THE TENNESSEE STATE CAPITOL
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| Ceremony honoring fallen law enforcement officers |
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| Andrew Jackson |
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| 1864 - Union troops encamped on grounds of Capitol |
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| Tennessee State Capitol |
Standing tall on a hill overlooking the growing, expanding, really exploding city of Nashville is a Greek revival structure designed by William Strickland, a protégé of Benjamin Latrobe, the architect who created the plans for the US Capitol in Washington, DC. Some have even referred to it as “the Athens of the South.” The building honors the three men who came from Tennessee to serve as presidents of the United States: Andrew Jackson, James Knox Polk, and Andrew Johnson.
But why did so many years elapse from 1796 when Tennessee became the 16thstate in the newly formed union until 1843 when Nashville was finally determined to be its capital? The answer is good planning. Tennessee runs 800 miles from east to west, a long drive on today’s super highways; in the early 19thcentury, when traveling by horse, one part of the state was truly cut off from another. The state’s founders were unsure where settlement would naturally occur. They believed where the citizens lived should determine where the capital and state government should be. Almost 50 years after statehood was proclaimed, the Tennessee General Assembly determined that spot to be Nashville. The cornerstone was laid with great ceremony on July 4, 1845 and the building completed in 1859.
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