Alumna researches and shares Nashville’s history at Two Rivers Mansion

Alumna researches and shares Nashville's history at Two Rivers Mansion

Education and tour coordinator Emily Nix works to constantly uncover new details to bring a living history to Nashvillians.

Janel Shoun-Smith | 08/12/2026

History, says Emily Nix (BA '08), is not static.

"Knowing that the narrative might shift a little bit with new documentation, plus making sure we are telling stories that may not always have been told-that's being a good historian," said Nix, the education and tour coordinator at Two Rivers Mansion, a city-owned antebellum mansion on McGavock Pike built by David H. McGavock, a major player in Nashville history, in 1859.

The mansion, sitting in between the Stones and Cumberland rivers, was first occupied by McGavock, his wife William "Willie" Elizabeth Harding McGavock and their son Frank. It went on to be inhabited by the McGavock family for three generations until 1965, when the 400-acre tract was sold to the city, saved by Mayor Beverly Briley's administration as they built out the newly formed city/county government and required land on that side of the county for a new high school (named McGavock) and park (Two Rivers).

Nix, who creates the scripts for tour guides, updates informational panels and develops engaging educational programming for student groups and guests, says her role constantly evolves along with the historic narrative, which evolves through partnerships with historic organizations around the area, as the histories of the city's founding families are continuously intertwined.

Willie McGavock was a member of the Harding family that owned Belle Meade Mansion; her father, William Harding actually named the property "Two Rivers," before the mansion was constructed. Harding would have been a contemporary of and neighbor to Andrew Jackson.

For example, Nix worked with the Scarritt Bennett Center to learn more about Two Rivers' matriarch Willie McGavock's role in the Methodist church. She has researched and written new informational panels about the enslaved and Indigenous people who lived at the plantation. She has led efforts to recover artifacts such as Willie McGavock's son Frank's 1855 baby portrait and an olive spoon inscribed with the names "David and Willie," originally part of their 1850 wedding set recently donated to Two Rivers by the Battle of Franklin Trust. In addition, she researched Willie McGavock's trips north to the health spa town of Bethlehem, New Hampshire, partnering with the Bethlehem Historical Society to fill in the gaps and thereby expanding Willie's story.

"I work to make sure we are telling stories authentically, carving out our place in Nashville history and building relationships with other historical organizations in Nashville," said Nix, who also serves on the Friends of Two Rivers Advisory Board. "It is so important that all of these connected sites talk to each other because we are still uncovering new details and new layers that will really let us showcase the people who lived there."

Nix's own historical journey to her position at Two Rivers was a meandering one. Nix began her college career at Lipscomb with an American studies major, believing she would go into law. She completed her undergraduate career believing she would go into ministry and earned a Master of Theological Studies from Vanderbilt University.

Then, as life would have it, she ended up working as a catering manager for the owner of the Ellendales and Phat Bites restaurants in Donelson, coordinating large parties, weddings and galas. After a decade in that career, COVID-19 prompted a change, and she took a job as a summer associate leading tours at the mansion and she fell in love.

Despite her professional career, she had always been interested in history, and her classes at Lipscomb only enhanced that love. A Civil War history class, taught by Tim Johnson, Elizabeth Gentry Brown chair of history, especially "transformed how I studied and perceived history," she said.

Nix, a Nashville native, had seen Two Rivers Mansion only once before, at a party held onsite, before taking the job. Once she started, she found herself fascinated by the "200 years of Tennessee foundational history right before my eyes."

One of her favorite topics to explore with guests is the Irish immigration history of Nashville. James McGavock immigrated from Ireland in the 1700s and many later generations of Irish families impacted the history of Nashville and its residents. Nix has held special programs at the mansion highlighting that history and featuring relevant Irish music played by her husband, Josh Culley, a member of the Nosey Flynn Irish band that performs at McNamara's Irish Pub and Restaurant.

"Josh has this special skill, and we were able to use it, crafting programs that showcase a subject that people may not know about, and we've found that they really love it," she said. "Music resonates with people, and it brings history alive. I have been honored to share that.

"I want audiences to walk away happier than when they came in," said Nix. "We keep our tours small, so we can really talk to the guests. We would much rather talk with you than talk at you. I hope they really get to know the McGavock family and what inspired them and influenced them. This is, at its heart, a family house."