Loretta Lynn’s Ranch, situated in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee, stands as a testament to the legendary country music icon Loretta Lynn’s legacy and her deep roots in the American Sout.
Loretta Lynn passed away on October, 2022, at her home in Tennessee at 90. She will forever be remembered for such iconic and energetic songs as «Fist City», «Don’t Come Home a’ Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind)»,«You Ain’t Woman Enough (To Take My Man)», and many more others. The popular singer was nominated for a Grammy Award 18 times and won thrice.
However, one of her most famous songs, which has also been the subject of a book and film, is «Coal Miner’s Daughter», in which Loretta recounts her humble childhood in a Kentucky cabin during the Great Depression when the family barely managed to survive on father’s modest salary. In 1948, 15-year-old Loretta married Oliver «Mooney» Lynn. It was their life together that inspired her to write songs. After the wedding, the girl left Kentucky and moved to the logging community of Custer in northwest Washington.
The ranch, located about an hour west of Nashville, spans 3,500 acres and encompasses the rich history, culture, and natural beauty of Tennessee. It’s a popular tourist destination, attracting fans and visitors from all around the world who are eager to connect with Lynn’s music and story. The estate offers a variety of attractions, including the plantation home where Lynn lived, a replica of her childhood home from Butcher Hollow, and the Coal Miner’s Daughter Museum, which houses an extensive collection of memorabilia from Lynn’s career, including dresses, awards, and personal artifacts.
In 1960, a cross-country road trip took Loretta and her husband from Washington state to Nashville, Tennessee, where the miner’s daughter went from rags to riches after recording a duet album with Ernest Tubb.
Once Loretta made enough money to buy her place, she decided that living in a big city wasn’t the best option, so she and Mooney began looking for a location outside of Nashville.
The story goes that they were on their way to explore some area but got lost, and a country road led the couple to a luxurious white house located above a waterfall and an old mill.
The ranch’s general manager and grandson of the legendary singer, Anthony Brutto, says the house was abandoned, so Loretta and Oliver slept on the porch. That night, the singer told her husband that she wanted to buy a home, which turns out to have been built by the Anderson family in the 1870s.
Once the couple discovered who owned the house, they also found that this person owned the town of Hurricane Mills. The only way the Lynns could buy the house was to purchase the entire complex of buildings. In this way, they became the proud owners of the entire town.
According to Anthony Brutto, one wrong road led to another wrong path, which ultimately led his grandparents to the right place, and the ranch is still thriving more than 60 years later.
The Loretta Lynn Ranch, or Hurricane Mills Rural Historic District, is a 3000-acre property comprising five buildings and six other properties. Some people know this area as Hurricane Forge. The ranch includes Hurricane Mill, built in 1987; the Hurricane Creek Dam, which has stood strong since 1912; the luxurious steel Hurricane Mills Bridge, designed in 1911 by the Nashville Bridge Company; an old school, the Hillman-Anderson House, created in 1876; Hurricane Mills General Store and Post Office, built in 1926.
For more details, please check our video about Loretta Lynn