Celebrating nearly 30 years of service, Evins Mill is a scenic Tennessee resort property located near the town of Smithville—just an hour east of Nashville. Minutes from Center Hill Lake, Evins Mill provides the amenities of a luxury destination in the intimate setting of a woodland resort, including creekside lodging, fine dining, and beautiful natural wonders.It’s the perfect place for weddings, executive business retreats, romantic getaways, or day-trips.
Hike along bluffs to overlooks and the base of Carmac Falls where you can swim beneath the cascades; fish at Evins Mill Pond for bass, bluegill, & brim; play lawn games like horseshoes, corn hole, ladder golf, bocce ball, volleyball, & badminton; or enjoy cozy bonfires.
After a long day of enjoying the great outdoors, you can step inside and relax with billiards, ping pong, foosball, darts & grand piano a variety of board games, cards & puzzles public television monitors (Roku only) binoculars & guidebooks for bird watching a library with an eclectic collection of books.The property’s history dates back to 1824, when a Tennessee Land Grant recorded it as Lockhart’s Mill. Since then, the land has seen several owners, including the Lockhart, Lawrence and Webb families, all of whom built mills on the property.
Perhaps the most well-known proprietor was the politically prominent Evins family. Edgar Evins was a state senator and successful businessman with a variety of interests, including banking, bussing, and oil. He bought the property in 1937 and built the present mill two years later. At the end of World War II, Edgar ceased milling operations.
While the mill lay dormant for years, the present log lodge that his wife Myrtie built in that same era became a bustling summer retreat for the Evins family.Mrs. Evins passed the property to her son, Joe L. Evins, who, as a U.S. Congressman from 1946 to 1976, used it as a political retreat.
Governors of Tennessee, including Buford Ellington and Frank Clement, visited the Congressman here, as did Estes Kefauver and Evins’ friends Albert Gore, Sr. and his son Al Gore, Jr.In 1980, the Congressman bequeathed the property to Vanderbilt University, his alma mater, and it was later sold to the Isaacs family. In 1990, Bill Cochran acquired the property to use as a private retreat for his family and business.
Four years later, Bill and his son William first opened Evins Mill as a business, welcoming the first of countless retreats it would host over the next twenty-five plus years. In the same time span, hundreds of couples pledged their troth at the resort, while thousands more marked a special occasion or simply took a break.
