History of Nashville, TN
Nashville is the capital city in the state of Tennessee and some of the very first settlers were Mississippian and Native American. They lived in this area from the years 1000 to 1400 C.E. These settlers harvested mounds, corn and even painted pottery that was richly decorated. After that, these settlers mysteriously disappeared. The Shawnee, Cherokee, and Chickasaw tribes began using this land for their hunting grounds. The First Europeans A Spaniard named Hernando de Soto came to this area in the 16th century as he was exploring however no settlement was made. There were then fur traders who were the ones who made settlement here. A trading post was established in the year 1717. Charles Charleville was the first one to build a post on a mound that was located near Nashville. There were Native American tribes that began trading here and they also visited hunting grounds often. Fort Nashborough One of the first permanent settlements began as James Robertson as well as John Donelson decided to leave the Watauga settlement. The decided to travel for a few months and then arrived at banks in Cumberland River which is near the state's capitol Nashville. This happened on Christmas in the year 1779. The land was cleared and a stockade was built and was called Fort Nashborough. This was done to honor Francis Nash which is the person that won the acclaim in the American Revolution. John Donelson came to the area with friends and nearly 60 additional families in flatboats. These people included children as well as women. A new community was founded and it was part of North Carolina. This area became named Nashville in the year 1784. Capital of Tennessee In the year 1806, Nashville earned its name as being a city. Nearly 30 years afterwards, on October 7, 1843, it was named as the capital of TN. There were several other cities that had been nominated and did have votes, but Nashville won by 1. Other cities it was competing against were Charlotte and Nashville. Before Nashville earned the name as being a capital, other cities such as Murfreesboro and Knoxville served as being the capital for a few days. From 1845 - 1855, a capital building was built and is known as the Tennessee State Capitol building. This building was constructed and designed by William Strickland who also modeled a temple in Greece. This building is home to the Governor's office as well as the Tennessee legislature. Civil War The state of TN became the last state to ever join the Confederacy in June of 1861. Isham Harris then proclaimed TN to be a free and independent government state so that mean they had no tie to the Federal Government of the US. Nashville was a desired prize by many as it was a shipping port as well as a symbolic importance to the state. General Assembly was in session in 1862 and soon after, the Federal occupation followed the Union Army that was led by Don Carlos. This took place in February, and towards the end of the month Nashville was the only capital that fell under Union troops. Once the Civil War ended, Nashville soon came to grow into a trade center and this city had a population of 16,988 that grew to 80,865 by 1900. TN hosted a fair called the Tennessee Centennial and International Exposition. This fair celebrated 100 years that TN has been in the Union. There was a replica made after the Parthenon at this fair. It now is found in the Centennial park as a center piece.
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