| Year |
Events and Milestones |
| 8000 BC |
First known inhabitants of the area that is now middle Tennessee build villages. |
| 1200 AD |
Large native villages cover the area that is now Davidson County. |
| 1450 |
Native villages are disappearing and the area that is now middle Tennessee is becoming a hunting area. |
| 1600s |
Charleville, a French-Canadian fur trader, establishes a trading post at the French Lick. |
| 1714 |
Charleville’s post is now abandoned. Middle Tennessee is a hunting ground for the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Creek tribes. |
| 1769 |
Timothy Demonbreun, a French-Canadian fur trader, arrives at the French Lick and begins hunting in the area. |
| 1775 |
The American Revolution begins. |
| 1775 |
North Carolinian Richard Henderson bargains with Cherokee leaders for claim to the land between the Ohio and Cumberland rivers. |
| 1776 |
The Declaration of Independence is signed. |
| 1779 |
At Henderson’s urging, James Robertson leads a small group of men to explore the Cumberland Bluff in the spring. |
| 1779 |
Col. John Donelson prepares flotilla of flatboats to bring women and children to the area by water. |
| 1779 |
Robertson leads the first group of settlers, mostly men and boys, to the Cumberland Bluff, arriving on Christmas Day. |
| 1780 |
Donelson arrives with second group of settlers on April 24 after a 1000-mile river trip. |
| 1780 |
The Cumberland Compact, detailing settlers’ rights, is signed by 250 men on May 13. |
| 1783 |
Daniel Williams moves to the area from South Carolina with his family, becomes Davidson County’s first Sheriff. Elections for Sheriff are scheduled for every two years. |
| 1783 |
The North Carolina legislature creates Davidson County in the area that is now middle Tennessee. |
| 1783 |
The Revolutionary War ends. |
| 1784 |
The North Carolina legislature passes an act establishing the town of Nashville, naming it for General Francis Nash. |
| 1785 |
Col. John Donelson, one of Nashville’s founders, is mysteriously killed. |
| 1785 |
Dr. John Sappington is the first physician to arrive in Nashville. |
| 1785 |
The first school, Davidson Academy, is chartered. |
| 1785 |
Thomas Marston in Sheriff of Davidson County. |
| 1787 |
David Wray is Sheriff of Davidson County. |
| 1787 |
Real estate is assessed in Nashville and taxed for the first time, at the rate of one dollar per acre. |
| 1788 |
Andrew Jackson arrives in Nashville to serve as public prosecutor. |
| 1788 |
Bob Renfroe, a free African-American opens a popular tavern in Nashville. |
| 1788 |
Thomas Hickman is Sheriff of Davidson County. He would become a Justice in 1799. |
| 1789 |
Sampson Williams is Sheriff of Davidson County. He may have been a brother of Davidson County’s first Sheriff, Daniel Williams. |
| 1790 |
William Porter is Sheriff of Davidson County. |
| 1791 |
Sampson Williams is Sheriff of Davidson County. |
| 1794 |
James Robertson leads the Nickajack Expedition against the Creek Indians. |
| 1794 |
Nicholas P. Hardiman is Sheriff of Davidson County. |
| 1796 |
Nashville’s first church (a Methodist church) is built on the public square near the Davidson County jail, courthouse, and stocks. |
| 1799 |
Nashville’s first newspaper, Henkle’s Tennessee Gazette & Metro Advertiser, is printed. |
| 1799 |
Wright Williams is Sheriff of Davidson County. |