On Christmas Eve, 1779, James Robertson led a group of 200 settlers from North Carolina to a bluff on the west bank of the Cumberland River near what is now downtown Nashville. Four months later, Robertson's friend, John Donelson, and another group of North Carolinians joined the original group at Ft. Nashborough. At the time, North Carolina owned the land on which Ft. Nashborough stood. When North Carolina incorporated the town in 1784 and changed the name to Nashville.
The original fort measured approximately 125 X 250 feet and enclosed two acres. In each corner stood two-story blockhouses that the settlers used for defense. The smaller, one-story cabins in the fort were home to the families living there. The replica of the fort (shown above), stands on the same ground as Ft. Nashborough. However, it is only 1/4 the size of the original.
A couple of interesting notes:
* The pioneers travelled approximately 500 miles over land and twice that by river to reach their destination.
* The settlers named the town for General Francis Nash who died in the American Revolution. Because of anti-British sentiments, they dropped the British "borough" and added "ville" with the town's incorporation in 1784.
* A number of the pioneers set up camp at the base of the hill where the state capitol building now stands. Because of repeated Indian attacks, most of them either moved to the fort or to Kentucky.
* North Carolina eventually ceded the land to the federal government, and Tennessee became a state in 1796. Nashville was chartered a city in 1806, but it did not become the permanent capital of the state until 1843.
Located on the west bank of the Cumberland River, Riverfront Park was the site of the Nashville Dragon Boat Races Festival on Saturday. The multi-level park hosts a variety of activities during the summer, including concerts and the world-famous Fourth of July Fireworks extravaganza.
I took this photo from street level (1st Avenue), looking north. The starting line for the races was close to the red bridge at the top of the photo, and the finish line was in the area of where I was standing. Each team had a tent set up where paddlers could cool off and relax between races, and where friends, family members an co-workers could cheer them. There were a number of tents on the street level, also, including a shade tent (where I was standing at the time), a misting tent, food and drink tents, and information tents where attendees could get fliers about programs and events.
In the upper, left corner of the photo, you can see a log cabin which is part of historic Ft. Nashborough. The fort is a replica of the village built by the first settlers to the area. It's open daily and free to the public.
Directly across the river from the park and on the east bank of the Cumberland is LP Field, home to the Tennessee Titans. On game days, the red bridge a the top of the photo is closed to traffic (except for game shuttles) to allow fans who park downtown easy access to the field.
When they hold concerts in Riverfront Park, there is usually a floating stage set up in front of the park. And, the General Jackson Showboat, which is a replica of the 19th Century paddlwheelers, turns around in front of Riverfront Park during its daily cruises.
A couple of items to note: The park has three, grassy levels with large, concrete steps on the edge of each level. Unfortunately, because of the drought, the normally beautiful green grass is like more like straw. Note the beige umbrella and a red/white striped umbrella in the lower, right corner of the photo. I saw a number of festival goers sitting or walking with open umbrellas to protect them from the hot sun.
When my husband was shopping for a new car four years ago, I noticed tiny, ugly cars in the lot at the dealership. Michael told me they were Mini Coopers, now made by BMW. I guess I had seen them before in photos, although I didn't remember that. Pronouncing them, "UGLY!" I asked him why anyone would ever want to drive one of those things.
Over the next few weeks, I started seeing Minis on the road in Nashville, and they started to grow on me. Whenever I would see someone getting into the Mini, I would ask him/her how the car handled, what kind of gas mileage it got, how they liked it, etc. Soon, everytime we saw a Mini on the road - and there are a lot of them on the road in Nashville - I would point to it and say to Michael, "There's my car!" I was still joking to a point as I wanted a convertible (mid-life crisis??).
Last year, my nine-year old SUV started to fail. In addition to needing more work than it was worth, it was guzzling more gas than I wanted to buy at $3/gallon. I started to look at cars, and one Saturday went to test drive a Crossfire. Next to the Crossfire on the lot, however, was a red Mini. I drove both, and the die was cast.
By the following Wednesday, I was a member of the "Mini Cult." (The salesman told me that Mini owners have this secret club, and that they wave at each other as they drive by. I thought he was joking. He wasn't. We do. )
And, I now know why Minis are so popular in this area. They handle great. They're well-made. They get great gas mileage. And, they're fun!
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