History of Nashville Tennessee

Originally called Fort Nashborough after the Revolutionary War General Francis Nash, the Nashville area was settled around 1779 on the Cumberland River. The area was renamed Nashville in 1784. Soon after in 1796, Tennessee was the 16th state to join the Union. The Tennessee name is derived from a Cherokee variant of a Creek Indian word that is believed to mean “meeting place” or “bend in the river,” although there is some debate on the actual meaning of the word.

Tennessee seceded from the Union in 1861 and became involved in the Confederate Army of the Civil War that enveloped our developing nation. In 1862, Union Forces captured the occupation of Nashville. December 15-16, 1864 marks the date when the Confederates failed to retake the city in the historic Battle of Nashville.

The Battle of Nashville marked one of the most victorious achievements of the Union Army and effectively marked the end of the Army of Tennessee. There are no on-site remnants left from this battle; today, the suburban areas of Green Hills, Grassmere, and Brentwood occupy the area that was once an historic battlefield. In 1866, after the Civil War dust settled, Tennessee was re-admitted to the Union.

Nashville has a very unique organization of government. Since 1963, a Metropolitan Charter created a single government for both the city of Nashville and Davidson County. Nashville was the first large U.S. city to adopt this type of consolidated metropolitan city-county structure. Other cities have now formed similar governments using variations of the charter that has worked so well for Nashville.

Three former U.S. Presidents called Nashville home including Andrew Jackson, James K Polk, and Andrew Johnson. Of course, the Nashville area has been and still is home to many famous folks including country music stars, all types of musicians, actors, and more.

Nashville became the state capital in 1843, and is now the second most populated city in Tennessee. Today, the greater metropolitan area encompasses eight counties including Davidson County – where the city of Nashville is located – and the surrounding counties of Cheatham, Dickson, Robertson, Rutherford, Sumner, Williamson, and Wilson. The estimated 2005 population of the Nashville metropolitan area is over 1.4 million people.