Richard Henderson

The Nashville area was originally inhabited by peoples of the Mississippian culture; Cherokee, Chickasaw, and Shawnee later moved into the region. French fur traders established a post known as French Lick on the site in 1717. A force behind the area’s settlement was Richard Henderson, a North Carolina jurist who in 1775 acquired most of middle Tennessee and Kentucky in the Transylvania Purchase from the Cherokee. In 1779 he sent a party under James Robertson to investigate the Cumberland Valley. They settled at French Lick and were joined in the spring of 1780 by another group under John Donelson. Fort Nashborough, built at the site and named for American Revolutionary War general Francis Nash, became the centre of the new community. (A replica of the fort stands in a park along the Cumberland River.) Henderson is also credited with having written the Cumberland Compact, the articles of self-government adopted by the settlers. The community was renamed Nashville in 1784.

Chartered as a city in 1806, Nashville developed as a river trade depot and manufacturing site for middle Tennessee and became the political centre of the state. Its commercial importance was further enhanced by the advent of the railroads in the 1850s. Nashville was occupied by Union troops in February 1862, and the last major American Civil War battle (December 15–16, 1864) took place outside the city, when Union forces under Gen. George H. Thomas defeated the Confederates under Gen. John B. Hood.

Fortified Union railroad bridge across Cumberland River, Nashville, Tenn., 1864. Photograph by George N. Barnard.
Railroad yard and depot with locomotives; the capitol in the distance, Nashville, Tenn., 1864. Photograph by George N. Barnard.
Covered cannon on the steps of the capitol, Nashville, Tennessee, photograph by George N. Barnard, 1864.
Fortified Union railroad bridge across Cumberland River, Nashville, Tenn., 1864. Photograph by …
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (LC-B8171-2642 DLC)
Railroad yard and depot with locomotives; the capitol in the distance, Nashville, Tenn., 1864. …
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (LC-B8171-2651 DLC)
Covered cannon on the steps of the capitol, Nashville, Tennessee, photograph by George N. Barnard, …
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (LC B8171-2629 LC)
Nashville’s recovery after the war was spurred by its central location in the region’s rail and water transport networks, although it experienced serious cholera epidemics in 1866 and 1873. The city became known for the many institutions of higher education that were founded there and was given the nickname “Athens of the South.” Nashville’s economy and population grew rapidly in the first decades of the 20th century, and it was also during that time that the city emerged as the centre of American traditional and country music. Regular radio broadcasts of the Grand Ole Opry, a program of such music, began in Nashville in 1925 and continue today. Nashville’s industrial development accelerated in the 1930s after cheap electric power became available from the Tennessee Valley Authority and from dams on the Cumberland River. However, when it flooded after a two-day downpour in May 2010, the Cumberland brought damage to large parts of the city and took a number of lives.
The contemporary city
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External Links
Maps of World - Nashville Map, Tennessee, United States
Official Site of Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson Country, Tennessee, United States
The Catholic Encyclopedia - Nashville, Tennessee, United States
BRITANNICA WEB SITES

Articles from Britannica encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

Nashville - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee. The city is known as the Athens of the South. The nickname refers to the fact that Athens was the center of art and learning in ancient Greece. The city of Nashville has many buildings that look like those in ancient Greece. Since its earliest days it has also promoted learning through its many academies and schools. The city is officially named Nashville-Davidson because the governments of Nashville and Davidson county were combined in 1963. Nashville is on the Cumberland River, in the fertile north-central part of the state.

Nashville - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)
Known as the Athens of the South, Nashville is the capital of Tennessee, the seat of Davidson County, the location of the Grand Ole Opry, and home to no less than 16 institutions of higher education. It is located in central Tennessee on the Cumberland River. Since governmental functions of both Nashville and Davidson County were consolidated in 1963, Nashville is more properly known as Nashville-Davidson.