Looking for handmade or homegrown goods in Middle Tennessee? Head south on Highway 287 near Centertown, Tennessee (about 30 miles outside of Murfreesboro, and approximately 4 miles off of Highway 70) and find an abundance of locally grown produce, goat’s milk soap, unique wooden pieces and other items produced and sold by the Amish families who reside in the area.
The journey to the area, coming from Murfreesboro, makes for a lovely drive; approaching Cannon County, the hill country levels out and the clouds roll over the expansive farmlands of western Warren County.
Those seeking out this relatively hidden pocket of Tennessee commerce where local wares are sold can find more information at the Four Corners Bulk Foods and Deli, located at 5093 Jacksboro Rd., Morrison, Tennessee. The market serves as a home base for the community, offering an array of groceries, fruits, vegetables, pizza, deli meats and sandwiches, chairs, fabric, baskets and more.
The market not only has a large gravel parking lot but, in contrast to many urbanized shopping centers, also boasts a hitching post for the numerous horses and buggies that travel the neighborhood.
Four Corners makes quite a shopping experience in itself. A deli counter offers a broad selection of meats and cheeses; the market also sells a wide assortment of other goods, from fruits and vegetables picked only a day prior from just down the road, a huge selection of bulk candies, pickled Brussels sprouts, jellies and other jarred goods, fresh breads and cinnamon rolls made at area bakeries, everything from syrup to soap, peach ring gummies to potato chips, grits to cotton candy.
Some customers order soft-serve ice cream and milkshakes as locals and tourists shop for birch beer, tomatoes and honey, all within the country carnival atmosphere of this bustling backroad business.
Market proprietor Nate Byler said he moved to the Middle Tennessee area from Ohio and, in 2018, assumed operations at Four Corners, guiding that business to its current, larger grocery store formation.
“You picked the right day to come,” he tells a group of newcomers to Four Corners. “Wednesday is when they deliver those fried pies.”
These fresh and flaky fried pies—peach, apple, pineapple, cherry and other varieties—come from the nearby Bradyville community. Large pans of cinnamon rolls, topped with a fantastically rich frosting, are baked in Smithville.
Another shopper asks about peaches. Byler says that not many in the area grow peaches, but his store imports them from South Carolina lately (they were, however, fresh out on that particular day).
The market also offers bagels, cinnamon bread, cheeses and other products from Walnut Creek, an Ohio-based brand with Amish ties.
Assemble a lunch of your choosing at Four Corners if you wish; a group can grab some pizza, raisins, fried pies, pickled okra, cinnamon rolls and/or ice cream at the market, settle down at one of the picnic tables under a large shelter next to the building, and dine in the open air.
Also at the Four Corners Deli find free maps listing area homes that offer produce, furniture, soaps and other goods. Approximately 40 families in the area operate home-based businesses of some type.
From the market, a visiting group then sets out to check out some of the home shops.
They find beautiful porch rockers and porch swings at Eli Gingerich’s place on Smoot Road. He sources much of his wood from his uncle and other local sawmills, he tells the visitors, as barefoot children quietly clean corn nearby, the dust swirling in the breeze on a hot August day.
The large swings go for $300, not bad for a sturdy, handmade, wooden item.
Nearby, a sign marking the driveway for Noah Yoder’s home reads “Okra . . . No Sun. Sale” (neither the Amish families, nor the Four Corners Deli, does business on Sundays). This is the spot for okra—okra picked today, yesterday’s okra, pickled okra, spicy pickled okra.
Another farm on the list, Levi Miller’s, offers a variety of goat’s milk soaps in all sorts of scents and colors—cucumber melon, mango papaya, sweet pea and lavender, among others—as well as a variety of baskets, candy, and wooden yo-yos. Adding to the unique vibe here, dozens of ticking clocks hang on the walls of this small shop; evidently Mr. Miller also serves as the local clock repairman.
After visiting a few houses, newcomers may notice a definite pattern from the Amish merchants. These families will not likely seem warm, welcoming or appreciative when shoppers arrive. They are set up to efficiently sell the outsiders produce and other goods (for cash), but display very little interest in having conversations, forming friendships, or even exhibiting what would be considered the most basic greetings and customer service found in many urban retailers.
The printed maps and listings contain a statement saying that “The Amish traditions do not allow for their pictures to be taken. Please honor their beliefs.” Other signs seen within the Four Corners market and at some of the farms also post the request for no photos.
When a visitor asked a farm owner if he could snap a photo of his horse and buggy, not of any people, the man replied “No,” stating they would prefer that you just look and not even capture photos of their animals and homes (thus the lack of photos of the specific farms and people in this area—as scenic, memorable and photo-worthy as the places are, and as unmodernly and noteworthy the clothing and way of life may appear—accompanying this written piece).
But many of these individuals know what they are doing as far as working the fields and working with their hands.
The Andy Byler estate, #35 on the community maps and located on Pleasant Hill Road, offers some beautiful hickory bent rockers as the smell of fire from near the workshop wafts through the air.
These rockers, going for $150, display quite an interesting design. A young man producing them said his father came up with the chair design, and now he is learning how to bend the wood and construct them. His mother, meanwhile, tells some visitors about her different varieties of soaps.
Much of the produce offered at the home-based stands is high quality and fairly priced. Fresh okra goes for $1 per pound at one; a shopper was pleased to discover that he could obtain a very sweet seedless watermelon, three zucchini, five medium juicy tomatoes and three patty pan squash at another home for a total of only $9.50.
So, for those in Middle Tennessee on the lookout for a unique outing, fresh produce, quality furniture or a different type of adventure, explore the snaking rural backroads between Centertown and Morrison, witness firsthand these families who choose to live a life largely free of modern technology and, while you’re out that way, be sure to stop by the Four Corners Bulk Foods and Deli, where the two worlds—the Amish and the English, those driving horses and buggies and those driving SUVs with out-of-county license plates, those with iPhones and name-brand clothing and those without—meet and trade.
IF YOU GO:
Four Corners Bulk Food & Deli
5093 Jacksboro Rd., Morrison
Tues.: 9 a.m.–5 p.m.; Wed.: 9 a.m.–4 p.m.; Thurs.: 9 a.m.–5 p.m.; Fri.: 9 a.m.–5 p.m.; Sat.: 9 a.m.–3 p.m.
931-939-5093
4cornersgrocery.com
