Customs House and Hume-Fogg High School

As transportation shifted from steamboats to railroads after the Civil War, Nashville was in a better position than most southern cities. You see, Nashville was in a great location, and its infrastructure was not destroyed during the war. Moreover, Reconstruction efforts in the South focused on establishing and expanding industry—often called the New South Era. Nashville’s reputation as a modern southern city grew, but the city desperately needed a larger processing center.

President Rutherford B. Hayes promised Nashville a new federal building in his 1876 campaign, and he visited Nashville to lay the cornerstone in 1877. It was the first presidential visit to a former Confederate state since the Civil War. The Victorian Gothic building symbolized the end of Reconstruction, but it also represented the start of a new era of prosperity. The Customs House processed and collected taxes on imports and also featured a post office. Just beyond the historical marker, you can see the cornerstone that President Hayes laid. Look for the inscription block that reads “A.D. 1877.”

The Customs House’s massive and ornate construction reflected the city’s economic prosperity. However, this prosperity did not extend to all Nashville citizens as racial segregation and anti-immigrant sentiment subjected the working poor to isolated communities and low wages. Once a symbol of the post-Civil War Era, the Customs House still stands as a testament to Nashville’s history and currently houses the offices for several private businesses. For more on the Customs House visit our Broadway Architecture and Civic and Public Spaces tours.

Now, look across Broadway at the castellated collegiate Gothic style building. It doesn’t look like a high school, but it is our very own Hume-Fogg High School. Its story begins in 1852, when Nashville educator Alfred Hume toured public schools in several cities. When he returned, he wrote a report that argued for the necessity of a public school in Nashville. Three years later, Nashville’s first public school opened in 1855. 

As Nashville grew after the Civil War so did its student population. The city decided to build a new school, just behind the Hume School. The new school opened in 1875 and was named Fogg School. Francis B. Fogg, his wife Mary Rutledge Fogg, and his brother Godfrey M. Fogg, were strong supporters of education in Nashville. In 1912, the two schools merged and the current building was completed. Today it is Nashville’s top-ranked public high school, called Hume-Fogg Academic Magnet High School. For more on Hume-Fogg see our Downtown Schools and Education tour.

Continue walking up Broadway. About halfway up the block you will see the next stop to your left, at the Metro historical marker for the Nashville Centennial.