Timeline of Nashville, Tennessee

The following is a of the history of the city of Nashville, Tennessee, United States.

Prior to 19th century

• 1780
• Fort Nashborough established.
• Cumberland Compact signed; Cumberland Association formed.
• 1784 – Nashville established.
• 1785 – Davidson Academy incorporated.
• 1789 – Methodist church built.
• 1796 – Settlement becomes part of the state of Tennessee.
• 1797 – Tennessee Gazette and Mero District Advertiser newspaper begins publication.

19th century

• 1806
• Town incorporated.
• Joseph Coleman becomes mayor.
• 1812 – Tennessee General Assembly relocates to Nashville from Knoxville.
• 1813 – Nashville Library Co., Inc. established.
• 1817 – Tennessee General Assembly relocates from Nashville to Knoxville.
• 1818
• Earl's Nashville Museum opens.
• Population: 3,000 (approximate).
• 1820 – Christian Church built.
• 1822 – Nashville City Cemetery established.
• 1823 – Presbyterian church built.
• 1825 – Decker & Dyer Reading Room established.
• 1826
• Tennessee General Assembly relocates to Nashville from Murfreesboro.
• Cumberland College opened.
• 1829 – Christ Church built.
• 1830 – Population: 5,566.
• 1831 – Tennessee State Penitentiary built.
• 1833 – Waterworks established.
• 1835 – Tennessee Society for the Diffusion of Knowledge organized.
• 1837 – House of Industry for Females established.
• 1838 – First Baptist Church built.
• 1840 – Population: 6,929.
• 1841 – Mechanics' Library Association formed.
• 1842 – Burns & Co. in business.
• 1843 – Nashville becomes capital of Tennessee.
• 1844 – Tennessee School for the Blind and Mechanics Institute and Library Association established.
• 1845 – Protestant Orphan Asylum established.
• 1847 – St. Mary's Cathedral built.
• 1849 – Merchants' Library and Reading Room and Tennessee Historical Society founded.
• 1850
• June: Nashville Convention held.
• Suspension bridge built over the Cumberland River.
• Population: 10,165.
• 1851
• Nashville Gas Light Company in operation.
• Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway starts operating.
• 1852
• Public school system inaugurated.
• Davidson County Jail built.
• 1854
• Southern Methodist Publishing House headquartered in Nashville.
• Tennessee State Library established.
• 1855 – Giers photo studio in business.
• 1856 – Church of the Assumption built.
• 1857 – Davidson County Court House rebuilt.
• 1858 – City Workhouse and Church of St. Ann's built.
• 1859
• Tennessee State Capitol, draw-bridge, and Central Baptist Church built.
• Louisville and Nashville Railroad begins operating.
• 1860 - Population: 16,988.
• 1862
• City under Union control.
• Fort Negley built.
• 1863 – St. Mary's Catholic Orphan Asylum founded.
• 1864 – December 15–16: Battle of Nashville.
• 1865 – Fisk Free Colored School, Ward Seminary for Young Ladies, and Earhart's Bryant & Stratton's Commercial College established.
• 1866 – Central Tennessee College founded.
• 1867
• Montgomery Bell Academy opens.
• Nashville Lyceum Association incorporated.
• 1869 – Howard Chapel built.
• 1870
• Sulphur Dell ballpark opens.
• Population: 25,865.
• 1871
• Tennessee and Pacific Railroad (Lebanon-Nashville) begins operating.
• Fisk University Jubilee Singers, Library Association, and Nashville Saddlery Company established.
• 1873 – Vanderbilt University established.
• 1874 – Hebrew temple and First Cumberland Presbyterian Church built.
• 1876 – Nashville Banner newspaper begins publication.
• 1880 – Population: 43,350.
• 1884 – Nashville Athletic Club formed.
• 1885 – Industrial School and Query Club (women's group) established.
• 1889
• The Hermitage museum opens.
• Boscobel College for Young Ladies established.
• Peabody Normal College active.
• 1890 – Population: 76,168.
• 1891
• Nashville Bible School founded.
• Cumberland Park opened as a horse racing track.
• 1892
• March 17: St. Patrick's Day Snowstorm dumps 17 inches of snow on the city.
• Union Gospel Tabernacle built.
• Maxwell House coffee introduced.
• 1893 - Tennessee Central Railway starts operating.
• 1894 - United Daughters of the Confederacy headquartered in Nashville.
• 1897
• Tennessee Centennial and International Exposition held.
• Parthenon opened, a replica of the original, functions as an art museum.
• 1898
• Howard Library established.
• Tennessee State Penitentiary rebuilt.
• 1900
• Meharry Medical College active.
• Population: 80,865.
• Polk Place demolished.

20th century

1900s-1940s

• 1904 – Carnegie Library opens.
• 1905 – Centennial Club (women's group) active.
• 1906
• Tennessee State Fair begins.
• Nashville Globe newspaper begins publication.
• 1907 – Nashville Tennessean newspaper in publication.
• 1909
• Sparkman Street Bridge opens.
• Cumberland College closes.
• 1910
• Nashville Art Association chartered
• Hermitage Hotel in business
• Advance Publishing Company incorporated
• Population: 110,364
• 1912 - Urban League branch established.
• 1916 – Nashville Housewives League organized.
• 1918
• July 9: Great Train Wreck of 1918.
• 1918 influenza epidemic.
• 1920 – Population: 118,342.
• 1922 - Nashville's first radio station, WDAA, signs on
• 1925
• War Memorial Auditorium dedicated.
• WSM radio and its Grand Ole Opry begin broadcasting.
• Belcourt Theatre built.
• 1926 - WLAC radio begins broadcasting.
• 1927
• Warner Parks open.
• WSIX radio begins broadcasting.
• 1930
• First American National Bank formed.
• Population: 153,866.
• 1931
• Nashville Children's Theatre established.
• Parthenon rebuilt.
• 1936 – Berry Field (airport) dedicated.
• 1937 – Tennessee State Museum established.
• 1940 - Population: 167,402.
• 1941
• W47NV radio licensed.
• Iroquois Steeplechase begins.
• 1942 – Acuff-Rose Music and Harveys (department store) in business.
• 1946 – Nashville Symphony founded.

1950s-1990s

• 1950
• WSM-TV begins broadcasting.
• Population: 174,307.
• 1951
• Ben West becomes mayor.
• The Harpeth Hall School opens.
• 1952 - Tennessee Theatre opens.
• 1953 – WSIX-TV begins broadcasting.
• 1954 – WLAC-TV begins broadcasting.
• 1955 - Brothers Owen and Harold Bradley establish Bradley Film and Recording Studio, the first studio in what will become Nashville's Music Row neighborhood.
• 1957
• Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway stops operating.
• Life & Casualty Tower built.
• RCA Studios begins operation at the corner of 17th Ave. S. and Hawkins St. It will become known as RCA Studio B.
• 1960
• Nashville sit-ins for civil rights occur.
• Cheekwood Museum opens.
• Population: 170,874.
• 1961 – Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum established.
• 1962
• WDCN-TV begins broadcasting.
• Nashville Municipal Auditorium opens.
• 1963
• City consolidates its government with Davidson County.
• Metropolitan Council (Nashville) established.
• Beverly Briley becomes mayor.
• 1964 - American Association for State and Local History headquartered in Nashville.
• 1967 – 100 Oaks Mall in business near city.
• 1968 – Third National Bank Building constructed.
• 1970 - Population: 448,003.
• 1972
• Fan Fair music festival begins.
• Opryland USA opens.
• 1974
• Regions Center (Nashville) built.
• Grand Ole Opry House opens.
• 1975 – Richard Fulton becomes mayor.
• 1978 - The Nashville Sounds minor-league baseball team plays its inaugural season.
• 1980
• Tennessee Performing Arts Center opens.
• Sri Ganesha Temple established.
• Population: 455,651.
• 1981 – Nashville Opera Guild chartered.
• 1982
• Foreign trade zone established.
• Bluebird Cafe opens
• 1983 - Nissan car manufactory begins operating in nearby Smyrna.
• 1985 – Starwood Amphitheatre opens.
• 1986 – Tennessee Players founded.
• 1987
• Nashville Airport terminal built.
• Bill Boner becomes mayor.
• 1988 – Nashville Shakespeare Festival and Nashville Pride begin.
• 1989
• Nashville Scene begins publication.
• Prince's Hot Chicken Shack in business (approximate date).
• 1990
• Grassmere Wildlife Park established.
• Population: 488,374.
• 1991 – Phil Bredesen becomes mayor.
• 1994
• City website online.
• South Central Bell Building constructed.
• American Airlines begins nonstop service between London and Nashville.
• 1996
• Bicentennial Mall State Park opens.
• Magdalene program for women, and Nashville Zoo at Grassmere established.
• Nashville Arena built.
• 1998
• April 15–16: Tornado.
• After playing in Memphis for one season, the Tennessee Oilers football team plays its first Nashville games at Vanderbilt Stadium.
• Nashville Predators ice hockey team formed.
• 1999
• Adelphia Coliseum opens.
• Bill Purcell becomes mayor.
• Al Gore presidential campaign, 2000 headquartered in city.
• 2000 – The City Paper begins publication.

21st century

• 2001
• Tennessee Immigrant Rights Coalition headquartered in city.
• Frist Center for the Visual Arts established.
• 2002 Nashville Public Education Foundation established by Nelson C. Andrews and Thomas J. Sherrard
• 2003 – Shelby Street pedestrian bridge opens.
• 2006
• Schermerhorn Symphony Center opens.
• Viridian Tower built.
• Car manufacturer Nissan's North American headquarters in business in nearby Franklin.
• 2007 – Karl Dean becomes mayor.
• 2008 – Nashville for All of Us (group) organized.
• 2009
• Third Man Records in business.
• The Pinnacle at Symphony Place built.
• Live on the Green begins.
• Voters reject Nashville English Only Amendment.
• 2010
• April–May: Flood.
• Population: 601,222.
• 2011
• October: Occupy Nashville begins.
• Parnassus Books in business.
• 2012
• March: Occupy Vanderbilt begins.
• MyCity Academy (government program) established.
• Fictional Nashville TV series makes national premiere on ABC, transfers to CMT in 2016 after being canceled by the former and due to fan efforts
• 2013 – Music City Center opens.
• 2015
• Construction begins on 505 skyscraper.
• Megan Barry becomes mayor.
• 2020
• Tornado outbreak of March 2-3, 2020: 22 people killed in tornadoes in Tennessee and Kentucky; the Nashville EF-3 tornado, which kills 4, north of downtown, somewhat mirrors the 1998 tornado's path
• The Nashville bombing occurs, injuring eight people and causing major damage
• 2023
• The Covenant School shooting occurs, killing six people and the perpetrator.
• Freddie O'Connell becomes mayor.

See also

• History of Nashville, Tennessee
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Davidson County, Tennessee
• List of mayors of Nashville, Tennessee
• List of companies based in Nashville
• Nashville sister city timelines: Caen, Magdeburg
• Timelines of other cities in Tennessee: Chattanooga, Clarksville, Knoxville, Memphis, Murfreesboro
• Nashville Market House

References

Bibliography

Published in 19th century

Published in 20th century

1900s-1940s

• Map

1950s-1990s

• Doyle, Don H. (1985). Nashville Since the 1920s
• (Includes information about Nashville)

Published in 21st century

External links

• Library of Congress, Prints & Photos Division. Materials related to Nashville, Tennessee, various dates
• Tennessee State Library and Archives. Nashville City Directories, various dates (digitized)
• Digital Public Library of America. Items related to Nashville, various dates.