The Tennessean from Nashville, Tennessee • Page X1

CYANMAGYELBLK TennesseanBroadsheet Master TennesseanBroadsheet Master 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 5 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 5 TennesseanBroadsheet Master TennesseanBroadsheet Master 5 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 5 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 1 ditlo www.tennessean.com A Tennessean supplement By KIRK LOGGINS For The Tennessean The buffalo, elk and deer were here first, drawn by a salty spring near the river. That spring, and the wild game around it, attracted Native American hunters, enough that the area that would become Nashville was a kind of hunted by several tribes but held by none. French-Canadian hunter- traders began making their way down the Mississippi and then up the Ohio River and what they called the River of the Shawnees later dubbed the Cumberland by a Virginia explorer-speculator around 1700. The best known of the French hunters was Timothy Demonbreun, who noticed muddy water at the mouth of a small creek entering the Cumberland, during a trip up the river in 1766. That told him that a herd of buffalo was probably nearby, and he found and slaughtered a number of buffalo at a salty spring just north of what is now downtown Nashville.

The French did not establish any permanent settlements here, but they gave their name to the spring, French Lick, which attracted from the British colonies to the east and then the first white settlers, from the mountains of North Carolina and Virginia, in 1779. Henderson, Robertson and Donelson The settlement that became Nashville had its start, like many other places in America, as part of a real estate deal. Richard Henderson, a land speculator who had been a judge in North Carolina, led a delegation of Colonial whites who bargained with Cherokee Indian chiefs at a meeting on the Watauga River in 1775 for much of what later became Tennessee and Kentucky. The land was not really the to sell, nor to buy, Nashville historian John Egerton wrote in his book Nashville: The Faces of Two Centuries. But Henderson pressed his claim in the confusion that followed the American declaration of independence from England in 1776.

At a second negotiating session with the Cherokees in 1777, Henderson met the two men who later would be credited with founding Nashville: James Robertson, then the 35-year-old leader of the Watauga settlement, in what is now Upper East Tennessee, and John Donelson, 51, a land speculator, surveyor and former member of the Vir- ASPECIALSECTION THURSDAY, JUNE 24, 2004 By NANCY DEVILLE StaffWriter JEFFERSON STREET For many, Jefferson Street was once the place to be in the African American community where big name stars would intermingle with prominent scholars and businessmen along the 28- block major thoroughfare. Early history Named for President Thomas Jefferson, the historic street began as a foot- path to the Cumberland River. Once the Union Army occupied Nashville in 1862-1865 during the Civil War, large camps of runaway slaves were opened in the area around the site of federal Fort Gilliam in north Nashville. Bisecting Fort Gilliam was the wagon road that became Jefferson Street. In January 1866, the Fisk Free Colored School opened in federal barracks next to the present site of Union Station.

While the facility deteriorated Footpath became heart black middle class The Heart of Historic Nashville MICHELLE MORROW STAFF A statue depicts James Robertson, left, and John Donelson shaking hands at this spot on April 24, 1780, during the settlement on land near the Cumberland River. COURTESY OF THE TENNESSEE STATE LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES A parade of World War I soldiers pass Hume-Fogg High School. In 1889, state and city dignitaries gathered at 8th Avenue and Broadway for the inauguration of first electrically powered trolley. Nashville was the second city in the U.S. to receive electric- powered trolley service, just after Richmond, Va.

TENNESSEAN FILE PHOTO From to Jefferson Street among best known music districts in the nation COURTESY METRO ARCHIVES In 1956, Nashville Mayor Ben West, at the door, opens the clothing store on Jefferson Street. Jefferson Street continues on page11 Historic continues on page 2 Long-gone Nashville The once-famous Sulphur Dell baseball park north of James Robertson Parkway along Fifth Avenue was just east of what is now the Capitol Bicentennial Mall. This sparsely attended game on Sept. 8, 1963, was its last before closing, when the Nashville Vols defeated Lynchburg, Va. The facility had a few drawbacks: smoke from a nearby smoldering city dump and the elevation of the outfield, thanks to an uneven site, among them.

The sport in Nashville began in that vicinity with Union Army troops during the Civil War occupation. The first game there between organized teams was in 1866. more about landmarks of yesteryear, see Page 6 TENNESSEAN FILE PHOTO More images of the Heart of Historic Nashville, and a look back at Nashville newsmak- ers from 40 years ago, are collected in slide shows at our Web site. In 1960, for the first time since sit-ins in Nashville began, students Matthew Walker, left, Peggy Alexander, Diane Nash and Stanley Hemphill ate at the previously segregated counter of the restaurant in the Greyhound terminal. More about the sit- in movement in Nashville on Pages 4 and 8 TENNESSEAN FILE PHOTO Extra photo features at Tennessean.com court square, around 1856.

Suburb incorporated in 1856 keeps its small-town feel By PAM SHERBORNE For The Tennessean Entering the Germantown historic district is like crossing the threshold into another city, a small town within itself. The shaded streets pass in front of homes dating back to the mid-1800s, mixed with new homes that pleasantly fit in with the charm and character. At night, residents and visitors stroll along the walks going to and from several popular restaurants or one homes. These are the images that are seen. But to those living there, the spirit of Germantown goes much deeper.

Perhaps one of its longtime residents summed it up best. real heart is the community and the kinds of people it said Dee Ann Walker, who bought in this 18-city block area north of Nashville in 1978. is amazing to me. This is like a small town. This is a place where all people are She is not alone in the way she feels.

Other longtime residents agree. was just something about the spirit of the people said Irene Boyd, who moved into the area in October 1981. look out for each other because we know each said Michael Emerick, who moved to Germantown in 1979. Present-day Germantown is bounded by Jefferson Street on the south, Hume Street on the north, Eighth Avenue North on the west, and Third Avenue on the east. In many ways the present- day Germantown is not unlike that of the same area of the mid-1800s.

Community was important to its inhabitants. This area north of Nashville was established by European immigrants in the 1840s. According to information gathered by the Historic Germantown Neighborhood Association, the area became the first suburb of Nashville and was incorporated into the Nashville city limits in 1865. Much of the substantial growth took place in the 1870s when a large influx of German residents moved into the area. Information from the Tennessee Historical Commission written when the area was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 revealed that this area became the focus of German immigration in the state.

The officers of most of the German clubs and organizations resided there; many became prominent Nashville citizens who influenced the architecture, politics and history of the city and the Some of these Germans worked downtown, and many more worked at home as butchers. In an article by John Lawrence Connelly, a Davidson County historian who was raised in this area, he stated, the German community many immigrants worked as butchers, a practice brought over from Europe. They often slaughtered meat in their backyards or nearby lots. Eventually, fewer butchers peddled meat from door to door, since the time came when they could sell meat to local markets or to the Nashville Market House. Many would open their own markets or Longtime residents enticed by charm, character Germantown continues on page 11 TENNESSEAN FILE PHOTO Elliott School in Germantown around the late 1800s in Nashville.

TENNESSEAN FILE PHOTO.