Nashville Slave Market

The buying and selling of enslaved persons was a major part of Nashville’s antebellum economy in the 1800s. Only recently was it formally recognized, with this historical marker, for what it was—an institution based on greed, cruelty, violence, and fear. Slaves were brought with the Robertson and Donelson parties when Nashville was founded in the late 1700s, so enslaved people have been in Nashville from the very beginning of colonial settlement.

As the town grew from a frontier outpost to a thriving commercial city, a merchant class developed here. American victory in the War of 1812 provided a unique opportunity to make money in the slave trade. Enslaved people from the Upper South were frequently brought to Nashville and then resold to owners of cotton plantations in the Deep South. The opening of West Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi also created new demand for forced labor for cotton production—a lucrative but labor-intensive crop. With the invention of steamboats, Nashville’s access to the Cumberland River made it a busy port for the slave trade business—second only to Memphis by 1850. 

The 1857 Nashville Business Directory listed the offices of six men who operated as slave brokers, buying slaves and then holding them in makeshift cages until they were sold in the Deep South. Records show that Nashville had at least eight slave auctioneers and most enslaved persons were sold on the Public Square and in the City Market House. One antebellum-era newspaper clipping featured an announcement for a Saturday auction that read: “Negroes for Sale. I will sell, at auction, to the highest bidder for cash, at the Court-yard in Nashville.” This particular auction resulted in the sale of a 26-year-old woman and her children: a boy around 8 years old and two girls, ages 5 and 3. Needless to say, many families were separated. This notorious and odious business would not end until 1862 when federal troops took control of the city during the Civil War. For more take our Early Black Life and Culture tour, written by Tennessee State University’s Dr. Lea Williams and narrated by United Street Tours CEO Chakita Patterson and Maya Dunn.

Turn LEFT and cross over Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Continue walking south on Fourth Avenue, crossing Deaderick Street. Stop when you reach the Doubletree Hotel, the former site of Sally Thomas’ Boarding House and your next stop.