Fort Nashborough

Nashville’s founding dates to 1780 during the American Revolution. As American General Nathanael Greene chased British General Charles Cornwallis through the southern colonies, a handful of frontier settlers migrated to the Cumberland River Valley. They settled here—an area called The Cedar Bluffs. Bluff Station, today known as Fort Nashborough, was the original stockade constructed in early 1780. James Robertson and John Donelson formally founded the settlement that would become the city of Nashville near this exact spot. They also drafted its first governing document—the Cumberland Compact. The 1780 fort encompassed two acres and included log cabins, two-story blockhouses, and a palisade wall. More than four times the size of the current structure, it was originally located a few feet north from this location. No longer necessary for protection from Native Americans such as Cherokee and Creek tribes, the fort was abandoned in the early 1800s.

The first small-scale replica of Fort Nashborough was constructed in the 1930s using state and local funds as well as contributions from the Daughters of the American Revolution. In 1962, it was rebuilt with wood coated with creosote, a wood preserver. This second structure extended the life for over fifty years. In 2015, the city created an interpretive master plan and the Fort Nashborough Interpretive Center opened two years later. Free and open to the public, the center focuses on a broader understanding of the original settlement and its importance for the city and early settlers and the Native American population that preceded them. The center accurately demonstrates building techniques used by settlers. The chimneys are lined with clay, and the roofs are covered with long split shingles known as shakes and held in place with weighted poles. Also, the blockhouses and cabins, which are linked together to form the outer wall of the fort, are constructed of hewn-logs that are notched in half-dovetails. Take some time to visit the fort and its exhibits, located at the edge of Riverfront Park.

As you exit Fort Nashborough turn RIGHT (if you are facing Ft. Nashborough turn LEFT) and continue up First Avenue North. As you walk up a subtle incline next to Bicentennial Park, you will pass Puryear Mims’ monument to the founding of Nashville. When you reach Church Street, turn LEFT. Take Church Street for one block to reach Second Avenue North and turn LEFT to enter the heart of the Second Avenue Historic District.