Oral history interview with James Stephen Turner, 21 June 2006.
(Document/manuscript/pamphlet/archival material)

Materials housed in Special Collections Division of the Main Library, Nashville Public Library.

This interview was recorded in digital format using a Marantz PMD671 solid state recorder. The interview was recorded in .wav format at 48 khz and 16 bit and was converted to .mp3 format for access.

In library use only. Available by appointment.

Scope and content: Oral history interview with Nashville businessman and civic leader James Stephen Turner, conducted 21 June 2006 by Andrea Blackman as part of The Turner Interviews series of the Nashville Public Library's Nashville Business Leaders Oral History Project. During the 1 hour and 51 second interview, Turner discusses such topics as his childhood and early education in Kentucky; the importance of community support for families and businesses; attending Vanderbilt University; his involvement in the family business, Dollar General Corporation; banking and his role in Farmers National Bank; the civil rights movement in Nashville; the evolution of Martketstreet Equities Company and its development of The Gulch; the definition of success; his involvement in various arts organizations and projects, including the Schermerhorn Symphony Center; and his legacy.

Cite as: Oral history interview with James Stephen Turner, The Turner Interviews, Nashville Business Leaders Oral History Project, Special Collections Division, Nashville Public Library.

This material may be protected by copyright law (Title 17 U.S. Code)

Nashville businessman and civic leader. A native of Kentucky, Turner graduated from Vanderbilt University in 1969. Prior to 1990, he served for 20 years in the management of Dollar General Stores, a chain of discount general merchandise stores founded by his father, Cal Turner, Sr. Turner moved to Nashville in 1986, when Dollar General's headquarters relocated to the area. Chairman and CEO of FNB Financial Corporation, a bank holding company headquartered in Scottsville, Ky. Turner founded Marketstreet Equities Company, an investment firm with diversified holdings in real estate, high-tech warehousing and distribution and wetlands mitigation environmental preservation. Marketstreet Equities formed a partnership, Nashville Urban Venture, to spearhead the development of The Gulch, a planned $400 million, 30-acre mixed used development adjacent to the Union Station railway complex in downtown Nashville. Turner has served in a variety of civic roles, including: member of the Board of Trustees of the Frist Center for the Visual Arts; member of the Board of Directors of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum; member of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee Performing Arts Center; member of the steering committee and member of the Board of the Nashville Symphony Association. Turner served as chair of the building committee for the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, which opened in 2006 and houses the Laura Turner Concert Hall, named after his mother and financed by Turner and his siblings. Turner has served as a member of the residential taskforce of the Nashville Downtown Partnership; a member of the steering committee for Nashville Agenda; a member of the Board of Directors of the Nashville Housing Fund and the Nashville Sports Authority; and a member of the Board of Cumberland Region Tomorrow, a planning organization that addresses growth issues among diversified economic and geographic interests in Middle Tennessee.

In English.

Forms part of: Nashville Business Leaders Oral History Project: The Turner Interviews.