• 9000 B.C. Paleo-Indians inhabit area that is now Nashville.

 

    • A.D. 1000-1400 Mississippian-period Indians develop advanced society characterized by mound-building and farming.

 

    • 1710 French fur trader Charles Charleville establishes a trading post in the area.

 

    • 1765 A group of long hunters camp at Mansker's Lick, north of present-day Nashville.

 

    • 1775 Transylvania Purchase stimulates settlement in middle Tennessee.

 

    • 1778 James Robertson scouts the area and decides to found a settlement.

 

    • 1780 Robertson’s second party of settlers arrives, led by Col. John Donelson. In May, settlement of Nashborough is founded.

    • 1781 Battle of the Bluffs fought with Cherokee Indians.

 

    • 1784 Settlement's name changed from Nashborough to Nashville.

 

    • 1796 Tennessee becomes the 16th state.

 

    • 1814 Nashville resident Andrew Jackson leads Tennessee militia in the Battle of New Orleans, gains national stature.

 

    • 1843 State capital moved from Murfreesboro to Nashville.

 

    • 1850 Nashville is site of convention held by nine Southern states that assert the right to secede.

 

    • 1862 Nashville becomes first state capital in the South to fall to Union troops.

 

    • 1864 Battle of Nashville, last major battle initiated by the Confederate army.

 

    • 1866 Fisk University, one of the nation's first African-American universities, founded.

 

    • 1873 Vanderbilt University founded.

 

    • 1897 Original Parthenon built as part of Nashville's centennial celebrations.

 

    • 1920 Nashville becomes center of nation's attention as Tennessee becomes 36th state to give women the vote, thus ratifying the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

 

    • 1925 WSM-AM radio station broadcasts first "Grand Ole Opry" program.

 

    • 1943 "Grand Ole Opry" moves to Ryman Auditorium, in downtown Nashville.

 

    • 1944 Nashville's first recording studio begins operation at WSM-AM radio.

 

    • 1950s National record companies open offices and studios in Nashville.

 

    • 1960 Success of downtown lunch counter sit-ins becomes milestone in civil rights movement, praised by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Longtime Nashville resident and graduate of Tennessee State University Wilma Rudolph wins three gold medals at Rome Olympics.

    • 1972 Opryland USA theme park opens in Nashville.

 

    • 1974 "Grand Ole Opry" moves to a new theater at Opryland.

    • 1982  Bluebird Cafe opens.

    • 1989  First Southern Festival of Books held. Country artists Vince Gill, Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks, and the like show ticket office bankability, with Brooks outselling Michael Jackson.

    • 1993 Ryman Auditorium closes for renovation that restores the theater to its former glory.

 

    • 1994 With the  Wildhorse Saloon opening, and the Ryman reopening, Nashville is reinforced as a Southern music destination. Residential construction in downtown core helps redefine trajectory of downtown. 

    • 1996 Amy Grant show opens Nashville Arena, now known as Bridgestone Arena.

    • 1997 Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park opens.

 

    • 1999 NFL Tennessee Titans and NHL Nashville Predators move to Nashville.

 

    • 2000 Titans go to the Super Bowl. Opry Mills, an enormous entertainment and shopping complex, is build where Opryland theme park once was.

 

    • 2001 Two new world-class venues open downtown —  Frist Center for the Visual Arts and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum — as well as the new Nashville Public Library. The Country Music Association (CMA) Fest moves from The Fairgrounds to downtown Nashville.

 

    • 2003 A&E broadcasts a nationwide 4th of July celebration from Riverfront Park.

    • 2006 Nashville celebrates its bicentennial. The Schermerhorn Symphony Center opens downtown.

    • 2009  Nashville’s Gulch neighborhood is the first in the South to receive LEED certification.

    • 2010  Devastating spring floods leave much of Nashville underwater, killing 11 people and causing an estimated $2 billion in damage. The floodwaters inundate the football stadium, arena, and symphony hall, all of which reopen.

    • 2012  Fictional “Nashville” TV series premieres on ABC. Unrelatedly, home prices start to spike, increasing up to 200 percent by 2018.

    • 2013  Music City Center opens. The $623-million, 2.1 million-square-foot facility allows Nashville to host large conventions downtown. “New York Times” declares Nashville next “it city,” prompting celebrations by the tourism industry and eyerolls from locals.

    • 2014  Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum opens 10,000-square-foot expansion that includes 800-seat CMA Theater, Taylor Swift Education Center, event hall, and legendary letterpress Hatch Show Print.

    • 2015  Open-air Ascend Amphitheater opens on the banks of the Cumberland River. First Tennessee Park opens in Germantown as home to Nashville Sounds AAA baseball team. 

    • 2018  $160-million Tennessee State Museum opens at Bicentennial Capitol Mall north of the Nashville Farmers’ Market. A $90-million water park opens at Opryland.  
    • 2020: In addition to the COVID-19 pandemic, Nashville suffers two major blows. In March, 22 people are killed by tornadoes in Tennessee and Kentucky. On Christmas Day, the Nashville bombing of Second Ave. occurs, injuring eight people and causing major damage downtown.
    • 2022: Nashville becomes the latest victim of America’s school-shooting epidemic. Seven people die in the Covenant School shooting (including three children). It is the deadliest mass shooting in Tennessee history.

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.