Editing Ashland City, Tennessee (section)

== History ==
Ashland City was created in 1856 as a county seat for the newly established [[Cheatham County]]. The county's commissioners purchased the initial {{convert|50|acre|km2}} of land (now the courthouse square) from James Lenox, and a temporary courthouse was erected shortly thereafter. The temporary structure was replaced by the present courthouse in 1869.<ref name="Cheatham County">James Hallums, "[http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=235 Cheatham County]." ''The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture'', 2002. Retrieved: February 11, 2008.</ref> Ashland City was officially incorporated in 1859.<ref>"{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20070621192832/http://www.ashlandcity.net/past.htm Ashland City Past]}}," 2006–2012. Originally published as ''Goodspeed's History of Cheatham County, Tennessee'' by the Goodspeed Publishing Company in 1887. Retrieved: February 11, 2008.</ref>

The first major industry in the Ashland City area was a [[forge]] operated by [[Montgomery Bell]] at the Narrows of the [[Harpeth River|Harpeth]], several miles to the southwest, which was established in 1818. In 1835, Samuel Watson established a [[gristmill]] and powder mill along Sycamore Creek, just north of Ashland City. Watson's mill developed into one of the largest powder mills in the South, making it a target during the [[American Civil War|Civil War]]. The mill continued in operation under various owners until 1904.<ref name="Cheatham County" />

The city was either named after [[Henry Clay]]'s estate [[Ashland (Henry Clay estate)|Ashland]] or by an act of the [[General Assembly of Tennessee]] in 1859, when the city was incorporated, who were inspired by the [[ash tree]]s in the area. Originally called Ashland, "City" was added to the name after the incorporation.<ref name="Miller2001">{{cite book|author=Larry L. Miller|title=Tennessee place names|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zOzPQYkkbaAC&pg=PA183|access-date=November 21, 2011|date=October 2001|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=978-0-253-21478-2|page=9}}</ref>