As one of Tennessee’s oldest cities, Clarksville is where history and modernity intertwine, offering a unique blend of small-town charm and urban vibrancy. With its storied past, Clarksville has evolved into a thriving community, all while maintaining its connection to its historical roots.
One of the most remarkable aspects of Clarksville’s legacy is the presence of century-old businesses that have stood the test of time. These establishments are more than just places of commerce – they are living testaments to the city’s enduring spirit and commitment to tradition.
Each of these businesses tells a story – of humble beginnings, perseverance through challenges, and a steadfast commitment to serving and employing the people of Clarksville. In this series, the Clarksville-Montgomery County Industrial Development Board and the Clarksville Area Chamber of Commerce highlight these establishments, their journeys, and their role in shaping our community.
Coca-Cola Bottling Company
The Coca-Cola Bottling Company was established in Clarksville in 1906, according to the Montgomery County Archives. It hit its golden era in 1938 with the opening of its new plant located on North Second Street. This new facility, under the leadership of William Kleeman and Harold Hirsch Jr., was larger and more modern, which enabled their productivity to increase. The new plant was also home to an electric eye. This machine was specially designed to inspect every bottle leaving the plant for imperfections in the glass bottle and debris in the drink – it was the first machine of its kind to be permanently installed, and the company used it as an attraction to draw in visitors, the Archives state.
Deliveries coming from the plant were transported by Perkins and Miller’s International Trucks. Their office was located on Commerce Street and Coca-Cola exclusively used their service for deliveries. Perkins and Miller had been in business for more than 30 years before Coca-Cola began to use them, however, the bottling business promoted Perkins and Miller’s trucks to the highest rank in the industry.
Today, Coca-Cola continues serving the Clarksville community with a distribution center on Dunlop Lane operated by Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling.
“Coca-Cola’s long history in Clarksville is a testament to the strength and character of the community and everyone who helps to make it a great place to live and work,” said a Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling spokesperson.
The Leaf-Chronicle
The Leaf-Chronicle, actually a two-century company, has the distinction of being the oldest Tennessee newspaper still in circulation. It began as The Clarksville Chronicle in 1808, only a couple of decades after the city’s 1784 founding. The earliest editions have been lost to time, but issues are available online in digitized form dating back to 1839. The Clarksville Chronicle has had only one break in circulation, from 1862 to 1865 during Union occupation. In 1869, The Tobacco Leaf was founded to advocate for the tobacco farming industry. For several years, the two papers competed against one another, until 1890 when the owners of The Tobacco Leaf bought The Chronicle, combining their names for the merged daily newspaper.
The newspaper moved into an old car dealership at 200 Commerce St. in 1948, where operations continued into the newspaper’s heyday. With an on-site press, The Leaf-Chronicle also printed most of the region’s small weekly papers, from the Fort Campbell Courier to the Dickson Herald to the Gallatin News-Examiner. In 1973, the newspaper was purchased by Multimedia Inc., which merged with Gannett in 1995. At its height in 2004, The Leaf-Chronicle had about 160 employees, with over 30 of those in the newsroom, and it was publishing in print seven days a week and online starting in 2000.
Things began to change as news, information and advertising shifted online and print diminished nationwide. In 2008, press operations moved to Nashville, then later to Knoxville. The newspaper’s Commerce Street offices closed in 2020 during the COVID pandemic and never reopened to the public. Today, the old Leaf-Chronicle building has changed hands, and the newspaper is operated through The Tennessean in Nashville.
For more, visit The Leaf-Chronicle online or call 1-877-424-0154.