Davidson County is a county in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is located in the central part of the region of Middle Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 715,884, making it the second most populous county in Tennessee. Its county seat is Nashville, the state capital and most populous city.
Since 1963, the city of Nashville and Davidson County have had a consolidated government called the "Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County", commonly referred to as "Metro Nashville" or "Metro". This is distinct from the larger metropolitan area.
Davidson County has the largest population in the 13-county Nashville metropolitan area, the state's most populous metropolitan area. Nashville has always been one of the region's centers of commerce, industry, transportation, and culture, but it did not become the capital of Tennessee until 1827 and did not gain permanent capital status until 1843. a North Carolina general who was killed opposing the crossing of the Catawba River by General Cornwallis's British forces on February 1, 1781. The county seat, Nashville, is the oldest permanent European settlement in Middle Tennessee, founded by James Robertson and John Donelson during the winter of 1779–80 and the waning days of the Revolutionary War.
The first white settlers established the Cumberland Compact to establish a basic rule of law and to protect their land titles. Through much of the early 1780s, the settlers also faced a hostile response from Native American tribes such as the Cherokee, Muscogee (Creek), and Shawnee who used the area as a hunting ground; they resented the newcomers moving into the area in violation of treaties and competing for its resources. As the county's many known archaeological sites attest, Native American cultures had occupied areas of Davidson County for thousands of years. The first white Americans to enter the area were fur traders. Long hunters came next, having heard about a large salt lick, known as French Lick, where they hunted game and traded with the Native Americans. A number of the settlers came from Kentucky and the Upper South. Since the land was fertile, they cultivated hemp and tobacco, using the labor of enslaved African Americans, and also raised blooded livestock of high quality, including horses. Generally holding less land than the plantations of Western Tennessee, many Middle Tennessee planters nevertheless became wealthy during this period.
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Davidson County was much larger when it was created in 1783. Its initial boundaries were defined as follows: -
"[A]ll that part of this State lying west of the Cumberland mountain and south of the Virginia line, beginning on the top of Cumberland mountain where the Virginia line crosses, extending westward along the said line to Tennessee River, thence up said river to the mouth of Duck River, then up Duck River to where the line of marked trees run by the commissioners for laying off land granted the Continental line of this State intersects said river (which said line is supposed to be in thirty-five degrees fifty minutes north latitude) thence east along said line to the top of Cumberland mountain, thence northwardly along said mountain to the beginning".
However, four more counties were carved out of Davidson County's territory between 1786 and 1856.
- Sumner County created in 1786
- Williamson County, created in 1799
- Rutherford County, created in 1803 (also included parts of Wilson County)
- Cheatham County, created in 1856 (also included parts of Dickson, Montgomery and Robertson counties)
Following the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, the voters of Davidson County voted narrowly in favor of seceding from the United States: 5,635 in favor, 5,572 against. However, the Union Army occupied the county in February 1862, which caused widespread social disruption as the state's governing institutions broke down.
Notable people
:See List of people from Nashville, Tennessee for notable people that were residents of both Nashville and Davidson County.
- Kizziah J. Bills, Black American suffragist, a correspondent and columnist for Black press in Chicago, and a civil rights activist. She was raised in Davidson County.
- Newman Haynes Clanton, Democrat, western cattle rustler and outlaw
- Jermain Wesley Loguen, abolitionist leader
- Benjamin "Pap" Singleton, abolitionist leader
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (4.2%) is water.
The Cumberland River flows from east to west through the middle of the county. Two dams within the county are Old Hickory Lock and Dam and J. Percy Priest Dam, operated by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. Important tributaries of the Cumberland in Davidson County include Whites Creek, Manskers Creek, Stones River, Mill Creek, and the Harpeth River.
Adjacent counties
- Robertson County, Tennessee – north
- Sumner County, Tennessee – northeast
- Wilson County, Tennessee – east
- Rutherford County, Tennessee – southeast
- Williamson County, Tennessee – south
- Cheatham County, Tennessee – west
National protected area
- Natchez Trace Parkway (part)
State protected areas
- Bicentennial Mall State Park
- Couchville Cedar Glade State Natural Area (part)
- Harpeth River State Park (part)
- Hill Forest State Natural Area
- Long Hunter State Park (part)
- Mount View Glade State Natural Area
- Percy Priest Wildlife Management Area (part)
- Radnor Lake State Natural Area