In 1843, the city was named as the permanent capital of the state of Tennessee. In 1806, Nashville was incorporated as a city and became the county seat of Davidson County, Tennessee.
#Nashville city skyline free#
By 1800, the city had 345 residents, including 136 enslaved African Americans and 14 free African Americans. Nashville quickly grew because of its strategic location as a port on the Cumberland River, a tributary of the Ohio River and its later status as a major railroad center.
It was named for Francis Nash, the American Revolutionary War hero. In 1779, explorers James Robertson and John Donelson led a party of Overmountain Men to the site of French Lick, and constructed Fort Nashborough. These settlers quickly established an extensive fur trading network with the local Native Americans, but by the 1740s the settlement had largely been abandoned. In 1714, a group of French traders under the command of Charles Charleville established a settlement and trading post at the present location of downtown Nashville, which became known as French Lick. In 1689, French-Canadian trader Martin Chartier established a trading post on the Cumberland River, near the present-day site of the city. Main articles: History of Nashville, Tennessee and Timeline of Nashville, Tennessee 18th and 19th centuries Entities with headquarters in the city include AllianceBernstein, Asurion, Bridgestone Americas, Captain D's, Hospital Corporation of America, LifeWay Christian Resources, Logan's Roadhouse, and Ryman Hospitality Properties. The city is also a major center for the healthcare, publishing, banking, automotive, technology, and transportation industries. Nashville is sometimes referred to as " Athens of the South" due to the large number of educational institutions. It is also home to numerous colleges and universities, including Tennessee State University, Vanderbilt University, Belmont University, Fisk University, Trevecca Nazarene University, Lipscomb University, and The Belonging Co College, a satellite campus of Southeastern University (Florida) housed within The Belonging Co, a nondenominational Christian church. Reflecting the city's position in state government, Nashville is home to the Tennessee Supreme Court's courthouse for Middle Tennessee, one of the state's three divisions.Ī major center for the music industry, especially country music, Nashville is commonly known as "Music City". The city is governed by a mayor, a vice-mayor, and a 40-member metropolitan council 35 of the members are elected from single-member districts, while the other five are elected at-large. Since 1963, Nashville has had a consolidated city-county government, which includes six smaller municipalities in a two-tier system.
After the war, the city reclaimed its position and developed a manufacturing base. Nashville seceded with Tennessee during the American Civil War in 1862 it was the first state capital in the Confederacy to fall to Union troops. The city grew quickly due to its strategic location as a port on the Cumberland River and, in the 19th century, a railroad center. Named for Francis Nash, a general of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, the city was founded in 1779. census, Nashville is the 21st most-populous city in the United States and the third most populous in the Southeastern United States. With a population of 689,447 as of the 2020 U.S. It is the county seat of Davidson County and is located on the Cumberland River. Nashville is the capital and most populous city of the U.S.