By 1919, the Edgefield/East Nashville suburb has grown large enough to justify Andrew Carnegie partially funding a public library here. In order to secure his funding, Carnegie libraries had to fit a formula of public support, an openness to provide…

The first African-American public primary school in Nashville was built on this site (then 217 S. Summer St) in 1893. The Pearl School was named for the first superintendent of Nashville schools, Joshua F. Pearl. The new building was the pride…

Since 1947, Ernest Tubb Record Shop has been a locally owned and operated record shop in downtown Nashville, TN. It was founded by Grand Ole Opry Ernest Tubb and his partner Charles Mosley at 720 Commerce St. on May 3, 1947, and was renowned for…

The ACME Feed & Seed building was built in 1890 by J.R. Whitmore. Whitmore then rented the building to brothers Frederic and William Cummins. They opened the building as a local grocery store before it. Before becoming the ACME Feed & Seed,…

In March 1920, Washington became the 35th state to pass the 19th amendment, securing women the right to vote. Only one more state was needed to ratify the amendment. Four months later, Tennessee Governor Albert Roberts called special sessions to…

In 1919, the Tennessee General Assembly passed the Tennessee Memorial Act. The act established plans to build a memorial for veterans of the First World War that could also be used for state office space and public gatherings. Also in the plan were…

Market Square in Nashville was once the epicenter for downtown commerce. Before urban renewal in the 1970s, all roads within the city limits radiated out from this point. In 1783, the first lodging house, the Nashville Inn, was built in Market…

Nashville’s First Baptist Church located at 108 Seventh Avenue was the fourth church established and used by the First Baptist Church of Nashville. The congregation that called this church home dated back to July 22, 1820. The congregation was…

The U.S. Customs House first opened in 1882 and housed Nashville’s first post office. It was also home to the federal Justice and Treasury Departments. The building exemplifies the Victorian Gothic style architecture and was designed by William…

At the turn of the 20th century, Henry Ford became one of the most successful businessmen in the world by creating the Model T car and introducing low-cost mass production to auto manufacturing. The Ford Company marketed the Model T to the middle…