Fort Nashborough on the Cumberland

                            

A REPLICA OF FORT NASHBOROUGH, which served as the central fort of protection on the Cumberland River bluffs during 1780-1784, was completed in 1930 on First Avenue, North, on the western bank of the Cumberland.  Although the original fort covered about two acres northward up the bluff and was four times larger than the replica, the 1930 representation is an accurate example of the structural techniques used by builders on the frontier.  The logs are rounded, not squared, by the adz.  The chimneys are built of logs, their insides clayed against fire, and stones are used for fireplaces and hearths.  The roofs are covered with long split shingles ("shakes"), secured by exterior frameworks of logs in lieu of nails. (See "Fort Nashborough," page 47,  in Nashville: A Short History and Selected Buildings, edited by Eleanor Graham,  Historical Commission of Metropolitan Nashville -- Davidson County, 1974.)

The fort recreation was part of the historic preservation and public park movements begun in the late 1920s and fueled by the growing popularity of automobile travel. In 1927 Nashville's James Robertson Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), had begun preservation efforts for one of Nashville's historic landmarks, City Cemetery (established in 1822).  The initial effort involved "restoring and beautifying" the General James Robertson tomb within the cemetery.  Among proponents of this preservation was Nashville Mayor Hilary Ewing Howse (1866--1938).  He had served in the Tennessee Senate during 1905-1907 and 1909-1911, his second term coinciding with his service as city mayor in 1909-1915.  Mayor Howse, re-elected mayor in 1924, undoubtedly had the political influence to assist the DAR with obtaining support and funding on the state, county, and city levels when the campaign began in the late 1920s to create a replica of  Fort Nashborough.  Thus, through appropriations from the State of Tennessee, Davidson County, and the City of Nashville, the "patriotic work of the Tennessee Society and the persevering efforts of the four Nashville chapters"--Cumberland, General James Robertson, Campbell, and Colonel Thomas McCrory--resulted in construction of the  Fort Nashborough replica in 1930 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the settlement of what is now the City of Nashville.

The fort's DAR marker,  attached to a six-foot high granite boulder inside the stockade, reads:  "FORT NASHBOROUGH.  Named in memory of General Nash of North Carolina, who fell at Germantown, Pennsylvania, October 4, 1777, in the War of the Revolution.  Erected on the bluff near this location,  by the pioneers of the Cumberland settlement in the year 1780, as a  central fort of defense against  Indian attacks.   Was the scene of many noted historical events, especially the Indian attack of April 2, 1781, known as 'The Battle of the Bluff.' "

THE TENNESSEE HISTORICAL MARKER  outside the stockade along First Avenue, North, also cites the original fort's significance:  "FORT NASHBOROUGH.  The original stockade fronted on the river slightly north of here, covering an area of about two acres.  In that enclosure, on May 13, 1780, representatives of this and other settlements met and adopted the Cumberland Compact for the government of the new settlement.  About 500 yards west, April 2, 1781, settlers assisted by dogs, drove off the Indians in the Battle of the Bluffs."

Inside the fort stockade, inscribed upon a large metal plate attached to the outside of a cabin's stone fireplace, is the Robertson marker.

"IN HONOR OF COLONEL  JAMES  ROBERTSON,  Born 1742 in Virginia, Died 1814 in Tennessee.  He came from eastern North Carolina to the Watauga settlement in what is now eastern Tennessee, 1769--1770, where he was a leader in civil and Indian affairs.  Conducted the 'Land Party' of settlers to the French Lick in 1779-1780, buit this Fort Nashborough and defended it in all the various Indian attacks.  Remained with the colony when many had forsaken it during a period of great stress, suffering and discouragement, and gave it a whole life-time of patriotic service.

"The verdict of history well entitles him to the name of:  The Father of West (now Middle) Tennessee and the Founder of Nashville."