Editing Clarksville, Tennessee (section)

==History==
{{See also|Timeline of Clarksville, Tennessee}}

===Colonization===
[[File:Wilderness road en.png|thumb|right|The [[Transylvania (colony)|Transylvania Purchase]], bought from the Cherokee tribe, stretches from [[Sycamore Shoals]] in [[Elizabethton, Tennessee]], to the [[Wilderness Road]] into [[Kentucky]].]]
The area around Clarksville was first surveyed by [[Thomas Hutchins]] in 1768. He identified Red Paint Hill, a rock bluff at the confluence of the [[Cumberland River|Cumberland]] and [[Red River (Cumberland River)|Red]] Rivers, as a navigational landmark.<ref>Christian G. Fritz, [https://books.google.com/books?id=ZpKCvUacmSwC&pg=RA1-PA168 ''American Sovereigns: The People and America's Constitutional Tradition Before the Civil War''] (Cambridge University Press, 2008) at pp. 55-60; {{ISBN|978-0-521-88188-3}}</ref>

In the years between 1771 and 1775, [[John Montgomery (pioneer)|John Montgomery]], the namesake of the county, along with [[Kasper Mansker]], visited the area while on a hunting expedition. In 1771, [[James Robertson (early American)|James Robertson]] led a group of 12 or 13 families involved with the [[Regulator movement]] from near where present-day [[Raleigh, North Carolina]] now stands. In 1772, Robertson and the pioneers who had settled in northeast Tennessee (along the Watauga River, the [[Doe River]], the [[Holston River]], and the [[Nolichucky River]]) met at [[Sycamore Shoals]] to establish an independent regional government known as the [[Watauga Association]].

In 1772, surveyors placed the land officially within the domain of the Cherokee tribe, who required negotiation of a lease with the settlers. As the lease was being celebrated, a [[Cherokee]] warrior was murdered by a white man. Through diplomacy, Robertson made peace with the Cherokee, who had threatened to expel the settlers by force.<ref name="tcarden.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.tcarden.com/tree/ensor/Watag.html|title=Loading...|website=tcarden.com|access-date=June 19, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090609232139/http://www.tcarden.com/tree/ensor/Watag.html|archive-date=June 9, 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In March 1775, land speculator and North Carolina judge [[Richard Henderson (American pioneer)|Richard Henderson]] met with more than 1,200 Cherokees at Sycamore Shoals, including Cherokee leaders such as [[Attakullakulla]], [[Oconostota]], and [[Dragging Canoe]]. In the [[Treaty of Sycamore Shoals]] (also known as the Treaty of Watauga), Henderson purchased all the land lying between the Cumberland River, the [[Cumberland Mountains]], and the [[Kentucky River]], and situated south of the [[Ohio River]] in what is known as the [[Transylvania Purchase]] from the Cherokee Indians. The land thus delineated, {{convert|20|e6acre|km2|sigfig=2|abbr=unit}}, encompassed an area half as large as the present state of Kentucky. Henderson's purchase was in violation of North Carolina and Virginia law, as well as the [[Royal Proclamation of 1763]], which prohibited private purchase of American Indian land. Henderson may have mistakenly believed that a newer British legal opinion had made such land purchases legal.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/boonebiography00morg|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/boonebiography00morg/page/179 179]|quote=boone a biography algonquin bryce.|title=Boone: A Biography|first=Robert|last=Morgan|date=September 23, 2008|publisher=Algonquin Books|via=Internet Archive}}</ref>

All of present-day Tennessee was once recognized as [[Washington County, North Carolina]]. Created in 1777 from the western areas of Burke and Wilkes Counties, Washington County had as a precursor a Washington District of 1775–76, which was the first political entity named for the Commander-in-Chief of American forces in the Revolution.<ref name="tcarden.com" /><ref name="jcedb.org">{{Cite web|url=http://www.jcedb.org/history/lostco.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110115114140/http://www.jcedb.org/history/lostco.php|url-status=dead|title=Lost Counties of Tennessee.|archive-date=January 15, 2011}}</ref>

===Founding===
In 1779, Hadley W. and Hannah W. brought a group of settlers from upper [[East Tennessee]] via [[Daniel Boone]]'s [[Wilderness Road]]. Hadley and Hannah later built an [[iron plantation]] in [[Cumberland Furnace, Tennessee|Cumberland Furnace]].{{Citation needed|date=May 2008}} A year later, [[John Donelson]] led a group of flat boats up the Cumberland River bound for the French trading settlement, French Lick (or Big Lick), that later became [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]]. When the boats reached Red Paint Hill, [[Moses Renfroe]], Joseph Renfroe, and Solomon Turpin, along with their families, branched off onto the Red River. They traveled to the mouth of Parson's Creek, near [[Port Royal, Tennessee|Port Royal]], and went ashore to settle down. Clarksville was designated as a town to be settled in part by soldiers from the disbanded Continental Army that served under General [[George Washington]] during the [[American Revolutionary War]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Randal Rust|title=Clarksville|url=https://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entries/clarksville/|access-date=June 4, 2021|website=Tennessee Encyclopedia|language=en-US}}</ref>

At the end of the war, the federal government lacked sufficient funds to repay the soldiers, so the Legislature of North Carolina, in 1790, designated the lands to the west of the state line as federal lands that could be used in the land grant program. Since the area of Clarksville had been surveyed and sectioned into plots, it was identified as a territory deemed ready for settlement. The land was available to be settled by the families of eligible soldiers as repayment of service to their country. On January 16, 1784, [[John Armstrong (Carolina)|John Armstrong]] filed notice with the [[Legislature]] of [[North Carolina]] to create the town of Clarksville, named after General [[George Rogers Clark]].

Even before it was officially designated a town, lots had been sold. In October 1785, Col. Robert Weakley laid off the town of Clarksville for [[Martin Armstrong (surveyor)|Martin Armstrong]] and Col. Montgomery, and Weakley had the choice of lots for his services. He selected Lot #20 at the northeast corner of Spring and Main Streets. The town consisted of 20 'squares' of 140 lots and 44 out lots. The original Court House was on Lot #93, on the north side of Franklin Street between Front and Second Street. The Public Spring was on Lot #74, on the northeast corner of Spring and Commerce Streets. Weakley built the first cabin there in January 1786, and about February or March, Col. Montgomery came there and had a cabin built, which was the second house in Clarksville.

After an official survey by James Sanders, Clarksville was founded by the [[North Carolina]] Legislature on December 29, 1785. It was the second town to be founded in the area. Armstrong's layout for the town consisted of 12 four-acre (16,000&nbsp;m<sup>2</sup>) squares built on the hill overlooking the Cumberland as to protect against floods.{{Citation needed|date=May 2008}} The primary streets (from north to south) that went east–west were named Jefferson, Washington (now College Street), Franklin, Main, and Commerce Streets. North–south streets (from the river eastward) were named Water (now Riverside Drive), Spring, First, Second, and Third Streets.

The [[tobacco]] trade in the area was growing larger every year and in 1789, Montgomery and [[Martin Armstrong (early American)|Martin Armstrong]] persuaded lawmakers to designate Clarksville as an inspection point for tobacco.

When [[Tennessee]] was founded as a state on June 1, 1796, the area around Clarksville and to the east was named Tennessee County. (This county was established in 1788, by North Carolina.) Later, Tennessee County was broken up into modern day [[Montgomery County, Tennessee|Montgomery]] and [[Robertson County, Tennessee|Robertson]] counties, named to honor the men who first opened up the region for settlement.

===19th century===
[[File:Fort Defiance, Clarksville, TN -7.jpg|thumb|[[Fort Defiance (Tennessee)|Fort Defiance]]]]
Clarksville grew at a rapid pace. By 1806, the town realized the need for an educational institution, and it established the Rural Academy that year. It was later replaced by the Mount Pleasant Academy. By 1819, the newly established town had 22 stores, including a bakery and silversmith. In 1820, [[steamboats]] begin to navigate the Cumberland, bringing hardware, coffee, sugar, fabric, and glass. The city exported flour, tobacco, cotton, and corn to ports such as [[New Orleans]] and [[Pittsburgh]] along the Ohio and [[Mississippi River|Mississippi]] rivers.

In 1829, the first bridge connecting Clarksville to [[New Providence, Tennessee|New Providence]] was built over the Red River. Nine years later, the Clarksville-[[Hopkinsville, Kentucky|Hopkinsville]] [[Turnpike (pre-freeway)|Turnpike]] was built. Railroad service came to the town on October 1, 1859, in the form of the [[Memphis, Clarksville and Louisville Railroad]]. The line later connected to other railroads at [[Paris, Tennessee]] and at [[Guthrie, Kentucky]].

By the start of the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], the combined population of the city and the county was 20,000. Planters in the area depended on [[slavery in the United States|enslaved African Americans]] as workers in the labor-intensive [[tobacco]] industry, one of the major commodity crops.

In 1861, both Clarksville and Montgomery counties voted unanimously for the state to secede and join the [[Confederate States of America]]. The birthplace of Confederate President [[Jefferson Davis]] was about 20 miles across the border in Fairview, [[Christian County, Kentucky]]. Both sides considered Clarksville to be of strategic importance.

[[Confederate States Army|Confederate]] General [[Albert Sidney Johnston]] set up a defense line around Clarksville expecting a land attack. The city was home to three [[Confederate States Army]] camps:
* [[Camp Boone]] located on [[U.S. Highway 79]] Guthrie Road/([[Wilma Rudolph Boulevard]]),
* Camp Burnet
* [[Fort Defiance, Tennessee]], a Civil War outpost that overlooks the [[Cumberland River]] and [[Red River (Cumberland River)|Red River]], and was occupied by both Confederate and Union soldiers. In 2012 the City of Clarksville, Tennessee completed construction of an interpretive/ museum center here to chronicle the local chapter in the Civil War.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ftdefianceclarksville.com |title=Ft. Defiance Clarksville |publisher=Ft. Defiance Clarksville |access-date=April 23, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cityofclarksville.com/parks&rec/parks/fortdefiance.php |title= Clarksville, TN • CivicEngage|website=www.cityofclarksville.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119035841/http://www.cityofclarksville.com/parks%26rec/parks/fortdefiance.php |archive-date=January 19, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.civilwaralbum.com/misc3/fort_defiance1.htm |title=Fort Defiance – Fort Bruce site photos |publisher=Civilwaralbum.com |access-date=July 10, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130624060450/http://www.civilwaralbum.com/misc3/fort_defiance1.htm |archive-date=June 24, 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] sent troops and gunboats down the Cumberland River, and in 1862 captured [[Fort Donelson]], and [[Fort Henry (site of the Battle of Fort Henry)|Fort Henry]]. On February 17, 1862, the ''[[USS Cairo]]'', along with another Union [[ironclad]], came to Clarksville and its troops captured the city. There were no Confederate soldiers to contend with because they had left prior to the arrival of the ships. White flags flew over Ft. Defiance and over Ft. Clark. Those town citizens who could get away, left as well. Before leaving, [[Confederate States Army|Confederate]] soldiers tried to burn the railroad bridge that crossed the Cumberland River, so that the Union could not use it. But the fire did not take hold and was put out before it could destroy the bridge. This railroad bridge made Clarksville very important to the Union. The ''USS Cairo'' tied up in Clarksville for a couple of days before moving to participate in the capture of [[Nashville]].

Between 1862 and 1865, the city shifted hands, but the Union retained control. It also controlled the city's newspaper, ''The Leaf Chronicle'', for three years. Many slaves who had been freed or escaped gathered in Clarksville and joined the [[Union Army]] lines. The army set up [[Contraband (American Civil War)|contraband camps]] in mid-Tennessee cities, to provide shelter for the freedmen families. Other freed slaves lived along the side of the river in shanties. In 1865, the [[Ogburn Chapel Missionary Baptist Church]] was founded. The Army enlisted freedmen in all-black [[regiment]]s, in some cases putting them to work in building defenses. The [[United States Colored Troops|16th United States Colored Infantry regiment]] was mustered in at Clarksville in 1863.{{Citation needed|date=September 2014}}

===Reconstruction===
[[File:ClarksvilleTN VisitorCenter.jpg|thumb|right|Clarksville Museum and Cultural Center, built 1898]]
After the war, the city began [[Reconstruction era|Reconstruction]], and in 1872, the existing railroad was purchased by the [[Louisville & Nashville Railroad]]. The city was flourishing until the Great Fire of 1878, which destroyed 15 acres (60,000&nbsp;m<sup>2</sup>) of downtown Clarksville's business district, including the courthouse and many other historic buildings. It was believed to have started in a Franklin Street store.<ref>{{cite news|title=Terrific Fire|date=April 15, 1878|work=The Clarksville Weekly Chronicle|location=Clarksville, Tennessee|page=5|quote=a fire broke out in a frame building at the rear of Kincannon's tin and Queensware store on Franklin Street|publisher = [[Ancestry.com#Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> After the fire, the city rebuilt.<ref>{{cite news|title=Clarksville, Her Schools, Her Churches, Her Residences. Her Live Business Men and Manufacturing Enterprises|date=December 22, 1882|work=Leaf-Chronicle Weekly|location=Clarksville, Tennessee|page=1|publisher = [[Ancestry.com#Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> The first [[automobile]] rolled into town, drawing much excitement.<ref>{{cite news|title=Mr Hume's "Auto" breaks down|date=May 21, 1902|work=Leaf-Chronicle Weekly|location=Clarksville, Tennessee|page=1|publisher = [[Ancestry.com#Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>

===20th century===
[[File:ClarksvilleMural.jpg|thumb|right|Mural painted on the only remaining wall of a building destroyed by the '99 tornado.]]
In 1913, the Lillian Theater was opened on Franklin Street and owned by [[Joseph Goldberger|Joseph Goldberg]]. In 1914, it was severely damaged in a fire, but reopened later in 1915. It was later renamed the Roxy after renovations in 1941.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Mitchell |first1=Liana |title=Clarksville |last2=Wallace |first2=Joel |publisher=[[Arcadia Publishing]] |year=2000 |isbn=9780738506487 |pages=72}}</ref><!-- Original text: In 1913, the Lillian Theater, Clarksville's first "movie house" for motion pictures, was opened on Franklin Street by Joseph Goldberg. It seated more than 500 people. Less than two years later, in 1915, the theater burned down. It was rebuilt later that year. -->

As [[World War I]] raged in [[Europe]], many locals volunteered to go, reaffirming Tennessee as the Volunteer State, a nickname earned during the [[War of 1812]], the [[Mexican–American War]] and other earlier conflicts. Also during this time, women's suffrage was becoming a major issue. Clarksville women saw a need for banking independent of their husbands and fathers who were fighting. In response, the First Women's Bank of Tennessee was established in 1919 by Mrs. Frank J. Runyon.

The 1920s brought additional growth to the city. A bus line between Clarksville and [[Hopkinsville, Kentucky|Hopkinsville]] was established in 1922. In 1927 the Austin Peay Normal School was founded, later to develop as [[Austin Peay State University]]. In 1928 two more theaters were added, the Majestic (with 600 seats) and the Capitol (with 900 seats). John Outlaw, a local aviator, established Outlaw Field in 1929.

With the entry of the United States into World War II, defense investments were made in the area. In 1942 construction started on Camp Campbell (now known as [[Fort Campbell, Kentucky|Fort Campbell]]), the new army base {{convert|10|mi|km|spell=in}} northwest of the city. It was capable of holding 23,000 troops, and as staffing built up, the base gave a huge boost to the population and economy of Clarksville.

In 1954, the Clarksville Memorial Hospital was founded along Madison Street. Downtown, the Lillian was renamed the Roxy Theater, and today it still hosts plays and performances weekly. The Roxy has been used as a backdrop for numerous [[photo shoots]], [[films]], [[documentaries]], [[music videos]] and [[television commercials]];{{Citation needed|date=May 2008}} most notably for [[Sheryl Crow]]'s Grammy Award-winning song "[[All I Wanna Do (Sheryl Crow song)|All I Wanna Do]]."<ref>{{cite web| url=https://q108.com/ryan/how-clarksville-helped-make-sheryl-crow-a-superstar/ | date= July 11, 2022 | title=How Clarksville Helped Make Sheryl Crow A Superstar | publisher=Q108 107.9 WCVQ | author=Ryan Ploeckelman}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.mchsociety.org/Sub-Pages/Hist-Videos.html|title=Montgomery County Historical Society - Famous Videos | publisher=Montgomery County Historical Society}}</ref>

Since 1980, the population of Clarksville has more than doubled. This increase was due in part to annexation, as the city acquired communities such as [[New Providence, Tennessee|New Providence]] and [[Saint Bethlehem, Tennessee|Saint Bethlehem]]. The construction of [[Interstate 24]] north of Saint Bethlehem added to its development potential and in the early 21st century, much of the growth along [[U.S. Highway 79]] is commercial retail. Clarksville is currently one of the fastest-growing large cities in Tennessee. At its present rate of growth, the city was expected to displace Chattanooga by 2020 as the fourth-largest city in Tennessee.

===Natural disasters===
{{See also|Tornado outbreak of January 21–23, 1999}}
{{See also|Tornado outbreak of December 9–10, 2023}}

*In January 1999, the downtown area of Clarksville was devastated by an F3 [[tornado]].
*Clarksville was damaged in the [[May 2010 Tennessee floods]].
*In February 2018, the east side of Clarksville was struck by an EF-2 tornado.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://clarksvillenow.com/local/6-homes-destroyed-2-injured-following-severe-storms-in-clarksville/|title=Two tornadoes damage dozens of homes in Clarksville-Montgomery County {{!}} ClarksvilleNow.com|work=ClarksvilleNow.com|access-date=February 26, 2018|language=en-US}}</ref>
*In December 2023, North Clarksville was struck by an EF-3 tornado that resulted in four fatalities and left multiple homes and businesses damaged or destroyed and over 20,000 people without power.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://clarksvillenow.com/local/tornado-in-clarksville-3-killed-at-least-23-injured-13100-homes-without-power/|title=Clarksville EF-3 Tornado had 150 mph winds, 91 homes destroyed, 675 damaged {{!}} ClarksvilleNow.com|work=ClarksvilleNow.com|access-date=December 11, 2023|language=en-US}}</ref>
*In early May 2024, the city of Clarksville was affected by a [[Tornado outbreak of May 6–10, 2024|severe weather and tornado outbreak]], which resulted in some instances of flash-flooding and golf-ball sized hail. An EF-1 tornado touched down just east of Clarksville and did minor damage to nearby [[Springfield, Tennessee|Springfield, TN]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/2024/05/08/tennessee-severe-weather-tornado-damage-reports/73619149007/ | title=Tennessee tornado and storm damage reports: See where they've been reported in greater Nashville area | website=[[The Tennessean]] }}</ref>