Forrest Avenue once was Forest Avenue. Some residents want it changed back.

Some residents in East Nashville are asking to rename their street, Forrest Avenue, to Forest Avenue. While the one “r” difference is slight, the move is garnering a reaction from many of the street’s residents.

Forrest Avenue is surrounded by roads of a similar theme: Holly and Woodland are not far away, and years ago, Tulip, Magnolia and Grove streets lined the Lockeland Springs neighborhood.

Today, though, the Forrest Avenue sign doesn’t always conjure up images of lush, green trees. That’s because it is spelled with two r’s — instead invoking the name of Confederate General and Ku Klux Klan leader Nathan Bedford Forrest.

In recent years, there has been a moment of reckoning for commemorations of Forrest. His bust was removed from the state capitol after a decades-long fight. That same year, MTSU petitioned the state to rename a campus building that honors him, though the state historical commission denied their request.

But Forrest Avenue isn’t necessarily tied to the Confederate general. Metro Councilmember Brett Withers, who filed the request, says that the Metro Historical Commission was enlisted to conduct preliminary research. They found that, throughout history, there have been multiple spellings.

“It’s one of those things that’s a little bit of a mystery lost to time as to why there’s been so much back and forth with the spelling,” Withers says. “But the earliest recorded version of the street name was F-O-R-E-S-T, with one ‘r.'”

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A plat map reproduced from “Atlas of the city of Nashville, Tennessee: from official records, private plans and actual surveys, of downtown Nashville, Tennessee and the surrounding area,” originally published in 1908. In this map, Forrest Avenue is documented as Forest Avenue.

There’s no existing documentation tying the street’s name to Nathan Bedford Forrest. Withers says this makes the name change process easier.

“If there were a reference to a particular person in the record somewhere, then we would potentially have to go all the way to the state to get their permission to change it. But because there is no record of that, my understanding from Metro Legal is it remains a local decision,” Withers explains.

The change would, as resident Erin Kice said, also call attention to the Lockeland Springs Park.

“I feel like this is just a really wonderful tribute to return the street to its original spelling in honor of the forest that is at the termination of this street,” Kice said.

Still, for some residents, the name change is about removing any possible ties to the Confederate general. That includes 11-year-old Molly Geist, who submitted a letter in favor of the name change. The letter read:

“I, Molly Geist, the next generation … don’t want to live on a street that is named after a confederate loser. Please change our street to be Forest with one R.”

At least 90 people signed on in support of the change. This includes a number of the businesses that exist on the street, like Rosemary and Beauty Queen, Hip Zipper Vintage and The 5 Spot.

At least 22 signed in opposition, citing different historical spellings, costs associated with the change and concerns over mail.

The Metro Planning Commission approved the request last week. It will head to the Metro Council for first reading on July 18, in order to be considered on third and final reading on Aug. 15.