At 5 p.m. on Thursday, October 1, the town had scheduled a groundbreaking at 1686 Sunset Road for Chrismon-Brown Park. Two days later, the Town of Nolensville was scheduled to seal a time capsule at Town Hall, to remain shut until October 2056. Meanwhile, Morning Glory Orchard is selling apples from a crop roughly half the size it hoped for.
Each of these is a payment made now against something that arrives later. The park has amenities still to be built. The capsule opens in 30 years. The orchard hopes to earn enough this year to support next year's crop. Earlier this October, residents had three scheduled chances to show up for one of those bets.
The October 1 Groundbreaking
The town bought the nearly 20-acre property in July 2023. The plan calls for a multi-purpose grass sports field, tennis and pickleball courts, a basketball court, restrooms, parking and a paved walking trail. The trail includes a boardwalk over a stream tributary. A $1.2 million Local Parks and Recreation Fund grant from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation supports the project. The site will also eventually hold the Nolensville Police Headquarters. At the town's annual address on April 30, Mayor Halie Gallik said the station is still being designed and funding is still being identified. The groundbreaking was planned as the first step in that work.
The name is the more interesting part. On March 5, the Board of Commissioners approved Chrismon-Brown Park after a naming campaign that drew 194 submissions and 454 certified community votes. It honors Ben and Mary Polk Chrismon, who founded Sunset Park in the early 1900s as a social and sports gathering place for the African American community. Sunset Park sits next to the new property and was the first ball diamond in Middle Tennessee established for African Americans. The name also recognizes Thomas A. Brown Sr. and Jessie Boyd Brown, who bought Sunset Park in 1965 and ran it for about ten years.
The town reincorporated in 1996, and the neighboring Sunset Park was a gathering place for most of a century before that. The new park is planned for the site next to that history and carries its name.
October 3: Founders Day and the Farmers Market
Saturday, October 3 marked Founders Day, the town's celebration of the 30th anniversary of its reincorporation. The ceremony was scheduled to begin at 11:00 a.m. at Nolensville Town Hall, 7218 Nolensville Road. The scheduled centerpiece was the burial of a 30-Year Time Capsule holding memories from the town's past three decades and items representing the community today. The capsule was scheduled to open in October 2056, after remaining sealed for 30 years. A replica of the town's first official flag was slated to go inside. Residents submitted designs through August 31, and the winning design becomes the official flag.
The Nolensville Farmers Market was scheduled to run from 8 a.m. to noon that Saturday. It is a producer-only market held in the parking lot and school gym of the Historic Nolensville School at 7248 Nolensville Road, at the corner of Nolensville Road and Sunset Road. The addresses are 7248 and 7218 Nolensville Road. Both events were scheduled for Saturday morning. Here was the planned order:
- The market was scheduled to open at 8 a.m.
- The ceremony was scheduled for 11 a.m. at Town Hall; the town planned to hand out a one-of-a-kind Founders Day challenge coin while supplies lasted.
- The official Founders Day selfie board was scheduled to remain at Town Hall through October, along with the time capsule and a commemorative plaque bench.
- The suggested final stop was the orchard.
The town announced an Explore Nolensville Digital Passport in partnership with Visit Franklin, which was scheduled to begin October 1 and built around local businesses and special offers and promotions through the month. Official Founders Day T-shirts were scheduled to go on sale that day.
The Orchard Hopes to Earn Enough This Year to Support Next Year's Crop
Morning Glory Orchard, at 7690 Nolensville Road, is having what owner Alyson Terrel described to WSMV as its worst year in a decade. She estimates the apple crop is down about 50%, after a March freeze, drought and summer heat, including record heat earlier this month. For a baseline, Terrel told WSMV in 2024 that the orchard anticipates about a 20% loss at the start of each season, because weather can change so much during a growing season. This year's loss is far larger than that planning assumption.
The heat, she said, is making apples rot from the inside. The orchard harvested early to stop more fruit from shriveling on the branch, and it is already out of some varieties, including Jonathan. It has moved much of the crop toward cider, because cider can use apples that are slightly bruised. The orchard is now producing hundreds of gallons of cider a week, plus donuts, and it kept prices where they were despite the losses. Apples held in cold storage are filling the farm store while other sections of the orchard are harvested over the coming weeks.
"You can't get around Mother Nature."
— Alyson Terrel, quoted by WSMV
That is Terrel's summary of the season. She also said a year like this would be far worse for a farm that relies on one crop, and that the goal is to earn enough this year to support next year's crop. The trees, she said, will rebound after resting over the winter.
The practical details matter, because older articles about the orchard describe October walks that the orchard's 2026 FAQ no longer offers. From September 8 through October 31 the orchard hosts school field trips, and the grounds are closed to the public for walking. The retail store is open Tuesday through Saturday. The orchard is also not a pick-your-own farm, since the family says u-pick can cause about 40% crop loss. Everything is hand-picked and sold in the farm store, where the cider, donuts, jams and jellies have helped offset the loss. The orchard's own FAQ says fall brings crowds and a longer walk from the parking lot.
The orchard has had bad years before. In 2023 it lost its entire peach crop when a February warm-up pushed the trees into bloom and a freeze in early March killed the blossoms.
October on the Calendar
- Thursday, October 1, 5 p.m.: Chrismon-Brown Park groundbreaking was scheduled at 1686 Sunset Road.
- October 1: Explore Nolensville Digital Passport was scheduled to begin, and Founders Day T-shirts were scheduled to go on sale.
- Saturday, October 3, 8 a.m. to noon: Nolensville Farmers Market was scheduled at the Historic Nolensville School, 7248 Nolensville Road.
- Saturday, October 3, 11 a.m.: Founders Day ceremony and time capsule burial were scheduled at Town Hall, 7218 Nolensville Road.
- Through October 31: The selfie board was scheduled to remain at Town Hall through October, with the time capsule and plaque bench also part of the planned display. Morning Glory Orchard's store is open Tuesday through Saturday, with the grounds closed to walkers.
If you want a second opinion on what these projects mean for your plans in Nolensville, reach out to Janelle Waggener and let's talk it through.