Southern Methodist Publishing House

Western Harmony was one of the first widely distributed religious publications to come out of the city, but the Methodist Episcopal Church, South is credited with establishing Nashville as a publishing hub. The Southern Methodist Publishing House is our final publishing site on the tour.

Like the Southern Baptists, the Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) split over the issue of slavery in 1844. In 1854, plans for a MEC, South publishing house were approved, and they moved to Nashville from Philadelphia. The Southern Methodist Publishing House occupied several spaces downtown, including a former sugar factory, before settling at this site in 1906. 

As with the Frost Building, the Neo-Classical detail on this five-story building is typical of the period. The most unique component of the building’s design is its steel frame—the first of its kind in the city. They chose this feature to accommodate the heavy presses and printing equipment. The growth of Methodism across the country and the transition from traveling preachers to established churches required new methods of book distribution and an increased volume of production. For example, in the 1850s, the New York branch of the MEC could produce and deliver a 282-page book to a customer in seven days. This Nashville branch countered, and claimed it had produced a larger book in only five days. These were clearly heavy-duty machines! 

Interestingly, when the three branches of Methodism reunited in 1939, Nashville was chosen as the headquarters for the main publishing arm of the Methodist Episcopal Church. They remained at this site until 1957 when they moved to larger facilities on Eighth Avenue. Today the building is used for legal and other offices.

Your next stop, Christ Church Cathedral, is directly next to the Southern Methodist Publishing House, across the street on the other corner of Ninth and Broadway. Walk across Ninth to get a better view of this impressive sanctuary that dates back to 1892.