch is common. A house marketed as a four bedroom can sit on a system permitted for three. The consequences land on you, not the seller: the permitted count caps any addition or finished basement bedroom, an appraiser or a lender can take issue with it, and expanding a system needs suitable soils, which on this steep rocky Highland Rim terrain is not a given. If the soil will not perc for an expansion, the bedroom count is capped permanently, and that becomes your resale problem. Before your inspection contingency expires, pull the septic file and the bedroom approval from Metro Public Health, confirm whether the parcel is septic or sewer rather than assuming, and if you intend to add on, get a soils evaluation for expansion capacity and not just a system inspection. One more thing worth saying plainly: the 1984 National Register listing restricts nothing, and there is no Metro preservation or conservation overlay here, so nothing guarantees the tract next to you stays rural.
Common questions
Why is the tax rate lower in Whites Creek?
Because it is in Metro’s General Services District rather than the Urban Services District. The 2025 rates are $2.782 per hundred for the general district and $2.814 for the urban one. The lower rate is real, and so is the reduced level of Metro service that comes with it. Confirm the district on the specific parcel, because that boundary does not follow neighborhood names.
What happened to Fontanel?
It closed in 2019. The mansion tours ended, the Woods Amphitheater closed and Prichard’s Distillery is listed closed. The front sixteen acres are now The Grove at Whites Creek, with an inn and the Grand Hall event space open and taking wedding bookings. Plenty of guides still describe Fontanel as running. It is not.
Is the historic district going to keep the area rural?
No. It is a National Register listing with no Metro overlay behind it, so it restricts nothing a private owner does. A roughly 200 home subdivision was proposed on Brick Church Lane twice and defeated, and opponents documented close to 800 homes already approved within a mile and a half. Buy on what the zoning allows next door, not on what is standing there now.
Thinking about Whites Creek?
What are some of your must haves to make it a perfect home for you in this neighborhood?