Borderlands Archive and History Center Database

Items

• Nashville (Tenn.)
  Nashville originated as Fort Nashborough, named for Revolutionary War hero Francis Nash. It was constructed next to the pre-existing French trading post of French Lick, which was folded into the growing settlement. It was incorporated as a city in 1806, and became the county seat of Davidson County. It served as state capital 1812-1817, and became the capital again in 1826. It was named the permanent capital in 1843.
• Murfreesboro (Tenn.)
  Designated as the seat of newly-formed Rutherford County, it was originally named Cannonsburgh for local politician, Newton Cannon. It was formally cahartered a few months later as Murfreesboro, in honor of Revolutionary War Colonel Hardy Murfree. As settlement moved west across Tennessee, the state capital moved to Murfreesboro from Knoxville in 1818. Eight years later the capital moved to Nashville.
• Memphis (Tenn.)
  Founded by John Overton, James Winchester and Andrew Jackson on land purchased from the Chickasaw people, the city sits on high bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River. It was named for the ancient city in Egypt, and incorporated 19 Dec 1826.
• Lebanon (Tenn.)
  The city's name is a reference to the biblical cedars of ancient Lebanon, due to the large number of cedar trees in the area.
• Knoxville (Tenn.)
  Originally settled by Revolutionary War officer James White, who built the first fort on the site, it was chosen as the territorial capital by the new governor William Blount. Blount renamed the settlement Knoxville, in honor of his direct superior, the Revolutionary War general Henry Knox.
• Chattanooga (Tenn.)
  Originally a Cherokee settlement, the area was used as an internment camp for indigenous people during the Trail of Tears. It was incorporated as a US city in 1839, the year after the deportation of the Cherokee. The name is believed to be derived either from a Muskogean term for a dewlling rock or a Creek term for a rock rising to a point, both generally assumed to be references to Lookout Mountain, which overlooks the city.
• Sweet Water (Ala. : Town)
  The town was named for Sweet Water Creek, which runs along the edge of the community.
• Mobile (Ala.)
  The county seat of Mobile County, the city located on the shores of Mobile Bay.
• Gurley (Ala.)
  The town was named for the Gurley family, some of the earliest white settlers.
• Selma (Ala.)
  The county seat of Dallas County, the town's name means 'throne', and was taken from the eighteenth-century poem 'The Songs of Selma'. It is best known as the setting for many pivotal events in the African American civil rights movement of the 1960s.
• Huntsville (Ala.)
  The county seat of Madison County, the city actually sprawls across the line into neighboring Limestone and Morgan Counties. Originally called Twickenham, after the town in England, Huntsville was renamed for early settler, John Hunt.
• Fairfield (Ala.)
  Originally founded as a company town housing steel workers, the town was named Corey for a U.S. Steel executive. It was renamed for Fairfield, Connecticut, the hometown of U.S. Steel's president.
• Birmingham (Ala.)
  The county seat of Jefferson County, the city was named for the industrial town of Birmingham, England. It has absorbed neighboring communities over the years, including Elyton and Brownville. While the majority of the city is located in Jefferson County, a portion spills over into neighboring Shelby County.
• Belleville (Kan.)
  The county seat of Republic County, Kansas, the town was named for Arabelle Tutton, whose husband was a member of the company that founded the town.
• Wichita (Kan.)
  The county seat of Sedgwick County, Wichita is located at the juncture of the Arkansas and Little Arkansas Rivers. It was named for the local native people.
• Topeka (Kan.)
  The county seat of Shawnee County, as well as the state capital of Kansas. The name comes from a Kansa-Osage word for 'a good place to dig up potatoes'.
• Ottawa (Kan.)
  The county seat of Franklin County, it was named for the Ottawa people.
• Leavenworth (Kan.)
  The county seat of Leavenworth County, the town was named for General Henry Leavenworth. It is the site of Fort Leavenworth.
• Lawrence (Kan.)
  The county seat of Douglas County, the town was named for Amos Lawrence of Boston.
• Kansas City (Kan.)
  The county seat of Wyandotte County, the town was formed by merging five existing municipalities: Armstrong, Armourdale, Riverview, Wyandotte, and "old" Kansas City.
• Hiawatha (Kan.)
  The county seat of Brown County, the town was named for the main character of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, 'The Song of Hiawatha'.
• Emporia (Kan.)
  The county seat of Lyon County, the town was named for a commercial center in ancient Carthage.
• Crestline (Kan.)
• Council Grove (Kan.)
  The county seat of Morris County. It is located on the old Santa Fe Trail, which runs through the middle of town.
• Centropolis (Kan.)
  The town originated as a trading post for trading with the Ottawa people who lived in the area.