History of Nashville, Tennessee facts for kids
Nashville is the capital city of Tennessee. It has a long and interesting history! Around the year 1300, the area where Nashville now stands was an important center for the Mississippian culture, a group of Native Americans.
Later, in 1779, brave pioneers from North Carolina built a fort called Fort Nashborough here. By 1784, it officially became a town. When Tennessee became a state in 1796, Nashville grew even more, becoming a city in 1806. In 1843, it was chosen as the state capital.
During the American Civil War, Nashville was taken over by Union soldiers in 1862 and became a big military base. A major battle, the Battle of Nashville, happened here in 1864, where the Confederate army was defeated. After the war, Nashville became a key city for politics, transportation, business, and culture in Middle Tennessee. Today, it's famous for its schools, music, and religious groups. In 1963, Nashville and Davidson County joined together under one government, led by a mayor and a council.
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Ancient Times in Nashville
Long, long ago, the first people arrived in the Nashville area around 13,000 BC. These were Native Americans from the Paleoindian period. For thousands of years, their families lived along the Cumberland River. They left behind many clues about their lives, from the Paleoindian, Archaic, Woodland, and Mississippian periods.
The last Native American group to live in Nashville before Europeans arrived was the Middle Cumberland Mississippian culture. Archaeologists can identify them by their special burial practices, unique art, and pottery styles. Some studies suggest that people from another area, the American Bottom, moved into the Nashville area around 1000 AD. They settled at a place called Mound Bottom.
You can still find signs of the Middle Cumberland Mississippian culture around Nashville. These include large platform mounds, stone box cemeteries, and villages surrounded by palisades (wooden fences). However, all signs of this culture disappear from the Nashville area by about 1475–1500 AD. Experts believe this might have happened because of too many people, not enough resources, long droughts, and more sickness or fighting.
Early European Visitors
There isn't much proof that Native Americans lived in the Nashville area between 1500 and the late 1600s. The land between the Ohio and Tennessee Rivers was a hunting ground for many tribes. The Shawnee tribe lived there in the late 1600s, but by 1700, the Cherokee and Chickasaw tribes began to challenge them.
The first Europeans to visit what would become Tennessee were part of an expedition led by Hernando de Soto in the 1500s. However, they probably didn't reach the Nashville area. The earliest Europeans in Nashville were French fur traders. One of them, Martin Chartier, set up a trading post in 1689 on the Cumberland River.
Another trader, Jean du Charleville, started a trading post in 1710. It was near a natural sulfur and salt spring, which attracted many animals. This also attracted Native American hunters, and the French traders could trade with them. This spot became known as "French Lick." Later, it was called Sulphur Spring Bottom and Sulphur Dell. In 1769, a French-Canadian hunter named Timothy Demonbreun began visiting the Cumberland River. He built a cabin near the lick to help him trap furs. DeMonbreun later settled in Nashville in 1788 and ran a tavern.
Building Fort Nashborough
In 1779, a group of pioneers arrived in the Nashville area. John Buchanan Sr. and his family came from Pennsylvania to North Carolina, then traveled to Kentucky. They left their women there and came to the Cumberland Settlements in late 1778. In early 1779, they built a station on the south side of the Cumberland River, where Nashville now stands. John Buchanan's son, Major John Buchanan, is seen as one of Nashville's founders.
Another group arrived on Christmas Day, 1779. James Robertson left the Watauga settlement in North Carolina and traveled overland for two months. They built a log stockade (a fort) they called Bluff Station. Richard Henderson wanted to name the settlement Nashborough, after General Francis Nash, a hero of the American Revolution. For a short time, official records used the name Nashborough.
Then, on April 23, 1780, John Donelson, a friend of Robertson's, arrived with about 60 families. They came in 30 flatboats and several pirogues (canoes) down the Tennessee River and up the Cumberland. This new community was part of North Carolina. In 1784, the North Carolina legislature officially created the town and named it Nashville.
Nashville quickly grew because it was at the end of the Natchez Trace, an important path. It became a center for cotton and a busy river port. Later, it became a railroad hub. Soon, it was the main business center for the entire Middle Tennessee region. By 1800, 345 people lived in the city, including 136 enslaved Black people and 14 free Black people.
Becoming a State Capital
After a short-lived attempt to form the State of Franklin, North Carolina gave its land west of the Allegheny Mountains to the U.S. government. In 1796, this land became the state of Tennessee. At first, Nashville was a small settlement in a wild area. But its central location and its role as the state capital made it important for politics, business, money, and religion.
In 1806, Nashville officially became a city. The city's first big public project was building the Nashville Water Works. This included a reservoir on a bluff south of the city, now called Rolling Mill Hill. Money for this project came from Philadelphia business people. Part of the money was used to buy about 12 enslaved Black men in Virginia to work on the project. The project cost more than expected, but the city sold most of the enslaved workers afterward, which helped cover the extra costs. Even today, water from the Cumberland River is pumped into this reservoir.
Andrew Jackson's Rise
During the War of 1812, General Andrew Jackson, a lawyer and politician from Nashville, became a national hero. He led soldiers to victory against the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend and against the British at the Battle of New Orleans. His success was largely thanks to the skilled Tennessee militia. Jackson became a hero in the western U.S. and used his military connections to build a strong political career. In 1828, Andrew Jackson was elected president.
Nashville: Tennessee's Capital
More than 30 years after becoming a city, Nashville was chosen as the permanent capital of Tennessee. This happened on October 7, 1843. Several towns were considered, but Nashville won by just one vote against Charlotte. Before Nashville, other cities had served as temporary capitals: Kingston (for one day!), Knoxville in East Tennessee, and Murfreesboro in Middle Tennessee.
The Tennessee State Capitol building was built over 14 years, from 1845 to 1859. It was designed by architect William Strickland from Philadelphia. He designed it to look like an ancient Greek temple. Both paid workers and enslaved people worked on the building. Fifteen enslaved Black men carved the Capitol's limestone cellar from 1845 to 1847. The state paid a stonemason $18 a month for their work. This is thought to be the most important project where the Tennessee state government rented enslaved labor. Today, the Capitol building houses the state legislature and the Governor's office.
For many years, Nashville was one of the wealthiest southern capitals. A big reason for its success was the iron business. Nashville led the South in making iron.
Nashville During the Civil War
Tennessee was the last state to join the Confederacy on June 24, 1861. Governor Isham G. Harris announced that Tennessee was leaving the United States. Nashville quickly became a target for Union forces. The city was important because it was a shipping port on the Cumberland River and was the state capital.
When Fort Donelson fell on February 16, 1862, the state government was meeting in Nashville. Soon after, at the end of February, Nashville became the first state capital to be captured by Union troops, led by General Don Carlos Buell. Before the Union troops arrived, Nashville was evacuated. The governor told citizens to burn their private property, and retreating Confederate troops destroyed bridges over the Cumberland River. Governor Harris moved the state government to Memphis. Meanwhile, President Lincoln appointed future President Andrew Johnson as the Military Governor of Tennessee. He set up his office in Nashville. Even after the Union took control, Confederate uprisings and guerrilla attacks sometimes happened in the city.
On December 2, 1864, the Confederate Army of Tennessee (not the Union army with a similar name) arrived south of Nashville. They built defenses facing the Union Army. After a long wait, the Union forces attacked on December 15, starting the Battle of Nashville. The Confederate forces were outnumbered and badly defeated. They retreated south toward the Tennessee River.
During the war, many people moved to Nashville. There were plenty of jobs in the supply depots, warehouses, and hospitals that supported the war effort. The city was also safer than the countryside. People who supported the Union, people who supported the Confederacy, free Black people, escaped enslaved people, and business people from the North all came to Nashville.
A secret Confederate group operated in the city. They smuggled weapons, medicines, and information to the Confederacy. They also helped prisoners escape and gave information to Confederate spies.
After the Civil War
After the Civil War, Nashville quickly grew into an important trade center. Its population jumped from 16,988 in 1860 to 80,865 by 1900. The number of African-Americans in the city increased from 23% to 38% between 1860 and 1870. The Nashville chapter of the Ku Klux Klan was started by Confederate veteran John W. Morton.
After the Union army left, the Fisk Free Colored School took over the Fort Gillem grounds, which was near where free Black people lived before the war. It was renamed Fisk University in 1872 and became a leading school for African-American higher education. A Black business district grew along the old fort's wagon road, which was renamed Jefferson Street. Other large African-American neighborhoods developed across the Cumberland River in East and North Nashville.
In the late 1880s, new state laws made it harder for African-Americans and poor white people to register and vote. A poll tax was added in 1889. This stopped most Black people and many poor white people from voting for decades. Tennessee had been one of the most politically competitive states after the Civil War, but about one-third of its citizens were now shut out of the political process. This lasted until the mid-1960s, after the Civil Rights Movement.
In 1897, Nashville hosted the Tennessee Centennial and International Exposition, a World's Fair celebrating Tennessee's 100th anniversary of joining the U.S. A replica of the Parthenon was built for the event. This Parthenon replica is now the main feature of Centennial Park.
An interesting story involves President Theodore Roosevelt. When he visited Nashville, he stayed at the Maxwell House Hotel. The hotel owner, Joel Cheek, served a special coffee blend. After trying it, Roosevelt famously said it was "good to the last drop!" Cheek later sold the blend, and today, Maxwell House coffee is enjoyed by many.
In 1913, Nashville was the last major city in Tennessee to adopt a commission form of government. This meant that all members of a small commission were elected by the entire city. This change further limited the political power of African Americans who could vote, as their candidates struggled to get support from the white majority. Other cities like Clarksville, Chattanooga, Knoxville, and Jackson also adopted this system. However, legal challenges in the late 1970s led these cities to change their systems. By 1990, most had new systems with more council members, many elected from smaller areas. This allowed minority groups to elect their chosen candidates.
On March 22, 1916, a fire in East Nashville destroyed over 500 homes. Strong winds made the fire spread quickly before firefighters could stop it. This event became known as the Great Fire of 1916. Although few people were injured and only one person died, the fire greatly harmed East Nashville's economy for many years.
The Great train wreck of 1918 happened on July 9, 1918, in Nashville. A local train crashed into an express train, killing 101 people. This was one of the deadliest train accidents in U.S. history.
Tennessee was the state that helped pass the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote. The struggle to ratify this amendment caused a lot of excitement in Nashville in August 1920.
On March 1, 1941, W47NV began broadcasting in Nashville. It was the first fully licensed commercial FM radio station in the United States.
Nashville's Recent History (After World War II)
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After World War II, music leaders like Roy Acuff (1903–1992) helped make Nashville the capital of country music. Acuff joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1938. Even though his music popularity faded later, he remained a key figure and promoter for the Opry for almost 40 years. In 1942, he co-founded Acuff-Rose Music, the first major country music publishing company in Nashville. Today, the Second Avenue/lower Broadway area is home to a large music industry and a music-themed tourist center.
In 1949, the city government took over 96 acres in Hell's Half Acre. This was a Black neighborhood northwest of the state capital where the city's poorest African-Americans lived. This neighborhood was replaced with the State Library and Archives, a large office building, a six-lane parkway, parking lots, and green space. Few plans were made for the people who lost their homes.
During the winter of 1951, Nashville had its worst blizzard ever. From January 28 to January 30, an ice storm covered the city with an inch of sleet and freezing rain. This stopped traffic and cut off power to many neighborhoods. On January 31, a blizzard hit with winds over 50 mph and zero visibility. Eight inches of snow fell, making travel almost impossible. On February 2, temperatures dropped to -13 degrees Fahrenheit, causing pipes to burst. Many residents had no electricity or water. This combination of ice and blizzard is known as Nashville's worst winter weather. It holds the third-place record for the most snow from a single storm, after the blizzards of 1892 and 2016.
Nashville was an important center for the Civil Rights Movement. In 1957, public schools began to desegregate, meaning Black and white students could attend the same schools. This was done using a "stair-step" plan. Some people protested, and a bomb was set off at Hattie Cotton Elementary School. No one was killed, and the desegregation plan continued peacefully after that. The school board drew school district lines in a way that only nine Black first-graders enrolled in formerly all-white schools, even though about 100 were eligible. Seven years later, fewer than 800 Black students were in formerly all-white schools. Black teachers and principals faced demotions or layoffs as the city combined the school system.
On February 13, 1960, hundreds of college students from Fisk, the American Baptist Theological Seminary, and Tennessee A&I started a sit-in campaign. They wanted to desegregate lunch counters across the city. Inspired by students in Greensboro, North Carolina, these students held similar protests and boycotts in Nashville. Even though they faced violence and arrests at first, the protesters eventually succeeded. They pressured local businesses to end racial segregation. Many activists from the Nashville sit-ins, like James Bevel, Diane Nash, Bernard Lafayette, and John Lewis, went on to help organize the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). SNCC became one of the most important groups in the civil rights movement. The first movement credited to SNCC was the 1961 Nashville Open Theater Movement, which desegregated the city's theaters.
Inspired by these efforts, Nashville created a consolidated city-county government in 1963. This is also called a "metropolitan government." A similar idea had failed in 1958, but voters in Davidson County approved the plan in a referendum on June 28, 1962.
On April 16, 1998, an F3 tornado hit downtown Nashville around 3:30 p.m. It caused serious damage, breaking hundreds of windows in skyscrapers. Glass rained down on the streets, closing the business district for almost four days. Over 300 homes were damaged, and three cranes at the unfinished Adelphia Coliseum fell over. Only one person was killed, but it was one of the most expensive urban tornadoes in U.S. history.
The expansion of the National Hockey League brought the Nashville Predators to Nashville in 1998. They play at Bridgestone Arena downtown. The team has done very well in Nashville.
Soon after the NHL expansion, the Tennessee Oilers football team moved from Memphis to Nashville in 1999. They began their first season as the Tennessee Titans. In just two years, Nashville gained two professional sports teams. These teams greatly helped to bring new life to the downtown area.
In 2000, Nashville native Bill Frist became very important in national politics. He became the majority leader of the U.S. Senate. Frist used to be a transplant surgeon at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
In 2006, commuter train service from Nashville to Lebanon opened to the public. These trains are now known as the WeGo Star. Plans to expand the train service were stopped during the Great Recession of 2008–09. However, there are now new plans to expand commuter rail service in the city.
From April 30 to May 7, 2010, major flooding affected Nashville and its suburbs. Many areas received more than 18 inches of rain in less than 48 hours. This caused significant damage downtown, and 36 people died in the city. Because this amount of rainfall is so rare, weather experts called it a "thousand-year event."
On January 22, 2016, Winter Storm Jonas brought blizzard conditions to Nashville. More than eight inches of snow fell. The National Weather Service issued a blizzard warning that morning. On January 22, Nashville set a record for the most snowfall in a 24-hour period. The blizzard then moved to the East Coast by January 23.
In 2016, Nashville grew by 82 residents every day. In 2017, Nashville became Tennessee's most populated city, passing Memphis. Even after the Great Recession, Nashville has shown strong economic growth in the 21st Century. It has one of the lowest unemployment rates in Tennessee.
From April 25–27, 2019, Nashville hosted the 2019 NFL draft. It broke attendance records with 600,000 people attending. It is also the most watched draft in NFL history, with 47.5 million TV views.
In the early morning hours of March 3, 2020, Nashville was hit by another deadly tornado. This strong EF-3 tornado killed two people in East Nashville. It then continued into Wilson County, where it killed three more people.
On December 9, 2023, a powerful storm with multiple tornadoes caused destruction for about a hundred miles around Nashville. The Madison neighborhood of Nashville was especially hard hit, and three people were killed there. There was also a lot of property damage.
Recent Economic Growth
On January 8, 2013, The New York Times called Nashville the "It" city in an article titled "Nashville's Latest Hit Could Be the City Itself." Many believe this article helped start new growth and construction in Nashville. By the end of 2013, Nashville was named the 5th fastest growing city in America.
On May 28, 2013, the new Music City Center opened in the SoBro District of Downtown Nashville. This new convention center was a big step forward. It replaced the older Nashville Convention Center and added an 800-room Omni Hotel. It also expanded the Country Music Hall of Fame's facilities. This project led to many new construction projects in SoBro and other parts of the city, continuing into 2015.
In November 2014, Bridgestone announced they would keep their North American Headquarters in Nashville. They planned to invest $200 million to build a new 35-story skyscraper. This project would bring 1,700 jobs to downtown Nashville.
On January 26, 2015, Google announced it was bringing its Fiber internet service to the Nashville Area. This means super-fast internet using fiber optic cables. This announcement was seen as a big positive for Nashville's growing tech scene.
On April 17, 2015, First Tennessee Park opened in Nashville's Germantown district. This new park became the home for the AAA Baseball team, the Nashville Sounds.
Overall, at least 123 projects are planned or being built in Davidson County. Many of these have started recently. In downtown alone, new projects include a 27-story Westin Hotel, a 33-story apartment complex called "The Sobro," and a 35-story JW Marriott proposed across from the Music City Center. HCA's new 18-story headquarters and a $1 billion development called Capitol View are both being built in the North Gulch area. A 44-story condo and apartment building called 505 cst is also proposed for downtown. If built, it will be Nashville's tallest building.
oneC1TY is a lively urban community being built near the Charlotte Ave and 28/31st connector intersection. It will be a center for technology, homes, businesses, research, and shops. Its sustainable design includes lots of green space and a community lawn. It encourages walking, biking, and enjoying the outdoors, music, and art.
Nashville became the largest city in Tennessee in 2017, with about 8,000 more people than Memphis.
Zillow ranked Nashville as the hottest housing market in the entire United States in 2017. The Milken Institute ranked Nashville as the 7th best performing city in the United States. This ranking is based on economic, social, and community factors.
In August 2017, British Airways announced the first nonstop flight on their airline from Nashville to London's Heathrow Airport. This flight began on May 4, 2018. It is expected to add $100 million to Nashville's economy and help business connections and travel to the city.
In May 2018, the New York financial company AllianceBernstein announced it would move its main office to downtown Nashville. This move to the Fifth and Broadway development would bring at least 1,000 new corporate jobs. Soon after, in June 2018, Nashville was chosen to host the 2019 NFL Draft.
On November 12, 2018, Nashville was announced as the East Coast operations hub for Amazon's logistics and retail department. This will bring at least 5,000 new corporate jobs downtown to the Nashville Yards development. It is the largest job announcement in Tennessee's history. Ernst & Young also announced it would open a tech hub on Nashville's Music Row, adding another 600 jobs to the Nashville area.
On December 25, 2020, a car bomb exploded in downtown Nashville. It was outside the AT&T Building in the city's business district. At least three people were injured. Officials believe the explosion was done on purpose. The explosion was felt "miles" away from where it happened.
On March 27, 2023, a shooting happened at The Covenant School in Nashville's Green Hills neighborhood. Three adults, three children, and the person who caused the shooting were killed.
