Around Thistletop

Deer graze daily while red-tail hawks soar overhead or perch like sentinels on the towering cedars. The occasional fox, raccoon and wild turkey add to the mix.Rich with historic architectural artifacts, Thistletop was constructed by Master Builder, Braxton Dixon, whose iconic list of clients includes Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Marty Stewart, Connie Smith, Trisha Yearwood, and Tammy Wynette, to name a few.

As a great example of historical preservation, the house is composed of rugged cypress and pine beams rescued from an Indiana train station, a Charleston wharf, a Nashville candy factory, and a North Carolina tobacco warehouse. Bold stonework was collected from Old Hickory Lake. Front doors, circa 1860, hail from a stagecoach stop between Nashville and Louisville. The two-story rock fireplace is from a 200-year-old Kentucky farm. An etched glass window from a convent in Kentucky with a rose and thistle pattern circa 1850 is the inspiration for the original name of the property. The cast-iron spiral staircase from London and the spiral staircase from the iconic Dauphine Theater of New Orleans, circa 1905, are evidence of Braxton Dixon’s search and appreciation for great architectural design.