Map of Shops in Nashville, Indiana
Shopping in Nashville, IN
Nashville and Brown County, Indiana are known for a lot of things including natural beauty, outdoor adventure, the community of local artisans, a rich history of music and, of course, shopping! While there are shops and studios located throughout the county, the majority of the shops and stores are located in the Town of Nashville.
Now, Nashville, IN isn’t a big town - the downtown proper is maybe ½ mile from top to bottom and around 5 blocks wide - but it packs A LOT of shopping into that small footprint. In fact, when I walked all over town a few weeks ago to take note of literally every store and restaurant currently in operation, I counted over 125 shops, just in the main downtown area alone (and you can click here to jump straight to the map info for all of those shops)!
What to Know for Your Shopping Trip to Brown County, Indiana
Shops in Brown County are almost all locally-owned…yay!
One of the best parts about shopping in Brown County, IN is that all of the stores are small, independent businesses. This can be a great thing, and it means that your dollars are directly supporting the community, but it can also have some drawbacks.
Although there are always exceptions, locally-owned businesses like the ones you’ll find here are typically run solely by the owner, or with just a small staff of employees. And, as small businesses, all of these shops can (and do) set their own hours and policies for their store.
But that also has some real-world effects on how they’re run.
So what does this mean in practice? Well, for starters, most shops here don’t open until 10am or 11am, and then close by 5pm or 6pm each day. Some shops are only open Thursday or Friday through Sunday, or have other limited days or hours (especially on certain weekdays and during the winter months).
If there is a particular shop you know you want to visit, I always recommend calling ahead or checking their Facebook page for their current hours and any updates in advance. It’s always a bummer to make a special trip only to be surprised by an unexpected closure due to seasonal hours, bad weather, staff illness, or a power outage.
I share more about the “5 Things You Need to Know for Your Next Trip to Brown County, Indiana” in this blog post, but the tips I shared above are some of the things to specifically keep in mind if you’re coming here to shop.
Why You Can’t Rely on Google Maps To Find All The Shopping Options in Nashville, Indiana
As I’ve already explained, all of the shops in Little Nashville are small, independently-owned businesses. Every year, new shops open, old shops close, and the businesses here routinely move to new storefront locations.
Frankly, this is all to be expected in a small town, but it means that the holy grail of modern day navigation - Google Maps - is never totally up-to-date on all the shops in Nashville, IN and their locations. Which is why I’ve decided to maintain my own map of all the shops and stores in Nashville, Indiana!
Here’s an example of what the most zoomed in view of the Franklin Square area shows on Google Maps, compared what actually exists and is shown on my map (as of October 12, 2023):
A few things are immediately clear here when you compare the default Google Maps listing to the custom map layer.
The default Google Map:
Does not get the general map pin locations correct
Lists one business that isn’t located there at all (it’s actually a block further south), and
Is missing listings for almost half of the shops that are actually there!
While Nashville, Indiana is small enough to just methodically walk every street, explore every alley, and eventually visit every shop, that approach is really inefficient - especially if you want to shop for anything in particular.
Finally! — A Map of All the Shops in Nashville, Indiana
Once I realized that Google doesn’t have listings for at least 25% of the shops in Nashville, and some of the shops listed are shown in the wrong location, I decided to develop and maintain my own map of all the shops and stores in Nashville, IN (over 125 shops at my last count!). Here’s a screenshot of what it looks like:
What’s Included in this Custom Map of All the Shops in Nashville, IN?
The first version of this map (you can access is here) is a link to a custom Google Map layer I’ve created that includes an up-to-date, categorized listing of all the shops in and around Nashville, Indiana. Here are some important features of this map:
Shops are categorized.
Shops on the map are grouped into the following categories:
Clothing & Jewelry
Housewares, Décor & Candles
Local Artisans & Handmade Items
Bath & Body Products
Sports, Outdoor & Plants
Toys, Books & Games
Antiques, Thrift, & Vintage
Specialty Food Stores
Alcohol, Tobacco & CBD
Categories are color-coded.
Each category is color-coded and, for the most part, shops are just listed under the category that reflects the primary category of items sold. However, if a shop has a reasonably even split of products between different categories, then the shop will be listed more than once (ex: ‘At Home with Heartland’ is on both the “Clothing & Jewelry” list and the “Housewares, Décor & Candles” list.)
Map layers can be turned ‘On’ and ‘Off’ to show only certain shop categories.
When all the layers are ‘turned on’ the different color pins may be overlapping on the map view, but you can limit which categories of shops are shown by ‘unchecking’ certain layers.
Clicking on a specific map pin will give you more info.
You can click on any map pin to get more information about the shop, including its name and any linked Google Map listing. However, many shops do not have an official Google Map listing, so I’m working on adding a description of every shop to their listing on this map.
This map is still a work in progress, created by one person (Me!)
This map is a work in progress and pins will be updated at least once a quarter to reflect any shops that have opened or closed or moved location. Any changes will be included in the same map link, so you’ll continue to have access to the most up-to-date shop information if you’re using this map in the future. If you happen to know of any shops that are missing here, please let me know and I’ll make those updates ASAP.
I’m also working on creating a color-coded, printable pdf version of this map (think like what you’d see at a mall), and I’d also like to expand the range of what’s included further out into Brown County. But keep in mind that I’m a one woman show here, so you’ll have to be patient with me 🙂
How to Find the Best Shops and Stores in Nashville, Indiana
Use the Custom Google Maps Layer I Created
In general, Google Maps is a great tool for general discovery and navigation, but I’ve found that it can fall short in small, densely packed areas like Nashville, IN. So it’s my hope that by using this custom map layer - that includes all of the shops in Nashville - will help more people discover and support the amazing small businesses that are the foundation of this town I love so much.
If you want to access the full list of shops (and to continue to have access to this map as I update it at least once a quarter) then you can download it here.
Check Out an In-Depth Guide of All My Favorite Shops
I also share a lot more details about my favorite shops in this in-depth shopping guide, if you’d like to learn more about the specific shops I recommend you visit during your trip to Nashville.
So check it all out and enjoy your visit to Brown County, Indiana! I hope you find some really special treasures to remember your trip by.
