Nashville History

Nashville History Fun Facts

Founded in 1779, Nashville was originally called Fort Nashborough, in honor of acclaimed Revolutionary War hero General Francis Nash. In 1784, the community's name was changed from Nashborough to Nashville. The city became Tennessee's capital from 1812 to 1815 and was permanently established as the capital in 1843.

Under its Metropolitan Charter, which became effective April 1, 1963, Nashville and Davidson County have a unique single government, with an authority reaching more than 1.5 million people and 533 square miles. This widespread area is governed by Mayor Bill Purcell, Vice Mayor Howard Gentry and the 40-member Metro Council.

Nashville Timeline

• 8000 BC
  First Indian inhabitants build villages in the Nashville area.
• 1200 AD
  (Mississippian Era) Large Indian villages cover the Nashville area.
• 1450 AD
  Indian villages disappear; Middle Tennessee becomes a hunting area.
• 1600s
  Charleville, a French-Canadian fur trader, establishes a trading post at the French Lick.
• 1714
  Charleville's post is abandoned; Middle Tennessee becomes a shared hunting ground for the Cherokee, Choctow, Chickasaw, and Creek Indian tribes.
• 1769
  Timothy Demonbreun, a French-Canadian fur trader, arrives at the French Lick and begins hunting in the area.
• 1775
  AMERICAN REVOLUTION BEGINS.
• 1775
  North Carolinian Richard Henderson meets with Cherokee Indian leaders on the Wautauga River and bargains with them for claim to the land between the Ohio and Cumberland Rivers.
• 1776
  DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
• 1779
  Robertson leads the first group of settlers, mostly men and boys to the Cumberland Bluff; they arrive on Christmas Day.
• 1779
  Col. John Donelson prepares flotilla of flatboats to bring women and children by water.
• 1780
  Donelson arrives with second group on April 24 after a river voyage of 1,000 miles.
• 1780
  Cumberland Compact, detailing the rights of the settlers, is signed by 250 men May 13.
• 1783
  REVOLUTIONARY WAR ENDS.
• 1783
  North Carolina legislature creates Davidson County.
• 1784
  North Carolina legislature passes an act establishing the town of Nashville, naming it for General Francis Nash
• 1785
  Colonel John Donelson, a founder of Nashville, is mysteriously killed.
• 1785
  The first physician, Dr. John Sappington, arrives in Nashville.
• 1787
  Real estate in Nashville is assessed and taxed one dollar per acre.
• 1788
  Andrew Jackson arrives in Nashville to serve as public prosecutor.
• 1788
  Bob Renfroe, a free African American, opens popular tavern in Nashville.
• 1796
  Tennessee becomes the 16th state admitted to the Union.
• 1799
  Nashville's first newspaper, Henkle's Tennessee Gazette & Mero Advertiser, is printed.
• 1806
  Nashville is incorporated as a town, electing six aldermen and a mayor.
• 1812
  WAR OF 1812 BEGINS
• 1812
  The first legislature meets in Nashville.
• 1813
  James Robertson, a founder of Nashville, dies near Memphis.
• 1815
  Andrew Jackson defeats British troops at the Battle of New Orleans, January 8.
• 1815
  WAR OF 1812 ENDS
• 1818
  Nashville celebrates the first arrival of a steamboat, the Andrew Jackson.
• 1819
  James Monroe makes the first presidential visit to Nashville.
• 1821
  Nashville Medical Society, the first medical association in Tennessee, is founded in the log courthouse on the public square.
• 1822
  The first bridge, made of stone, is built across the Cumberland.
• 1822
  The City Cemetery is established on 4th Avenue, South.
• 1824
  Andrew Jackson is defeated in his campaign for president of the United States.
• 1824
  Music publishing begins in Nashville with the publication of Western Harmony, a book of hymns and instructions for singing.
• 1828
  Andrew Jackson is elected seventh president of the United States.
• 1833
  Nashville's first publicly owned waterworks is completed.
• 1838
  Cherokee Indians pass through Nashville on the Trail of Tears.
• 1843
  Nashville is named the permanent capital of Tennessee.
• 1844
  James K. Polk is elected president of the United States.
• 1845
  Construction of the Tennessee State Capitol begins.
• 1845
  Andrew Jackson dies at his home, The Hermitage.
• 1847
  The Nashville Merchant's Exchange, the predecessor of the Chamber of Commerce, is founded.
• 1848
  The first telegraph message is received.
• 1849
  James K. Polk dies in Nashville.
• 1855
  Nashville's first public school opens on the northeast corner of 8th Avenue, North, and Broad Street.
• 1855
  Mount Olivet Cemetery is established.
• 1859
  The Tennessee State Capitol is completed.
• 1859
  The building of the Maxwell House Hotel begins.
• 1861
  THE CIVIL WAR BEGINS
• 1862
  Federal troops occupy Nashville, the first southern capital to fall to the Union army.
• 1862
  African American laborers help Union troops build Fort Negley.
• 1864
  Union troops defeat Confederate forces in the Battle of Nashville, December 15 and 16.
• 1865
  CIVIL WAR ENDS
• 1865
  First mule-drawn streetcars appear in Nashville.
• 1869
  Mount Ararat Cemetery for African Americans is established.
• 1873
  Sampson Keeble becomes first African American to serve in the Tennessee General Assembly.
• 1876
  Meharry Medical College is founded.
• 1876
  Jubilee Hall, the first building in the U.S. constructed for the higher education of African Americans, is built.
• 1877
  The city's first telephone call is made.
• 1880
  Nashville celebrates the centennial year of its founding.
• 1882
  Nashville sees its first electric light.
• 1885
  Nashville's first professional baseball game is played in Athletic Park near the Sulphur Spring Bottom north of downtown.
• 1889
  Electric trolleys replace mule-drawn streetcars.
• 1892
  The Union Gospel Tabernacle, now Ryman Auditorium, is completed.
• 1892
  Joel Owsley Cheek develops Maxwell House Coffee blend.
• 1896
  The first automobile is driven in Nashville.
• 1897
  The Centennial Exposition opens with the Parthenon as its centerpiece.
• 1900
  Union Station opens.
• 1902
  Centennial Park is acquired by the city, marking the beginning of Nashville's public park system.
• 1904
  The city's first Carnegie Library opens at the corner of 8th Avenue, North, and Union Street.
• 1904
  Nashville's first skyscraper is constructed at the southeast corner of Fourth Avenue, North, and Church Street.
• 1905
  The African American community institutes a streetcar boycott to protest a new law requiring separation of the races on electric streetcars.
• 1907
  Tony Sudekum opens the first movie theater, The Dixie, on 5th Avenue, North, next to the Arcade.
• 1911
  A Model T Ford climbs the steps of the Capitol to prove that the automobile could replace the horse.
• 1911
  Nashvillian James C. Napier becomes Registrar of the U.S. Treasury.
• 1912
  Tennessee Agricultural and Industrial State Normal School, later Tennessee State University, opens.
• 1917
  WORLD WAR I BEGINS
• 1918
  The town of Old Hickory and a powder plant are built by DuPont.
• 1919
  WORLD WAR I ENDS
• 1919
  18TH AMENDMENT (PROHIBITION) IS RATIFIED.
• 1919
  "Hampton Field" becomes Nashville's first airfield.
• 1920
  Tennessee becomes the 36th and deciding state to vote for ratification of the 19th (Woman Suffrage) Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
• 1920
  The first Nashville symphony orchestra was organized.
• 1925
  Grand Ole Opry begins.
• 1931
  The Parthenon reopens in its permanent form.
• 1937
  The present Davidson County Courthouse is completed and opened.
• 1937
  Nashvillian William Edmondson becomes the first African American to be given a one-man show at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
• 1937
  American Airlines lands the first plane in the new airport.
• 1941
  WORLD WAR II BEGINS WITH ATTACK ON PEARL HARBOR.
• 1943
  Cornelia Fort becomes the first woman pilot to die on war duty in American history.
• 1943
  The Grand Ole Opry moves to Ryman Auditorium.
• 1945
  World War II ends.
• 1950
  Capital Records becomes the first major company to locate its director of country music in Nashville.
• 1951
  Belmont College opens.
• 1954
  BROWN V. THE BOARD OF EDUCATION DECLARES SEGREGATION ILLEGAL.
• 1955
  Kelley Vs The Board of Education in Nashville leads to school desegregation plan.
• 1958
  The Country Music Association is founded.
• 1960
  Nashville Sit-In Movement leads to widespread desegregation of public facilities.
• 1961
  The Maxwell House Hotel burns.
• 1962
  Metropolitan Government is approved by the voters.
• 1962
  Tennessee's first interstate highway, connecting Nashville to Memphis, arrives in Nashville.
• 1963
  Metropolitan Government is formally inaugurated; County Judge Beverly Briley takes office as the first mayor.
• 1964
  CONGRESS PASSES CIVIL RIGHTS ACT.
• 1974
  The Grand Old Opry moves from Ryman Auditorium to Opryland.
• 1976
  The United Nations comes to Nashville for its first meeting away from New York City.
• 1996
  Tennessee celebrates its Bicentennial.
• 1998
  Nashville Banner Newspaper ceases with final edition Friday, February 20, 1998.
• 1999
  Name "Adelphia Coliseum" chosen in June for new stadium. First game in new coliseum is played on August 15, 1999.
• 2001
  New Country Music Hall of Fame opens

From Nashville.gov

Additional Nashville History resources:

History of Nashville

Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau