We've gathered her bounty for centuries on end
Her wildlife runs free in the fields that we tend
Losing this land is like losing a friend
This is our home,
Beloved Bells Bend
-George B. West
Stay, Slow Down, Gather, Nourish, Learn & Create
A farmhouse in Bells Bend, just 15 minutes from Nashville TN
Nestled in the farming community of Bells Bend, where sustainable and organic practices abound.
Whooping Crane Farm-Stay accommodates 2 to 6 guests, with its 3 bedrooms and 1.5 baths. The home over-looks 115 spacious acres above the Cumberland River. Whooping Crane Farm
Stay With Us
The History of Whooping Crane Farm
Lucy, George and Georgianna in front of Whooping Crane Farm, 1942
Originally built as a "dog trot" style home in the late 1800's, Whooping Crane Farm, in the 1940s known as the West Family Farm, served as the home of Lucy Southgate Betty West and George Christian West and their children: Georgianna Lucy, and George. Beginning in the 1930's the farm had a working dairy farm, crop production and a sawmill on its 200 acres.
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Mornings spent on the porch gazing over the grazing cattle, smelling Nonnie's (Lucy West) begonias on the stoop. The simplicity of living at Whooping Crane farm has been carried on though generations.
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Whooping Crane Farm is currently preserved under the Land Trust for Tennessee to protect its history for many years to come.
Bells Bend: The "Bread Basket" of Nashville
Whooping Crane's beloved barn at morning's sunrise.
Bells Bend, is an 18-square mile area encompassed by a U-shaped bend in the Cumberland River. Numerous archaeological sites indicate that the area has been inhabited for at least 10,000 years.
Bells Bend has thrived as an agricultural community since the early 19th century.
Land owners in the bend included Montgomery Bell and David Lipscomb. The Clees family operated a mill and ferry service beginning in the 1870s.
Bells Bend is currently home to many farms supporting the local food movement in metropolitan Nashville and its restaurants. It also offers a rural escape for abundant wildlife, including the kingfisher and whooping crane. The community supports young farmers and nature lovers alike, keeping the final acres of metropolitan Nashville rural.