Nashville

Named in honor of Francis Nash, a general of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, the city was founded in 1779 when this territory was still part of North Carolina. The city quickly grew due to its strategic location as a port on the Cumberland River and, in the 19th century, a railroad center. Nashville as part of Tennessee seceded during the American Civil War; in 1862 it was the first state capital in the Confederacy to be taken by Union forces. It was occupied through the end of the war. After the war, the city gradually reclaimed its stature. It became a center of trade and developed a manufacturing base.

Since 1963, Nashville has had a consolidated city-county government, which is composed of six smaller municipalities in a two-tier system.