Old Shady Lawn

Shady Lawn, once a gas station and restaurant, began its life as a full service truck stop on Old US 31 Highway. Prior to the construction of the Interstate Highway System, US 31 was a major north/south highway running from the northern tip of Michigan to the southern tip of Alabama. As auto traffic for work and recreation became more prevalent in the Twentieth Century, so too did businesses catering to auto travelers: truck stops, gas stations, restaurants, motels, and souvenir stands.

A full lunch at Old Shady Lawn cost 85 cents. Families would gather for Sunday dinner after church. After I-65 was built, the business relocated to Tennessee Exit 6, Bryson Road and Elkton, on I-65. Today the building that was once the Shady Lawn is now Sunrise Chapel, a church serving the Elkton community.

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