Town Lots

NASHVILLE HISTORY
Town Lots

Please read the article
Original Lots, Nashville, 1784

Original Lots in the Town of Nashville, showing early ownership information.

Lot No.	Grantor	Grantee	Date of Instrument	Book Page	Source
1	Trustees Town of Nashville	Boyd, John	Aug 16 1784	A 29	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
2	Trustees Town of Nashville	James, Thomas	Aug 6 1790	C 202	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
3	Trustees Town of Nashville	Boyd, John	.	. .	Resurvey of Nashville
4	Trustees Town of Nashville	Pollack, B. W.	.	A 37	Resurvey of Nashville
5	Trustees Town of Nashville	Pollack, B. W.	.	A 36	Resurvey of Nashville
6	Trustees Town of Nashville	Clark, Lardner	.	. .	Resurvey of Nashville
6	Trustees Town of Nashville	Mulherin, William	Jul 8 1788	A 227	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
7	Trustees Town of Nashville	Clark, Lardner	Jul 26 1784	A 81	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
7	Clark, Lardner	Armstrong, Martin	Mar 29 1785	A 9	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
8	Trustees Town of Nashville	Drake, Jonathan	Jul 30 1784	A 20	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
8	Trustees Town of Nashville	Crutcher, Capt.	.	. .	Resurvey of Nashville
9	Trustees Town of Nashville	Robertson, James and Bushnell	.	. .	Resurvey of Nashville
9	Trustees Town of Nashville	Robertson, James	Aug 15 1784	A 13	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
10	Trustees Town of Nashville	Shaw, Olive	Jul 9 1788	A 245	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
10	Trustees Town of Nashville	Clark, Lardner	.	. .	Resurvey of Nashville
11	Trustees Town of Nashville	Clark, Lardner	Jul 26 1784	A 13	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
11	Bass, Peter	Woodcock, John	.	N 273	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
12	Trustees Town of Nashville	Boyd, John	Aug 16 1784	A 29	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
13	Trustees Town of Nashville	Boyd, John	Aug 16 1784	A 30	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
14	Trustees Town of Nashville	Collinsworth, William	.	. .	Resurvey of Nashville
15	Trustees Town of Nashville	Abel, Ezekial	Apr 8 1793	C 145	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
15	Gordon, John	Wheaton, Jane	.	I 86	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
16	Trustees Town of Nashville	Murfree, Hardy	Jul 30 1784	G 148	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
17	Trustees Town of Nashville	Mauldin, James	Aug 16 1784	A 22	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
18	Trustees Town of Nashville	Ewing, Andrew	Jul 30 1784	A 27	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
19	Trustees Town of Nashville	Crutcher, William	Jul 26 1784	A 4	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
20	Trustees Town of Nashville	.	.	. .	.
21	Trustees Town of Nashville	Molloy, Thomas	Jul 30 1784	A 34	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
21	Trustees Town of Nashville	Deadrick, etal, John	Apr 10 1793	C 133	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
22	Trustees Town of Nashville	Shaw, James	Jul 30 1784	A 17	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
23	Trustees Town of Nashville	Llewellen, Abednigo	Jul 29 1784	A 21	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
24	Trustees Town of Nashville	Robinson, James	Aug 15 1784	A 11	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
24	Trustees Town of Nashville	Robertson, James and Dr. Sappington	.	. 24	Resurvey of Nashville
24	Gordon, John	Waggeman, Thomas E.	.	G 47	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
25	Trustees Town of Nashville	Anderson, John	Nov 13 1797	E 115	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
25	Trustees Town of Nashville	Sanders, Julius	.	. .	Resurvey of Nashville
25	Sheriff	Green, Thomas	.	A 255	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
26	Trustees Town of Nashville	Dougherty, George	Aug 16 1784	A 3	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
27	Trustees Town of Nashville	Lytle, William	.	. .	Resurvey of Nashville
28	Trustees Town of Nashville	Bizwell, James	Jul 8 1788	A 227	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
28	Trustees Town of Nashville	Bushnell, E.	.	. .	Resurvey of Nashville
29	Trustees Town of Nashville	Pettit, Benjamin	Aug 16 1784	A 37	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
30	Trustees Town of Nashville	Rice, John	Jun 30 1785	A 17	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
30	Trustees Town of Nashville	Fletcher, Thomas	Apr 6 1785	A 26	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
30	Trustees Town of Nashville	Gower, Russell	Jul 26 1784	A 33	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
31	Trustees Town of Nashville	Crutcher, Anthony	Jul 26 1784	A 23	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
32	Trustees Town of Nashville	Menees, James	Aug 16 1784	A 40	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
33	Trustees Town of Nashville	Looney, David	Aug 16 1784	A 23	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
34	Trustees Town of Nashville	Lucas, Andrew	Jul 30 1784	A 25	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
34	Trustees Town of Nashville	Gower, Russell	.	. .	Resurvey of Nashville
35	Trustees Town of Nashville	Caffrey, Peter	Aug 16 1784	A 35	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
35	Trustees Town of Nashville	Cockrill, John	.	. .	Resurvey of Nashville
36	Trustees Town of Nashville	Foreman, John	Jul 30 1784	A 49	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
37	Trustees Town of Nashville	Armstrong, Martinand David Hay	Mar 29 1785	A 8	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
37	Trustees Town of Nashville	Lytle, William	Aug 16 1784	A 10	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
38	Trustees Town of Nashville	Gibson, John	Jul 8 1788	A 226	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
38	Trustees Town of Nashville	McPherson, John	.	. .	Resurvey of Nashville
39	Trustees Town of Nashville	Dunbar, Samuel	Jul 30 1784	D 15	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
40	Trustees Town of Nashville	Cage, William	Aug 16 1784	A 25	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
40	Overton, John	Watt, Elihu S.	.	. 230	.
41	Trustees Town of Nashville	Mulherrew, James	.	. .	Resurvey of Nashville
42	Trustees Town of Nashville	Flyn, George	Jul 26 1784	A 33	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
43	Trustees Town of Nashville	Martin, Samuel	Aug 16 1784	A 11	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
44	Trustees Town of Nashville	Sanders, Julius	Jul 26 1784	A 12	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
45	Trustees Town of Nashville	Armstrong, Martin	Aug 16 1784	A 4	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
46	Trustees Town of Nashville	Clark, Lardner	Jul 8 1788	A 232	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
46	Trustees Town of Nashville	Shaw, Olive	.	. .	Resurvey of Nashville
47	Trustees Town of Nashville	Sanders, James	Aug 16 1784	A 49	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
48	Trustees Town of Nashville	Thompson, James	Jul 30 1784	A 26	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
49	Trustees Town of Nashville	Fletcher, Thomas	.	. .	Resurvey of Nashville
49	Maxwell, James	Wiggans, John P.	.	E 408	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
50	Trustees Town of Nashville	Robertson, James	.	. .	Resurvey of Nashville
51	Trustees Town of Nashville	Shaw, James	Jul 30 1784	A 20	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
52	Trustees Town of Nashville	Purnell, William	Jul 8 1788	A 227	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
53	Trustees Town of Nashville	Greer, Joseph	Feb 11 1805	G 12	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
54	Trustees Town of Nashville	Moore, William	Jul 30 1784	A 48	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
55	Trustees Town of Nashville	Mecklin, William	Aug 15 1784	A 16	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
56	Trustees Town of Nashville	Blount, William	Aug 16 1784	A 10	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
57	Trustees Town of Nashville	Robertson, James	Aug 6 1790	G 152	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
58	not found	Robertson, Elijah	.	. .	Resurvey of Nashville
59	Trustees Town of Nashville	Robertson, James	Jul 30 1784	G 152	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
59	not found	Dobbins, William	.	. .	Resurvey of Nashville
60	Trustees Town of Nashville	Todd, James	Jul 26 1784	A 27	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
60	Todd, James	Boyd, John	Oct 3 1785	. .	Resurvey of Nashville
61	Trustees Town of Nashville	Armstrong, John	Aug 16 1784	A 3	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
61	Maxwell, James	Wiggans, John P.	.	E 408	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
62	Trustees Town of Nashville	Clark, Lardner	Jul 26 1784	A 9	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
63	Trustees Town of Nashville	Hamilton, Williams	Jul 30 1784	A 17	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
64	Trustees Town of Nashville	Purnell, William	Jul 30 1788	A 246	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
64	not found	Wicuff and Clark	.	. .	Resurvey of Nashville
65	Trustees Town of Nashville	McEntire, Alexander	Jul 26 1784	A 32	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
65	not found	Bushnell, E.	.	. .	Resurvey of Nashville
66	Trustees Town of Nashville	Hand, Levi	Jul 8 1788	A 226	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
66	not found	Clark, Lardner	.	. .	Resurvey of Nashville
66	Thompson, Hugh	Armstrong, William	Oct 8 1789	B 9	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
67	not found	Hughes, J. and Lardner Clark	.	. .	Resurvey of Nashville
67	Thompson, Hugh	Armstrong, William	Oct 8 1789	B 9	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
68	Trustees Town of Nashville	James, Daniel	Apr 9 1788	A 180	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
69	not found	Wood, James	.	. .	Resurvey of Nashville
70	Trustees Town of Nashville	Sides, Peter	Apr 15 1795	C 405	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
71	Trustees Town of Nashville	Hughes, Jesse	Jul 30 1784	D 37	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
72	not found	Sanders, Julius	.	. .	Resurvey of Nashville
73	Trustees Town of Nashville	Barton, Samuel	Jul 30 1784	A 22	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
74	Trustees Town of Nashville	Prince, Francis	Jul 10 1788	A 234	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
75	Trustees Town of Nashville	Sanders, Julius	Jul 26 1784	A 12	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
76	Trustees Town of Nashville	Carter, Landon	Aug 16 1784	A 24	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
77	Trustees Town of Nashville	Thompson, Robert	Jul 30 1784	A 24	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
77	Sheriff	Anderson, William P.	Apr 27 1802	E 369	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
78	Trustees Town of Nashville	McFarland, John	Aug 16 1784	A 34	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
79	Crutcher, Thomas	Adams, Thomas F.	Dec 26 1821	Q 659	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
79	not found	Murfree, Hardy	.	. .	Resurvey of Nashville
80	not found	Chauncey, Jemima	.	. .	Resurvey of Nashville
81	not found	Titus	.	. .	Resurvey of Nashville
82	Trustees Town of Nashville	Neville, George	Aug 16 1784	A 21	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
82	Cassellman, Benjamin	Green, Thomas	.	E 267	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
82	Lucas, Andrew	Cassellman, Benjamin	.	B 239	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
83	Trustees Town of Nashville	Snyder, Charles	Aug 6 1790	G 391	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
84	not found	.	.	. .	Resurvey of Nashville
85	Trustees Town of Nashville	Walker, George	Aug 6 1790	C 31	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
86	Trustees Town of Nashville	Hague, Hohn	Aug 6 1790	C 33	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
87	Trustees Town of Nashville	Love, Josiah	Aug 6 1790	C 35	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
88	Trustees Town of Nashville	Taitt, Robert	Sep 20 1790	F 196	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
88	not found	.	.	. .	Resurvey of Nashville
89	Trustees Town of Nashville	Boyd, John	May 17 1790	B 208	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
90	not found	.	.	. .	Resurvey of Nashville
91	not found	.	.	. .	Resurvey of Nashville
92	Trustees Town of Nashville	Love, Josiah	Aug 6 1790	C 36	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
92	Trustees Town of Nashville	Tatum, Howell	Aug 6 1790	C 36	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
93	not found				Resurvey of Nashville
94	Trustees Town of Nashville	Irvins, Joseph	Aug 6 1790	N 219	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
95	not found	.	.	. .	Resurvey of Nashville
96	Trustees Town of Nashville	Walker, George	Aug 6 1790	C 37	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
97	Trustees Town of Nashville	Maxel, David	Sep 20 1790	B 144	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
99	Trustees Town of Nashville	Allison, David	Aug 6 1790	C 37	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
100	Trustees Town of Nashville	Mulherin, James	Aug 6 1790	C 34	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
101	Trustees Town of Nashville	McGuire, Richard	Aug 6 1790	B 156	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
102	Trustees Town of Nashville	Sevier, Valentine	Aug 6 1790	C 33	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
103	Trustees Town of Nashville	Titus, James	Aug 26 1790	F 197	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
103	not found	.	.	. .	Resurvey of Nashville
104	Trustees Town of Nashville	Overton, Thomas	Aug 6 1790	C 31	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
105	Trustees Town of Nashville	Rains, John	Aug 6 1790	C 30	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
106	Trustees Town of Nashville	Allison, David	Aug 6 1790	C 30	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
107	Trustees Town of Nashville	Walker, George	Aug 6 1790	C 31	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
107	Trustees Town of Nashville	Searcy, Bennett	Aug 6 1790	C 38	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
108	Trustees Town of Nashville	Love, Josiah	Aug 6 1790	C 36	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
109	Trustees Town of Nashville	Hart, Anthony	Aug 6 1790	C 32	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
110	Trustees Town of Nashville	Barton, Stephen	Aug 6 1790	C 28	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
111	Trustees Town of Nashville	Shaw, Jr. James	Aug 6 1790	F 314	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
111	not found	.	.	. .	.
112	Trustees Town of Nashville	Allison, David	Aug 6 1790	C 30	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
113	not found	.	.	. .	.
114	Trustees Town of Nashville	Hay, Edward Ware	Aug 6 1790	C 33	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
115	not found	.	.	. .	.
116	not found	.	.	. .	.
117	not found	.	.	. .	.
118	Trustees Town of Nashville	Montflorence, James Cole	Aug 6 1790	B 156	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
119	not found	.	.	. .	.
120	not found	.	.	. .	.
121	Trustees Town of Nashville	Rice, Joel	Aug 6 1790	E 419	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
122	Trustees Town of Nashville	Montflorence, James Cole	Aug 6 1790	B 156	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
123	Trustees Town of Nashville	Love, Josiah	Aug 6 1790	C 36	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
124	Trustees Town of Nashville	Montflorence, James Cole	Aug 6 1790	B 157	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
125	not found	.	.	. .	.
126	not found	.	.	. .	.
127	Trustees Town of Nashville	Hannah, Thomas	Aug 6 1790	B 157	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
128	Trustees Town of Nashville	Searcy, Bennett	Aug 6 1790	C 32	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
129	not found	.	.	. .	.
130	not found	.	.	. .	.
131	Trustees Town of Nashville	Chapman, Elizabeth	Aug 6 1790	B 155	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
132	Trustees Town of Nashville	James, Daniel	Aug 6 1790	C 32	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
133	not found	.	.	. .	.
134	Trustees Town of Nashville	Hickman, Edwin	Aug 6 1790	C 34	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
135	not found	.	.	. .	.
136	Trustees Town of Nashville	Robertson, Elijah	Aug 6 1790	C 29	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
137	Trustees Town of Nashville	Snyder, Charles	Aug 6 1790	G 391	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
138	Trustees Town of Nashville	Robertson, Elijah	Aug 6 1790	C 29	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
139	not found	.	.	. .	.
140	Trustees Town of Nashville	Love, Josiah	Aug 6 1790	C 35	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
141	Trustees Town of Nashville	Hart, Anthony	Aug 6 1790	C 34	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
142	Trustees Town of Nashville	Allison, David	Aug 6 1790	C 37	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
143	not found	.	.	. .	.
144	Trustees Town of Nashville	Hickman, Edwin	Aug 6 1790	C 29	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
145	Trustees Town of Nashville	Love, Josiah	Aug 6 1790	C 35	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
146	Trustees Town of Nashville	Snyder, Charles	Aug 6 1790	G 389	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
147	not found	.	.	. .	.
148	Trustees Town of Nashville	Boyd, Jr. John	Aug 6 1790	B 144	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
148	Trustees Town of Nashville	Doughtry, Polly	Jul 8 1790	I 225	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
149	not found	.			Resurvey of Nashville
150	Trustees Town of Nashville	Boyd, Sr. John	Aug 6 1790	B 144	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
151	not found	.	.	. .	.
152	not found	.	.	. .	.
153	not found	.	.	. .	.
154	Trustees Town of Nashville	Barton, Joseph	Aug 6 1790	C 25	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
155	Trustees Town of Nashville	David, Hyder Ally	Aug 6 1790	B 157	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
156	not found	.			.
157	Trustees Town of Nashville	Foreman, John	Aug 6 1790	C 203	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
158	Trustees Town of Nashville	Chapman, Elizabeth	Aug 6 1790	B 155	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
159	not found	.	.	. .	.
160	not found	.	.	. .	.
161	not found	.	.	. .	.
162	not found	.	.	. .	.
163	not found	.	.	. .	.
164	not found	.	.	. .	.
165	Trustees Town of Nashville	McGuire, Richard	Aug 6 1790	B 155	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
166	not found	.	.	. .	.
167	Trustees Town of Nashville	Hay, Ann	Aug 20 1802	E 406	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
168	not found	.	.	. .	.
169	Trustees Town of Nashville	Patton, John	Apr 17 1804	F 152	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
169	Trustees Town of Nashville	Patton, John	Apr 16 1804	F 198	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
170	Trustees Town of Nashville	Tolbott, Thomas and John Patton	Apr 16 1804	F 154	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
170	Trustees Town of Nashville	Tolbott, Thomas and John Patton	Apr 16 1804	F 199	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
170	Trustees Town of Nashville	Patton, etal, John	Apr 16 1804	F 199	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
171	Trustees Town of Nashville	Tolbott, Thomas	Apr 16 1804	F 153	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
171	Trustees Town of Nashville	Tolbott, Thomas	Apr 16 1804	F 198	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
172	Trustees Town of Nashville	Boyd, John and Robert Searcy	Apr 12 1803	F 28	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
173	not found	.	.	. .	.
174	not found	.	.	. .	.
175	not found	.	.	. .	.
176	not found	.	.	. .	.
177	not found	.	.	. .	.
178	not found	.	.	. .	.
179	Trustees Town of Nashville	Overton, John	Jul 13 1797	D 221	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
180	Trustees Town of Nashville	Overton, John	Jul 30 1796	D 62	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
180	Trustees Town of Nashville	Gearmin, William	Apr 30 1803	F 102	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
nf	Doherty, James	Anderson, William P.	Oct 30 1799	E 142	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
nf	Elliston, Joseph T.	Akins, Moses	Dec 31 1802	F 77	Davidson County Register of Deed Index
180	Gearmin, William	Jessee Wharton	Mar 27, 1806	G 4	Davidson County Register of Deed Index

This record was researched and compiled by Debie Oeser Cox from deeds book of the Register of Deeds Office, Davidson County, Tennessee. The page was created, after Many hours of research and editing of the material gathered. The layout design was created by Debie Oeser Cox.

Louisville & Nashville Railroad Bridge

 Across the Cumberland River at Nashville

Railroad Bridge from 1st Avenue North, google view, 2016

The subject came up, in a facebook group, of bridges across the Cumberland River, at Nashville.  A good bit of information can be easily found on all of the auto and pedestrian bridges across the river.  I have devoted a couple of blog posts to those bridges in the past.  This post is a work in progress and will be updated if more documentation is found.

Curiosity about the railroad bridge at Nashville, set off on a search for information.  A quick google search brought up some very conflicting information, some from websites devoted to railroading and/or bridge history.  No easy answers on this one, so I decide to start at the beginning.

Stories of the first railroad bridge, built 1857-1859, can be found in multiple sources. Most every history book devoted to Nashville, makes mention of it.  Newspaper articles show that the bridge, built by the Louisville and Nashville railroad company,  was started in 1857, and was nearly completed in 1858. 

Daily Nashville Patriot, Aug. 10, 1859

For unexplained reasons work was halted, but picked up again in late 1859.  The bridge was opened for use at the end of October, 1859.  Major Wilbur Foster superintended the building of the bridge.

Nashville Union and American, Oct. 29, 1859

In the April 7, 1860 issue of Harper's Weekly, an engraving of the railroad bridge at Nashville was published.  The span was very impressive, with an extra pier out from the center, to accommodate the draw span, when it opened.  Two years later, Nashville was taken by Union Troops and occupied by the Federal Army for the remainder of the Civil War.  As the Confederates soldiers made a hasty retreat from Nashville, in February of 1862, they set fire to the pedestrian bridge and the railroad bridge. 

The first railroad bridge at Nashville, Harper's Weekly, 1860, The Lincoln Foundation Collection.

It was reported that the railroad bridge was not badly damaged. The Union Army quickly rebuilt the wooden railroad bridge.  There are several images of the bridge after it was repaired.  An engraving appeared in Harper's Weekly of the bridge.  It was pleasing to the eye, a covered bridge in part a center draw.

Harper's Weekly, 1864, Library of Congress

It looks as if the piers and the end sections are original.  The middle section of the bridge is different.  Both bridges were constructed so that the middle section could swing around sideways, to allow boats to pass.  In this photograph from 1864, the bridge has been fortified by the Union Army, to protect from an advancement by Confederate troops.

The second Railroad Bridge at Nashville, 1864, Library of Congress

The war time bridge served Nashville until 1867.  The Louisville & Nashville railroad began construction on a new bridge in early 1867. The bridge was erected on the same piers as the old bridge.  The wood was removed and replaced with the Fink iron truss.  Albert Fink, the inventor of the truss, was the General Superintendent of the Louisville & Nashville railroad and he oversaw the construction of the bridge.

Nashville Union and American, June, 21, 1867

 The bridge was completed in November, 1867. News accounts report that the bridge provided transport for more than train cars.  It apparently had been the habit of the residents of North Edgefield to use the bridge, to cross on foot, from one side of the river to the other.  A petition was presented to the railroad, asking that this practice be allowed to continue, with the opening of the new bridge.

The third railroad bridge at Nashville, Nashville Union and American, Nov. 8, 1867

After thirty years of service it was decided that a new bridge was needed to carry the increasing weight load.  Early in 1897, a notice appeared in a trade magazine. "It is understood that the Louisville & Nashville will soon begin the work of rebuilding the bridge over the Cumberland river at Nashville, Tenn., replacing the present structure with a steel truss bridge of two fixed spans and one draw span."  This would be the fourth railway bridge to cross the Cumberland at Nashville.

The Railway Age, volume 24, 1897

 A lengthy article appeared in the Nashville American, in late 1897 about the new bridge, outlining the reasons a new bridge was necessary.  The first was to increase the weight load that the structure could carry.  The weight of engines had greatly increased since the bridge was built and some cars were in excess of three times the weight of an average car in 1867. The second reason was to place a double track on the bridge.  Though only one train could be on the bridge at one time, there would be four rails, overlapping, to make bridge traffic move through more quickly and easily.

Nashville American, Nov. 14, 1897

The piers were reinforced to bear the weight of the new of the new steel structure. Granite used in the piers was taken from the Salem-Bedford quarries.  The Pennsylvania Steel Company was awarded the contract for building and placing the new steel superstructure.  The bridge was in use during the rebuilding.  J. L. Armstrong was the superintendent of the bridge project. The cost was about $60,000 and after the upgrades the bridge was appraised at around $300,000 dollars.


I found many mentions in print, of the bridge after 1897, but no evidence of another bridge ever being constructed.  In 1899, there was a warehouse fire near the East Nashville of the bridge.  The warehouse and train cars nearby were loaded with nitrate and there were many explosions, felt as far away as Gallatin.  The bridge caught fire and had to be repaired.

Nashville American, Nov. 26. 1899

I found sad stories.  The river was accessible near the bridge, as there had once been a wharf there.  It was a popular area for swimming and there drownings in the area of the bridge.

I found stories that could have been tragic but ended up being funny.  Once, in 1905, the draw was opened to allow a steam boat to pass.   The wind was up, and a sudden gust caught the draw span and spun it completely around, damaging the smokestack on the boat. The three men in the control tower jumped from the draw span onto the bridge as they went around. The headlines likened the draw span to a merry-go-round.

Nashville American, March 30, 1905

The Tennessean, Nov. 23, 1907

In a 1909 image of the Woodland Street bridge the railroad bridge can be seen in the background.

Tennessean, July 4, 1909

I found a story of remarkable loyalty, not uncommon among that generation of men.  Mr. Madison White, started working for the Louisville & Nashville Railroad on June 8, 1857, at the beginning of the construction of the railway bridge at Nashville.  In 1907, Mr. White was awarded a gold pin, in honor of 50 years of service to the railroad. When the news article was published in 1910, Mr. White, still working, had been with the railroad for 53 years.  Only one man had longer service and that was Major Geddes, assistant general manager of the L & N railroad.

Nashville Globe, Sept 9, 1910

 In 1921 the draw span was closed for a period of time, so that repairs could be made on the bridge.

The Tennessean, June 28, 1921

There were stories, and photos, of flood waters reaching high up on the piers, which were marked as a gauge, to measure the river's height.

Tennessean, Jan. 2, 1945

Is the current bridge, the same bridge that was built in 1897?  If you follow the timeline of the bridge, through 1897, the piers are the same as the ones built in 1859 for the first bridge, with some reinforcement and additional stone.  Each time a new bridge was built, it was stated that the old piers were used.  A new bridge was in erected in 1867 on those piers.  In 1897, the bridge was not entirely new, because trains passed over the structure during the rebuilding.  The bridge was widened to accommodate 4 rails and the wood was replaced. The1867 steel truss was removed and a new steel superstructure was built and placed on the bridge.  The cost of rebuilding was about 60,000 dollars and increased the value of the bridge to an estimated 300,000 dollars.

There are a couple of websites that contain information that the latest bridge was built in 1916.  I could find nothing in the newspapers, that indicated a bridge was built at Nashville over the Cumberland in 1916.  There is a photo of a stamped plate on the bridge, that says Fort Pitt Bridge Works, 1916.  Yet news stories from 1916 and 1919 refer to the bridge as old. Is the Fort Pitt steel plate, on this bridge? Is there any sort of documentation of a bridge in 1916 or anytime after the 1897 bridge? I hope someone will share some documentation with me.

 UPDATE, Aug. 18, 2016 - After additional research, I can find no source that the bridge was built in 1916. The date seems to be based on the photo of a plaque posted by Calvin Sneed. But that plaque is on a different bridge, adjacent to this one. The plaque is on the CSX, 1st Ave. North Overpass. The last documented bridge was built in 1897 and 1898. This image, from the Tennessean, Feb. 11, 1898, states that work on the bridge began on Oct. 6, 1897. The official completion date was  February 10, 1898.

Tennessean, Feb. 11, 1898

The references in the article make it clear that this is the bridge across the Cumberland from East Nashville to downtown Nashville. The blog contains further documentation on the bridge.

 If what has been discovered is correct, the CSX bridge that crosses the Cumberland river at Nashville is almost 120 years old.  And the piers, with new masonry added, may be much older, nearly 160 years old.  They don't build them like that anymore!

These two news articles from 1916 and 1919, inform readers that the bridge is an old one.

Tennessean, June 16, 1916

Tennessean, Feb. 9. 1919

UPDATE Aug. 18, 2016 - I found three articles that show that the current bridge was under construction, in 1931.  I believe the bridge was finished sometime in 1932, but have not yet discovered a date. Watch for updates.

The Tennessean, May 5, 1931

The Tennessean, July 31, 1931

The Tennessean, Oct. 9, 1931

CSX Railroad Bridge over the Cumberland at Nashville, 2010, MNA

Click for VIDEO, showing closing of draw span, railroad bridge over the Cumberland. Jeremy Fountain.

Methodist Publishing House South

This is a pictorial history of buildings occupied by the Methodist Publishing House.  Some were gone long before we can remember, others are very familiar.  Only the building at 810 Broadway and the current location in Metro Center are still in existence.

Nashville City and Business Directory, 1860-1861, front.

In May of 1854, Nashville was chosen to be the site of a publishing house, by the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church South.  In April of 1855, the building was opened to the public, "to survey the House and its operations." (Republican Banner, April 14, 1855.)  In February of 1872 a fire caused considerable damage to the publishing house building.

Nashville City and Business Directory, 1860-1861, rear.

It was soon decided to erect a new building to replace the fire damaged structure.  The architect was John L. Smith.  The building of cut stone, was to have four stories at the front.  The business offices and storefront were to be located on the first floor and the remaining floors were rented, before construction began.  At the rear of the building, on the river bank, would be three basement floors. The new building was completed and occupied by the end of January, 1973.

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Republican Banner, May 21, 1872

Methodist Publishing House ca 1874, TSLA

Note the difference in color of the new building in the photo above and of same building about 20 years later.  Coal soot and smoke caused all of the downtown building to turn gray with a few years after the were built.

Methodist Publishing House, Public Square, east side, ca 1890. TSLA

Hopkins Atlas of Nashville, 1908

The 1908 atlas, above, shows the location of the publishing house, in regard to the court house.  By the time the map was published,  the publishing house had moved from the square, and the building had been sold to P. A. Shelton.  The building with the number 170 and P. A. Shelton printed across, was built for the publishing house in 1872-73.  

In early 1905, plans for a new publishing house were submitted to the building inspector of Nashville and a building permit was issued.  In October of 1906, the business had moved from the old location, on the public square, to the new building on Broadway at Ninth Ave. North.

Advertisement 1930, Nashville Then and Now, 1780-1930

United Methodist Publishing House, 810 Broadway, ca 1937. UMPH history.

In 1957, Methodist Publishing House left the building on Broadway for the move to 8th Ave. So.  The building on Broadway was sold in July of 1957, to the University of Tennessee, for $450,000. 

Methodist Publishing House building as it looks today, 810 Broadway,

By Andrew Jameson (Own work)

Methodist Publishing House, 210 8th Ave, So., The Tennessean, Sept. 30, 1057

In January of 1955 Methodist Publishing House announced plans for a new administration building at 8th and Demonbreun.  The new building would be adjacent to the printing plant, located on Demonbreun Street.  In late September of 1957, the move from 810 Broadway to the building at 8th and Demonbreun (210 8th Ave, So.) had been completed and the new building was opened to the public for inspection.

Methodist Publishing House, 8th and Demonbreun, 2015, By Michael Rivera (Own work)

In July 2014, the Methodist Publishing House, purchased property in Metro Center, on Rosa Parks Blvd. The 125,000 square foot building, was completely renovated and the publishing house moved into the new headquarters in July of 2015.

The current home of the Methodist Publishing House, Metro Center, 2016, google images

 

 

Timeline:

May, 1854, Nashville was chosen to be the site of a publishing house, by the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church South.  

April, 1855, the building was completed, occupied and opened to the public, for inspection.

February, 1872, a fire caused considerable damage to the publishing house building.

May, 1872, plans submitted for new publishing house building to be erected.

January, 1873, new publishing house building competed and occupied.

In early 1905, plans for a new publishing house were submitted to the building inspector of Nashville.

October, 1906, the publishing house moved to the new building on Broadway.

January, 1955. Plans announced for new building, at 8^th and Demonbreun. 

July, 1957, Broadway building sold to the University of Tennessee.

July 2014, property was purchased on Rosa Parks Blvd, for new administrative offices.

July, 2015, the publishing house moved into the newly renovated building in Metro Center.