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Nashville's History

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Nashville was not founded by the early American settlers until after they declared their dependence from England. In 1780, James Robertson and a party of Wataugans located the site of a natural sulfur spring, settled there, and called it Fort Nashborough. Before long, its accessibility as a river port and through railroads caused it to grow rapidly and eventually become the capital of Tennessee (in 1843).

By the time the Civil War was beginning, Nashville was not only a very prominent city in the United States; it was also a very prosperous one. Located in the South, Tennessee eventually, though reluctantly, sided with the Confederacy – the last state to secede from the Union. However, because it was such a desirable city for transportation, Nashville fell to the Union soldiers in 1862. By the end of the Civil War, Nashville was nearly devastated structurally and economically; however, they recovered quickly and went on to rebuild their important shipping and trading status within a few years. This lead to an even greater wealth within the city and a previously unforeseen ability to fill the city with grand buildings and high-spirited residents.

In 1925, the Grand Ole Opry was built, helping Nashville become “Music City USA,” something that it is very readily identified with. For the next 80 years, the city continued to grow and adapt into a metropolitan government experiencing tremendous public and economic growth.

Next Page: Nashville's Government and Economics

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