Think you love Nashville? Then pay attention to the Music City history

Yahoo

07-05-2025

In Nashville, we pride ourselves on growth — the cranes, the condos, the country music glitz — but too often, we forget to look down at the very streets that built it all. We speed past landmarks without context, walk on cobblestone that once echoed with marching boots, and sip lattes in buildings that once housed radicals, revolutionaries, or survivors.
We're told that history lives in museums, but in truth, Nashville's history lives in the open. On sidewalks. Beneath parking lots. Behind the neon signs.
And when we don't know our city's history, we lose more than just facts — we lose identity, empathy, and the opportunity to build something with roots.
Nashville's history is more than country music and honky tonks
I give history tours for a living in Nashville. It started as a passion project after leaving the military. Now I lead veterans, tourists, corporate teams — and even the occasional bridal party — through the streets of downtown. And the most consistent reaction I get, no matter who I'm with, is: 'I had no idea.'
Reenacter Gary Burke tells the history at Fort Negley while wearing a Civil War uniform of the U.S. Colored Troops on Sept. 22, 2021, at the Civil War historic landmark in Nashville.
No idea that Union forces occupied Nashville for nearly the entire Civil War.
No idea that freedmen built entire neighborhoods from scratch during Reconstruction.
No idea that some of the greatest voices in music history recorded on Music Row long before there was a Broadway honky-tonk scene.
No idea that Jefferson Street once rivaled Beale and Bourbon.
And that lack of knowledge isn't just a gap in trivia — it shapes the decisions we make today.
More: Hallowed Sound: Artists who played a role in the former Jefferson Street Music District
When we don't know about Fort Negley, we're less likely to protect it.
When we don't know about the enslaved labor that built the Capitol, we miss an opportunity for honest civic reflection.
When we reduce our heritage to bumper stickers and beer koozies, we sell a version of Nashville that's hollow.
Learning about Nashville's history is important, and easy
I'm not against growth. I'm for it. But growth without memory is gentrification with no soul.
Understanding our city's past — the hard parts, the inspiring parts, the parts we'd rather not face — allows us to be better neighbors, better citizens, and better stewards of what's to come.
This isn't about memorizing dates or idolizing old buildings. It's about recognizing that we come from somewhere — and that where we come from affects where we're going.
Every time I guide a group past a statue or forgotten building and someone says, 'Why doesn't anyone talk about this?' — I hear opportunity.
We can make Nashville the kind of city that honors its full story. A city that doesn't just build for tomorrow but builds on what came before.
We can start in simple ways:
Take a walking tour of your neighborhood.
Visit the Tennessee State Museum (it's free).
Talk to elders who've lived through the city's transformations.
Support local historical organizations, like Historic Nashville and the Preservation Society of Nashville.
Ask questions about what used to be here — not just what's moving in next. Because if we don't tell our story, someone else will. And they might not tell it right.
History isn't a relic. It's a living guidebook. And in a city like ours — where culture, conflict, and community have always collided — knowing our story isn't optional.
It's necessary.
Paul Whitten, founder of Nashville Adventures
Paul Whitten is a U.S. Army veteran, former Peace Corps Volunteer, and founder of Nashville Adventures, a veteran-owned tour company dedicated to bringing Nashville's hidden history to life.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville's has a wealth of history that's often ignored | Opinion