Nashville
State capital and consolidated city-county
Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County
Nashville skyline The Parthenon in Centennial Park AT&T Building Vanderbilt University Bridgestone Arena The Grand Ole Opry Tennessee State Capitol
Flag Seal
Nickname(s):  Music City, Country Music Capital, Athens of the South, Nashvegas[1]
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Nashville Show map of Tennessee Nashville Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 36°09′44″N 86°46′28″W / 36.16222°N 86.77444°W / 36.16222; -86.77444
Country	United States
State	Tennessee
County	Davidson
Founded	1779
Incorporated	1806
City-county consolidation	1963
Named for	Francis Nash
Government
• Mayor	Freddie O'Connell (D[a])
• Vice Mayor	Angie Henderson
Area [3]
• Consolidated	525.94 sq mi (1,362.2 km2)
• Land	504.03 sq mi (1,305.4 km2)
• Water	21.91 sq mi (56.7 km2)
Elevation [4]	554 ft (169 m)
Population  (2022)[b][5][6]
• Consolidated	715,884
• Rank	69th in North America 21st in the United States[c] 1st in Tennessee[c]
• Density	1,420.32/sq mi (548.39/km2)
• Urban	1,158,642 (US: 42nd)
• Urban density	1,980.7/sq mi (764.8/km2)
• Metro [7]	2,072,283 (US: 35th)
• Balance	689,447
Demonym	Nashvillian
GDP [8]
• Nashville (MSA)	$187.8 billion (2022)
Time zone	UTC−6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
ZIP Codes	37201-37222, 37224, 37227-37230, 37232, 37234-37236, 37238, 37240-37244, 37246, 37250
Area codes	615 and 629
GNIS feature ID	1652484[4]
Website	nashville.gov

Nashville is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. Located in Middle Tennessee, it had a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census.^[d] Nashville is the 21st most populous city in the United States, and the fourth most populous city in the southeastern U.S.^[6] Located on the Cumberland River,^[9] the city is the center of the Nashville metropolitan area, and is one of the fastest growing in the nation.^[10][11]

Named for Francis Nash, a general of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, the city was founded in 1779 when this territory was still considered part of North Carolina. The city grew quickly due to its strategic location as a port on the Cumberland River and, in the 19th century, a railroad center. Nashville as part of Tennessee seceded during the American Civil War; in 1862 it was the first state capital in the Confederacy to be taken by Union forces. It was occupied through the war.

After the war, the city gradually reclaimed its stature. It became a center of trade and developed a manufacturing base.

Since 1963, Nashville has had a consolidated city-county government, which includes six smaller municipalities in a two-tier system. The city is governed by a mayor, a vice-mayor, and a 40-member metropolitan council. Some 35 of the members are elected from single-member districts, while five are elected at-large. 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.

As of 2020 Nashville is considered a global city, type "Gamma" by the GaWC.^[12] A major center for the music industry, especially country music, Nashville is commonly known as "Music City".^[13] It is home to three major professional sports teams, the Predators, Titans, and Nashville SC.

The city is also the home of many colleges and universities including Tennessee State University, Vanderbilt University, Belmont University, Fisk University, Trevecca Nazarene University, and Lipscomb University. Nashville is sometimes referred to as the "Athens of the South" due to the large number of educational institutions.^[14] The city is also a major center for the healthcare,^[15] publishing,^[16] banking,^[17] automotive,^[18] and technology^[19] industries. Entities with headquarters in the city include AllianceBernstein,^[20] Asurion,^[21] Bridgestone Americas,^[22] Captain D's,^[23] Concord, Hospital Corporation of America,^[24] LifeWay Christian Resources,^[25] Logan's Roadhouse,^[26] and Ryman Hospitality Properties.^[27]

History

18th and 19th centuries

In 1689, French-Canadian trader Martin Chartier established a trading post on the Cumberland River, near the present-day site of the city.^[28] 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. These settlers quickly established an extensive fur trading network with the local Native Americans, but by the 1740s the settlement had largely been abandoned.^[29]

In 1779, explorers James Robertson and John Donelson led a party of Overmountain Men to the site of French Lick, and constructed Fort Nashborough. It was named for Francis Nash, the American Revolutionary War hero. 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. By 1800, the city had 345 residents, including 136 enslaved African Americans and 14 free African Americans.^[30] In 1806, Nashville was incorporated as a city and became the county seat of Davidson County, Tennessee. In 1843, the city was named as the permanent capital of the state of Tennessee. Knoxville, Kingston & Murfreesboro were prior locations of the state capital.^[31]

The city government of Nashville owned 24 slaves by 1831, and 60 prior to the Civil War. They were "put to work to build the first successful water system and maintain the streets."^[32] Auction blocks and brokers' offices were part of the slave market at the heart of the city.^[32] It was the center of plantations cultivating tobacco and hemp as commodity crops, in addition to the breeding and training of thoroughbred horses, and other livestock. For years Nashville was considered one of the wealthiest southern capitals and a large portion of its prominence was from the iron business. Nashville led the south for iron production.^[33]

The cholera epidemic that struck Nashville in 1849–1850 took the life of former U.S. President James K. Polk and resulted in high fatalities. There were 311 deaths from cholera in 1849^[34][35] and an estimated 316 to about 500 in 1850.^[36]

Before the Civil War, about 700 free Blacks lived in small enclaves in northern Nashville. More than 3,200 enslaved African Americans lived in the city.^[37] By 1860, when the first rumblings of secession began to be heard across the South, antebellum Nashville was a prosperous city.

The city's significance as a shipping port and rail center made it a desirable prize for competing military forces that wanted to control the region's important river and railroad transportation routes. In February 1862, Nashville became the first Confederate state capital to fall to U.S. troops, and the state was occupied by the U.S. Army for the duration of the war. Many enslaved African Americans from Middle Tennessee fled as refugees to Union lines; they were housed in contraband camps around military installations in Nashville's eastern, western, and southern borders. The Battle of Nashville (December 15–16, 1864) was a significant Union victory and perhaps the most decisive tactical victory gained by either side in the war; it was also the war's final major military action in which Tennessee regiments played a large part on both sides of the battle. Afterward, the Confederates conducted a war of attrition, making guerrilla raids and engaging in small skirmishes. Confederate forces in the Deep South were almost constantly in retreat.

In 1868, three years after the end of the Civil War, the Nashville chapter of the Ku Klux Klan was founded by Confederate veteran John W. Morton. He was reported to have initiated General Nathan Bedford Forrest into the white-sepremacist organization.^[38] The latter became Grand Wizard of the organization, which had chapters of this secret, insurgent group forming throughout the state and across the South. They opposed voting and political organizing by freedmen, tried to control their behavior by threats, violence and murder, and sometimes also attacked their White allies, including schoolteachers from the North and Freedman's Bureau officials.

Whites directed violence against freedmen and their descendants both during and after the Reconstruction era. Two freedmen, David Jones and Jo Reed, were lynched in Nashville by White mobs in 1872 and 1875, respectively.^[39][40] Reed was hanged from a bridge over the river, but survived after the rope broke and he fell into the water. He successfully escaped the city soon thereafter.^[41]

In the aftermath of the Civil War, the Fisk Jubilee Singers of Fisk University in Nashville emerged as a beacon of hope and cultural pride. By 1871, this ensemble began touring the U.S. and Europe, earning international acclaim for their performances of Negro spirituals.^[42] Their success not only provided vital funding for their university^[43] but also marked Nashville as a significant center for African American music and culture, laying the groundwork for the city's enduring musical legacy.

In 1873, Nashville suffered another cholera epidemic, along with towns throughout Sumner County along railroad routes and the Cumberland River. This was part of a larger epidemic that struck the Mississippi Valley system and other areas of the United States, such as New York and towns along its major lakes and rivers. The epidemic is estimated to have killed around 1,000 people in Nashville,^[44] and 50,000 total.

Meanwhile, the city had reclaimed its important shipping and trading position and developed a solid manufacturing base. The post–Civil War years of the late 19th century brought new prosperity to Nashville and Davidson County. Wealthy planters and businessmen built grand, classical-style buildings. A replica of the Parthenon was constructed in Centennial Park, near downtown.^[45]

On April 30, 1892, Ephraim Grizzard, an African-American man, was lynched in a spectacle murder in front of a European-American mob of 10,000 in Nashville. He was a suspect in the assault of two white sisters.^[46] His lynching was described by journalist Ida B. Wells as: "A naked, bloody example of the blood-thirstiness of the nineteenth century civilization of the Athens of the South."^[47] His brother, Henry Grizzard, had been lynched and hanged on April 24, 1892, in nearby Goodlettsville as a suspect in the same assault incident. From 1877 to 1950, a total of six lynchings of Blacks were conducted in Davidson County, four before the turn of the century.^[48]

Earlier 20th century

By the turn of the century Nashville was home to numerous organizations and individuals associated with revisionist Lost Cause of the Confederacy pseudohistory, and it has been referred to as the "cradle of the Lost Cause."^[49] In 1893, the magazine Confederate Veteran began publication in the city.^[50] In 1894, the first chapter of United Daughters of the Confederacy was founded in the city, and it hosted the first two conventions of the organization.^[51] Prominent proponents of the mythology, the so-called "guardians of the Lost Cause," were concentrated Downtown and in the West End, near Centennial Park.^[49]

At the same time, Jefferson Street became the historic center of the African American community, with similar districts developing in the Black neighborhoods in East and North Nashville. In 1912, the Tennessee Agricultural and Industrial and Normal School was moved to Jefferson Street.^[37] The first Prince's Hot Chicken Shack originated at the corner of Jefferson Street and 28th Avenue in 1945.^[37] Jefferson Street became a destination for jazz and blues musicians,^[37] and remained so until the federal government split the area by construction of Interstate 40 in the late 1960s.^[52]

In 1925, the establishment of the Grand Ole Opry marked the beginning of Nashville's journey as the 'Country Music Capital of the World',^[53] drawing musicians and fans alike to the city and setting the stage for its future as a country music powerhouse.^[54]

In 1950, the state legislature approved a new city charter that provided for the election of city council members from single-member districts, rather than at-large voting. This change was supported because at-large voting required candidates to gain a majority of votes from across the city. The previous system prevented the minority population, which then tended to support Republican candidates, from being represented by candidates of their choice; apportionment under single-member districts meant that some districts in Nashville had Black majorities. In 1951, after passage of the new charter, African American attorneys Z. Alexander Looby and Robert E. Lillard were elected to the city council.^[55]

During the mid-1950s, Nashville underwent a musical transformation with the emergence of the 'Nashville Sound,' which was characterized by "smooth strings and choruses", "sophisticated background vocals" and "smooth tempos" associated with traditional pop.^[56][57] The new sound broadened country music's appeal and solidified Nashville's status as a music recording and production center.

With the United States Supreme Court ruling in 1954 that public schools had to desegregate with "all deliberate speed", the family of student Robert Kelley filed a lawsuit in 1956, arguing that Nashville administrators should open all-White East High School to him. A similar case was filed by Reverend Henry Maxwell due to his children having to take a 45-minute bus ride from South Nashville to the north end of the city. These suits caused the courts to announce what became known as the "Nashville Plan", where the city's public schools would desegregate one grade per year beginning in the fall of 1957.^[37]

Urban redevelopment accelerated over the next several decades, and the city grew increasingly segregated. An interstate was placed on the edge of East Nashville while another highway was built through Edgehill, a lower-income, predominantly minority community.^[37]

Postwar development to present

Rapid suburbanization occurred during the years immediately after World War II, as new housing was being built outside city limits. This resulted in a demand for many new schools and other support facilities, which the county found difficult to provide. At the same time, suburbanization led to a declining tax base in the city, although many suburban residents used unique city amenities and services that were supported financially only by city taxpayers. After years of discussion, a referendum was held in 1958 on the issue of consolidating city and county government. It failed to gain approval although it was supported by the then-elected leaders of both jurisdictions, County Judge Beverly Briley and Mayor Ben West.^[58]

Following the referendum's failure, Nashville annexed some 42 square miles of suburban jurisdictions to expand its tax base. This increased uncertainty among residents, and created resentment among many suburban communities. Under the second charter for metropolitan government, which was approved in 1962, two levels of service provision were proposed: the General Services District and the Urban Services District, to provide for a differential in tax levels. Residents of the Urban Services District had a full range of city services. The areas that made up the General Services District, however, had a lower tax rate until full services were provided.^[58] This helped reconcile aspects of services and taxation among the differing jurisdictions within the large metro region.

In the early 1960s, Tennessee still had racial segregation of public facilities, including lunch counters and department store fitting rooms. Hotels and restaurants were also segregated. Between February 13 and May 10, 1960, a series of sit-ins were organized at lunch counters in downtown Nashville by the Nashville Student Movement and Nashville Christian Leadership Council, and were part of a broader sit-in movement in the southeastern United States as part of an effort to end racial segregation of public facilities.^[59] On April 19, 1960, the house of Z. Alexander Looby, an African American attorney and council member, was bombed by segregationists.^[60] Protesters marched to the city hall the next day. Mayor Ben West said he supported the desegregation of lunch counters, which civil rights activists had called for.^[61]

In 1963, Nashville consolidated its government with Davidson County, forming a metropolitan government. The membership on the Metro Council, the legislative body, was increased from 21 to 40 seats. Of these, five members are elected at-large and 35 are elected from single-member districts, each to serve a term of four years.^[58]

As Nashville evolved in the 1960s, its music scene diversified, welcoming rock, pop, and other genres and the 'Nashville Sound' transformed into 'Countrypolitan'. Artists like Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash came to Nashville to record, reflecting the city's expanding influence in the music industry.^[62][63] In 1960, Time reported that Nashville had "nosed out Hollywood as the nation's second biggest (after New York) record-producing center."^[64]

In 1957 Nashville desegregated its school system using an innovative grade a year plan, in response to a class action suit Kelly vs. Board of Education of Nashville. By 1966 the Metro Council abandoned the grade a year plan and completely desegregated the entire school system at one time.^[65]

Congress passed civil rights legislation in 1964 and 1965, but tensions continued as society was slow to change. On April 8, 1967, a riot broke out on the college campuses of Fisk University and Tennessee State University, historically Black colleges, after Stokely Carmichael spoke about Black Power at Vanderbilt University.^[66] Although it was viewed as a "race riot", it had classist characteristics.^[66]

In 1979, the Ku Klux Klan burnt crosses outside two African American sites in Nashville, including the city headquarters of the NAACP.^[67]

Historically, Nashville zoning permitted the construction of duplex housing. In the 1980s and 1990s, Nashville lawmakers downzoned sections of Nashville to exclusively permit single-family housing. Proponents of these downzonings said they would raise home values.^[68][69][70]

Since the 1970s, the city and county have undergone tremendous growth, particularly during the economic boom of the 1990s under the leadership of then-Mayor and later-Tennessee Governor, Phil Bredesen. Making urban renewal a priority, Bredesen fostered the construction or renovation of several city landmarks, including the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, the downtown Nashville Public Library, the Bridgestone Arena, and Nissan Stadium.^[71][72]

Nissan Stadium (formerly Adelphia Coliseum and LP Field) was built after the National Football League's (NFL) Houston Oilers agreed to move to the city in 1995. The NFL team debuted in Nashville in 1998 at Vanderbilt Stadium, and Nissan Stadium opened in the summer of 1999. The Oilers changed their name to the Tennessee Titans and finished the season with the Music City Miracle and a close Super Bowl game.^[73] The St. Louis Rams won in the last play of the game.^[74]

In 1997, Nashville was awarded a National Hockey League expansion team; this was named the Nashville Predators.^[75] Since the 2003–04 season, the Predators have made the playoffs in all but four seasons. In 2017, they made the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in franchise history, but ultimately fell to the Pittsburgh Penguins, 4 games to 2, in the best-of-seven series.^[76]

21st century

This article appears to be slanted towards recent events. Please try to keep recent events in historical perspective and add more content related to non-recent events. (March 2023)

On January 22, 2009, residents rejected Nashville Charter Amendment 1, which sought to make English the official language of the city.^[77]

Between May 1 and 7, 2010, much of Nashville was extensively flooded as part of a series of 1,000 year floods throughout Middle and West Tennessee. Much of the flooding took place in areas along the Cumberland and Harpeth Rivers and Mill Creek, and caused extensive damage to the many buildings and structures in the city, including the Grand Ole Opry House, Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center, Opry Mills Mall, Schermerhorn Symphony Center, Bridgestone Arena, and Nissan Stadium. Sections of Interstate 24 and Briley Parkway were also flooded. Eleven people died in the Nashville area as a result of the flooding, and damages were estimated to be over $2 billion.^[78]

The city recovered after the Great Recession.^{[citation needed]} In March 2012, a Gallup poll ranked Nashville in the top five regions for job growth.^[79] In 2013, Nashville was described as "Nowville" and "It City" by GQ, Forbes, and The New York Times.^[80][81][82]

Nashville elected its first female mayor, Megan Barry, on September 25, 2015.^[83] As a council member, Barry had officiated at the city's first same-sex wedding on June 26, 2015.^[84]

In 2017, Nashville's economy was deemed the third fastest-growing in the nation,^[85] and the city was named the "hottest housing market in the US" by Freddie Mac realtors.^[86] In May 2017, census estimates showed Nashville had passed Memphis to become most populated city in Tennessee.^[87] Nashville has also made national headlines for its "homelessness crisis". Rising housing prices and the opioid crisis have resulted in more people being out on the streets: as of 2018^[update], between 2,300 and 20,000 Nashvillians are homeless.^[88]

On March 6, 2018, due to felony charges filed against Mayor Barry relating to the misuse of public funds, she resigned before the end of her term. A special election was called. Following a ruling by the Tennessee Supreme Court, the Davidson County Election Commission set the special election for May 24, 2018, to meet the requirement of 75 to 80 days from the date of resignation.^[89] David Briley, who was Vice Mayor during the Barry administration and Acting Mayor after her resignation, won the special election with just over 54% of the vote,^[90] becoming the 70th mayor of Nashville.^[91]

On May 1, 2018, voters rejected Let's Move Nashville, a referendum which would have funded construction of an $8.9 billion mass transit system under the Nashville Metropolitan Transit Authority, by a 2 to 1 margin.^[92]

On September 28, 2019, John Cooper became the ninth mayor of Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County.^[93]

On March 3, 2020, a tornado tracked west to east, just north of the downtown Nashville area, killing at least 25 people and leaving tens of thousands without electricity. Neighborhoods impacted included North Nashville, Germantown, East Nashville, Donelson, and Hermitage.^[94]

On December 25, 2020, a vehicle exploded on Second Avenue, killing the perpetrator and injuring eight others.^[95]

On March 27, 2023, a gunman killed three children and three staff at the Covenant School, before getting killed by police.^[96]

On December 9, 2023, tornadoes caused considerable destruction and left three people dead.^[97]

Geography

Topography

Nashville lies on the Cumberland River in the northwestern portion of the Nashville Basin. Nashville's elevation ranges from its lowest point, 385 feet (117 m) above sea level at the Cumberland River,^[98] to its highest point, 1,163 feet (354 m) above sea level in the Radnor Lake State Natural Area.^[99][100] Nashville also sits at the start of the Highland Rim, a geophysical region of very hilly land. Because of this, Nashville is very hilly. Nashville also has some stand alone hills around the city such as the hill on which the Tennessee State Capitol building sits. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 527.9 square miles (1,367 km²), of which 504.0 square miles (1,305 km²) of it is land and 23.9 square miles (62 km²) of it (4.53%) is water.

Cityscape

Nashville skyline, 2018

Nashville's downtown area features a diverse assortment of entertainment, dining, cultural and architectural attractions. The Broadway and 2nd Avenue areas feature entertainment venues, night clubs and an assortment of restaurants. North of Broadway lie Nashville's central business district, Legislative Plaza, Capitol Hill and the Tennessee Bicentennial Mall. Cultural and architectural attractions can be found throughout the city.

Three major interstate highways (I-40, I-65 and I-24) converge near the core area of downtown, and many regional cities are within a day's driving distance.

Nashville's first skyscraper, the Life & Casualty Tower, was completed in 1957 and launched the construction of other high rises in downtown Nashville. After the construction of the AT&T Building (commonly referred to by locals as the "Batman Building") in 1994, the downtown area saw little construction until the mid-2000s. The Pinnacle, a high rise office building which opened in 2010, was the first skyscraper in Nashville to be built in the preceding 15 years.^[101]

Since 2000, Nashville has seen two urban construction booms (one prior to the Great Recession and the other after) that have yielded multiple high-rises (defined by Emporis as buildings of a minimum of 115 feet tall). Of the city's 33 towers of 300 feet tall or taller (as of April 2023), 24 have been completed since 2000. Of note, Nashville has a disproportionate number of buildings 300 feet and taller in relation to its overall metropolitan statistical area (MSA) population of about 2 million (2021 U.S. Census Bureau estimate). This is due, in part, to the tourism-centric city's multiple hotel towers and to many condominium towers having multiple unit owners who also own other residential properties in both Nashville and in other markets. In contrast, and for comparison, Phoenix, with an MSA population of about 4.95 million (2021 estimate) offers only 21 buildings of 300 feet and taller.

Many civic and infrastructure projects are being planned, in progress, or recently completed. A new MTA bus hub was recently completed in downtown Nashville, as was the Music City Star (now known as the WeGo Star) pilot project. Several public parks have been constructed, such as the Public Square. Riverfront Park is scheduled to be extensively updated. The Music City Center opened in May 2013.^[102] It is a 1,200,000-square-foot (110,000 m²) convention center with 350,000 square feet (33,000 m²) of exhibit space.^[103]

Neighborhoods

Flora

The nearby city of Lebanon is notable and even named for its so-called "cedar glades", which occur on soils too poor to support most trees and are instead dominated by Virginian juniper. Blackberry bushes, Virginia pine, loblolly pine, sassafras, red maple, river birch, American beech, river cane, mountain laurel and sycamore are all common native trees, along with many others.^[104]

In addition to the native forests, the combination of hot summers, abundant rainfall and mild winters permit a wide variety of both temperate and subtropical plants to be cultivated easily. Southern magnolia and cherry blossom trees are commonly cultivated here, with the city having an annual cherry blossom festival.^[105] Crepe myrtles and yew bushes are also commonly grown throughout Metro Nashville, and the winters are mild enough that sweetbay magnolia is evergreen whenever it is cultivated. The pansy flower is popular to plant during the autumn, and some varieties will flower overwinter in Nashville's subtropical climate. However, many hot-weather plants like petunia and even papyrus thrive as annuals, and Japanese banana will die aboveground during winter but re-sprout after the danger of frost is over. Unbeknownst to most Tennesseans, even cold-hardy palms, particularly needle palm and dwarf palmetto, are grown uncommonly but often successfully, while the taller windmill palm is more marginal, perishing below about 5 °F (−15 °C) without protection. High desert plants like Colorado spruce and prickly pear cactus are also grown somewhat commonly, as are Yucca filamentosa and the trunking Yucca rostrata.

Climate