Two Rivers Mansion

3130 McGavock Pk #1678, Nashville, TN 37214

Located between the Stone and Cumberland Rivers, the Two Rivers Mansion is one of Nashville’s most well-preserved antebellum houses from the 19th-century. Known by many as a Nahsville treasure and beautiful historic artifact of the past, this Italianate style house embodies the spirit of elegance and is preserved as a time capsule of the past.

The Two Rivers Mansion was built in 1859 by David McGavock in dedication to his wife, William Elizabeth Harding, who was known by the nickname “Willie.” When the mansion was completed, David, Willie, and their son, Frank, moved into the new establishment from the “1802 house,” which is one of the oldest brick houses built in Nashville, and visitors can see their names stamped on three bricks of the back porch. David McGavok designed the mansion in the Italianate architectural style, which models after 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture. The estate covered 1100 acres of land and, due to the encompassing rivers, were notable for their fertility. The surrounding estate, or plantation, was called the Two Rivers Stock Farm and flourished up until the Panic of 1893, the financial depression which ended in 1897. Near financial bankruptcy, Frank McGavock took possession of the farm and worked until the early 1900s to save the property. The mansion and farm was eventually passed down to his son, Spence McGavock and his wife Mary Louise Bransford and they updated the mansion with plumbing, electricity, and heat in 1928 and lived on the premises until 1933. In 1954, Mary Louise returned to Two Rivers after the death of her husband in 1936 and lived there until her death in 1965.  In total, Two Rivers was inhabited and maintained three generations by the McGavock family and the remaining 447-acre property was eventually purchased by the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County.

The Two Rivers Mansion historic site remains from the original plantation and covers 14 acres, well-preserved and maintained by The Friends of Two Rivers Mansion. Tours are available of the mansion and the 1802 house and the schedule can be found here. Restoration has returned the antique beauty of Two Rivers from the post-war era and will continue to be a treasure to Nashville and its visitors.