Timeline of Nashville, Tennessee

The following is a timeline 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 – Water-works 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.

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.

1900s-1940s

 * Map
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1950s-1990s

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