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6. Maryland Farms Began as a Horse Farm
In 1937 the owner of WLAC Radio Station in Nashville, J. Truman Ward, bought 100 acres on Old Hickory Boulevard and later amassed some 400 total acres there, which he named for his wife, Mary. Ward, who loved horses, turned the land into a showcase for them. He built stables and fences in barns.
It became known across the country as a prime horse farm. The leading sire in the 1940s, American Ace, had a harem of seven mares there and bred a long line of award winning show horses. The farm became a famous spot that brought famous people. Gene Autry, Barbara Stanwyck and Norrie Goff bought horses from Maryland Farms.
In 1953, after the stud American Ace died, the Wards turned it into a cattle farm. In 1958, Edward Potter, the founder of Commerce Union Bank, bought the property and turned it back into a horse farm.
Later on the land, still owned by the Wards, was developed into the office park it is today.
