Welcome aboard, folks, and welcome to stop number one, literally. This is where Nashville started. In the winter of 1779, settlers led by James Robertson hiked here overland and built a log fort on this bluff above the Cumberland River. A second group, led by John Donelson, took the scenic route by boat and showed up the next spring. That is the 1780 version of "go ahead, we'll meet you there." They named the place Nashborough, after Revolutionary War general Francis Nash. Somebody later decided "ville" sounded fancier, and here we are. One heads up: this fort is not the original. It's a modern interpretive center that opened in 2017, and it also tells the story of the Native American nations who lived and hunted on this land long before anybody showed up with a log and an idea.
Did you know
Robertson's party is recorded as arriving on Christmas Day, 1779, after walking across the frozen Cumberland. Merry Christmas, here's a river made of ice.
In 1780 the settlers signed the Cumberland Compact, an early set of rules for governing themselves. Basically Nashville's first HOA.
LegendIn April 1781 the fort was attacked in what became known as the Battle of the Bluffs. As the story is usually told, the settlers' dogs charged in and turned the fight.
A 1930s replica of the fort stood here for decades until it was torn down in 2015 and replaced in 2017. Even the fake fort couldn't escape Nashville redevelopment.
170 1st Ave N, Nashville, TN 37201 · Sources: Wikipedia: Fort Nashborough