Commercial center and capital city, Nashville's heritage is part Andrew Jackson's Hermitage and part Grand Ole Opry. It is often referred to as the "Athens of the South" because of its 16 colleges and universities, religious publishing firms, and some 750 churches. To prove this point, it has the Parthenon, the only full-size replica of the Athenian architectural masterpiece.

The Nashville region's economy is diverse, and the area has benefitted from low unemployment, consistent job growth, and a broadening of the labor force. The city is a leader in publishing, finance and insurance, healthcare, music and entertainment, transportation technology, higher education, and tourism.

In recent years, millions of dollars in investment capital have been used for new buildings and vast expansion programs. This redevelopment has given the lovely old capital a new, airy setting. Throughout this bustle of commerce and construction, Nashville retains an Old South quality, proud of its gracious homes and its traditions.

These traditions stem back to the days when a band of pioneers built a log stockade on the west bank of the Cumberland River in 1779, naming it Fort Nashborough. The Cumberland Compact established a governing body of 12 judges at this wilderness village. By an act of the North Carolina legislature, the name was changed to Nashville. Nearly 50 years after Tennessee became a state, Nashville was made the permanent capital.

During the Civil War, the city was taken by Union troops in March 1862. In December 1864, a Confederate force under General John Bell Hood moved to the hills south of the city in an attempt to recapture it. However, two Union counterattacks virtually wiped out the Confederate army.

Just as the Cumberland Compact of May 1780 was an innovation in government, so was a new charter that became effective in 1963, setting up Nashville and Davidson County under a single administration with a legislative body of 40 members.