National Register of Historic Places
Rainbow Ranch
Madison, Davidson County, Tennessee
The record
- Listed
- November 30, 2018
- Type
- Building
- Address
- 312 E Marthona Rd., Madison
- County
- Davidson
- State
- Tennessee
- Contributing resources
- 4 buildings, 1 structure
- Coordinates
- 36.26065, -86.72803
- Reference number
- 100003154
Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.
David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesUSGS Historical Topographic Map CollectionDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesBarry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries
The story
Written by AI from this property's National Register nomination and the record above; every sentence is checked against its sources before it appears here. Corrections: privacy@treealive.com
Rainbow Ranch is a house at 312 E Marthona Rd. in Madison, Davidson County, with four contributing buildings. Built around 1950 in the Transitional Ranch style, it is credited to Hank Snow as architect.
Why it's listed
It was listed under criteria A and B, with local significance in performing arts, from 1950 to 1979. The period closes in 1979, the year Snow entered the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Physical character
The house has brick walls on a rock-faced concrete block foundation and an asphalt roof. A small recording studio was added to the house around 1953 to 1954, and in 1966 Snow widened the ell for more living space; by around 1970 the home studio had eight-track technology, and Snow added a new wing for a recording studio and office. A concrete pad for tour buses was added in 1967, and a gate followed in 2016.
Historical context
Snow bought the property in 1950 while the house was still under construction, and lived there until his death in 1999. He recorded music at the home studio from 1951 to 1979, and continued running his business affairs from the property from 1976 to 1996.