Ardmore, TN

Ardmore is a city split between Giles and Lincoln counties, right on the Tennessee–Alabama line. Main Street follows Tennessee Route 7 and Alabama Route 53, while I-65 and the CSX railroad pass through the same border corridor. Ardmore, Alabama, touches it across the line, so one daily drive can cross two states without leaving the town’s immediate center.

The community began with Alex Austin’s store and the L&N railroad. Austin expected a station at the state line, stocked supplies for construction crews, and watched the railroad reach town in 1914; the first depot was a boxcar, and the railroad’s chosen name, Ardmore, replaced the earlier name Austin. Today the Tennessee city has a Welcome Center, a city hall on Main Street, and US Bicycle Route 23 at its southern terminus. The Elk River passes northwest of town. The local scoop is a border city built around a railroad crossing, with two state highways and two Ardmores sharing one community story.