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Tennessee history in 60 dated events, from over 10,000 years ago (People used the entrance of Dunbar Cave from the end of the last ice age onward) to May 4, 2026. Every row links the National Park Service, state archive, agency or encyclopedia page it was read from.
Header photo: Nashville in 1864, the year the Battle of Nashville was fought just south of the city on December 15-16. Credit: Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Brady-Handy Collection.
- 60dated events
- 11eras
- over 10,000 years agoearliest date on the list
- 53source pages cited
- First peoples
- Colonial era
- Revolution
- Territory and statehood
- Early statehood
- Civil War
- Reconstruction
- New South and industry
- 20th century
- Civil rights
- Modern era
Download this data: CSV · JSON · 60 events · free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with a link to It’s Tennessee. All open data: catalog.json.
First Peoples
| When | What happened | Where | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| over 10,000 years ago | People used the entrance of Dunbar Cave from the end of the last ice age onward. | Dunbar Cave, Clarksville (Montgomery) | Dunbar Cave State Park – Highlights (Tennessee State Parks) |
| 8,000-6,000 B.C. | The Early Archaic Period began in Tennessee, a time of hunting-and-gathering bands. | Statewide | Archaic Period (Tennessee Encyclopedia) |
| 300 B.C. to A.D. 900 | The Woodland Period, when Pinson Mounds and the Old Stone Fort were built. | Pinson Mounds; Old Stone Fort (Madison; Coffee) | Woodland Period (Tennessee Encyclopedia) |
| ca. A.D. 900 to 1600 | Mississippian culture towns with platform mounds flourished along the Tennessee, Cumberland and Mississippi rivers. | Statewide | Mississippian Culture (Tennessee Encyclopedia) |
| 1000-1500 AD | Mississippian people built and lived at the Chucalissa mound site, now the C.H. Nash Museum. | Memphis (Shelby) | C.H. Nash Museum at Chucalissa (University of Memphis) |
Colonial Era
| When | What happened | Where | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| winter of 1540-41 | Chickasaw warriors resisted Hernando de Soto’s expedition when he tried to force them to help his search for gold. | West Tennessee / Chickasaw country | Chickasaws (Tennessee Encyclopedia) |
| 1756 | The British began building Fort Loudoun on the Little Tennessee River, named for the Earl of Loudoun. | Vonore (Monroe) | Fort Loudoun (Tennessee Encyclopedia) |
| August 9, 1760 | After a Cherokee siege, the Fort Loudoun garrison surrendered and began a march toward South Carolina; many were killed in an ambush soon after. | Vonore (Monroe) | Fort Loudoun (Tennessee Encyclopedia) |
| 1772 | Settlers along the Watauga River formed the Watauga Association to govern themselves. | Elizabethton (Sycamore Shoals) (Carter) | Watauga Association (Tennessee Encyclopedia) |
| 1775 | Richard Henderson negotiated the Transylvania Purchase with the Cherokee at Sycamore Shoals. | Elizabethton (Carter) | Sycamore Shoals (Tennessee Encyclopedia) |
Revolution
| When | What happened | Where | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1779 | North Carolina chartered Jonesborough, the oldest town in Tennessee; it was laid out in 1780. | Jonesborough (Washington) | Jonesborough (Tennessee Encyclopedia) |
| 1780 | Settlers of the new Cumberland settlement signed the Cumberland Compact, the start of Nashville’s government. | Nashville (Davidson) | Cumberland Compact (Tennessee Encyclopedia) |
| September 25, 1780 | The Overmountain Men mustered at Sycamore Shoals before marching to the Battle of Kings Mountain. | Elizabethton (Carter) | Sycamore Shoals (Tennessee Encyclopedia) |
| 1784 | Frontier leaders meeting at Jonesborough began the movement for the separate State of Franklin. | Jonesborough (Washington) | State of Franklin (Tennessee Encyclopedia) |
Territory and Statehood
| When | What happened | Where | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1786 | James White built the fort on the Tennessee (Holston) River that became Knoxville. | Knoxville | Knoxville (Tennessee Encyclopedia) |
| May 26, 1790 | Congress created the Territory of the United States South of the River Ohio (the Southwest Territory). | Statewide | Southwest Territory (Tennessee Encyclopedia) |
| 1790 | Governor William Blount set up the territorial office at William Cobb’s home, Rocky Mount, the first territorial capital. | Piney Flats (Sullivan) | Southwest Territory (Tennessee Encyclopedia) |
| June 1, 1796 | Tennessee became the 16th state, the first created from territory under federal jurisdiction. | Statewide | Celebrate Statehood Day at the Library and Archives (Tennessee Secretary of State) |
Early Statehood
| When | What happened | Where | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 8, 1815 | Andrew Jackson defeated the British at New Orleans, a few weeks after the Treaty of Ghent was signed. | New Orleans (Tennessee troops) | Andrew Jackson (Tennessee Encyclopedia) |
| 1818 | The Jackson Purchase Treaty extinguished the last Chickasaw land claims in Tennessee. | West Tennessee | Chickasaws (Tennessee Encyclopedia) |
| 1819 | Memphis was founded and named for the ancient Egyptian capital. | Memphis (Shelby) | Memphis (Tennessee Encyclopedia) |
| 1828 | Andrew Jackson of the Hermitage was elected president of the United States. | Hermitage (Davidson) | Andrew Jackson (Tennessee Encyclopedia) |
| 1832 to 1838 | Red Clay served as the last seat of the Cherokee Nation’s government east of the Mississippi. | Red Clay, near Cleveland (Bradley) | Red Clay State Historic Park – Highlights (Tennessee State Parks) |
| May 1838 to March 1839 | The Cherokee were forcibly removed from their homelands on the Trail of Tears; the roundup began in May 1838 under General Winfield Scott. | Southeast Tennessee and routes west | Trail of Tears (Tennessee Encyclopedia) |
| July 4, 1845 | The cornerstone of the Tennessee State Capitol, designed by William Strickland, was laid. | Nashville (Davidson) | Tennessee State Capitol (Tennessee Encyclopedia) |
Civil War
| When | What happened | Where | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 8, 1861 | Tennessee voters approved secession, about 105,000 to 47,000, while East Tennesseans largely voted against it. | Statewide | Civil War (Tennessee Encyclopedia) |
| February 16, 1862 | Confederates surrendered Fort Donelson and about 13,000 soldiers to Union forces under Grant. | Dover (Stewart) | Civil War (Tennessee Encyclopedia) |
| April 6-7, 1862 | The two-day Battle of Shiloh produced more than 23,000 casualties around Shiloh Church and Pittsburg Landing. | Shiloh (Hardin) | Meet the Past – Living History Bus Tour (NPS Shiloh news release) |
| December 31, 1862 – January 2, 1863 | The Battle of Stones River was fought near Murfreesboro, one of the bloodiest battles of the war. | Murfreesboro (Rutherford) | Battle of Stones River 163rd Anniversary Programs (NPS) |
| November 24-25, 1863 | Union forces took Lookout Mountain (the “Battle Above the Clouds”) and then Missionary Ridge, lifting the siege of Chattanooga. | Chattanooga (Hamilton) | Battles of Chickamauga and Chattanooga (Tennessee Encyclopedia) |
| April 12, 1864 | Confederates under Nathan Bedford Forrest attacked Fort Pillow; accusations of a massacre of surrendering Union soldiers, especially U.S. Colored Troops, followed. | Henning (Lauderdale) | Fort Pillow State Historic Park – Highlights (Tennessee State Parks) |
| November 4, 1864 | Forrest raided the Union supply depot at Johnsonville on the Tennessee River. | New Johnsonville (Humphreys) | Johnsonville State Historic Park – Highlights (Tennessee State Parks) |
| November 30, 1864 | The Battle of Franklin left some 9,500 soldiers killed, wounded, captured or missing in about five hours; Carnton became the largest field hospital. | Franklin (Williamson) | Carnton History (Battle of Franklin Trust) |
| December 15-16, 1864 | The Battle of Nashville continued the destruction of the Confederate Army of Tennessee. | Nashville (Davidson) | Battle of Nashville (Tennessee Encyclopedia) |
| April 15, 1865 | Andrew Johnson of Greeneville was sworn in as president the morning after Lincoln was shot. | Washington, D.C. (Johnson of Greeneville) | Andrew Johnson (Tennessee Encyclopedia) |
Reconstruction
| When | What happened | Where | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 9, 1866 | Fisk Free Colored School, forerunner of Fisk University, opened in Nashville to educate formerly enslaved people. | Nashville (Davidson) | Fisk University (Tennessee Encyclopedia) |
| May 1-2, 1866 | During the Memphis race riot of May 1-2, 1866, some forty-six African Americans and two whites died. | Memphis (Shelby) | Memphis Race Riot of 1866 (Tennessee Encyclopedia) |
| May or early June 1866 | The Ku Klux Klan was organized in a Pulaski law office by six Confederate veterans. | Pulaski (Giles) | Ku Klux Klan (Tennessee Encyclopedia) |
| July 1866 | Tennessee ratified the Fourteenth Amendment and was readmitted to the Union before Congressional Reconstruction began. | Statewide | Reconstruction (Tennessee Encyclopedia) |
New South and Industry
| When | What happened | Where | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1878 | A yellow fever epidemic infected over 17,000 people in Memphis and killed 5,150. | Memphis (Shelby) | Yellow Fever Epidemics (Tennessee Encyclopedia) |
| 1888 and 1892 | The Union Gospel Tabernacle, later Ryman Auditorium, was built between 1888 and 1892. | Nashville (Davidson) | Ryman Auditorium (Tennessee Encyclopedia) |
| 1899 to 1975 | Tennessee Copper Company ran its mine operations headquarters at the Burra Burra Mine. | Ducktown (Polk) | Ducktown Basin Museum & Burra Burra Mine (Tennessee Historical Commission) |
20th Century
| When | What happened | Where | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1918 | Alvin C. York of Pall Mall captured 132 German soldiers in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive and earned the Medal of Honor. | Pall Mall (York’s home) (Fentress) | Sgt. Alvin C. York State Historic Park – Highlights (Tennessee State Parks) |
| August 18, 1920 | The Tennessee House voted to ratify the 19th Amendment, making Tennessee the 36th state needed for woman suffrage. | Nashville (Davidson) | Woman Suffrage Movement (Tennessee Encyclopedia) |
| July 10, 1925 | The Scopes trial over teaching evolution opened in Dayton. | Dayton (Rhea) | The Scopes Trial (Tennessee Encyclopedia) |
| November 25, 1925 | WSM’s George D. Hay put fiddler Uncle Jimmy Thompson on the air, the broadcast that grew into the Grand Ole Opry. | Nashville (Davidson) | Grand Ole Opry (Tennessee Encyclopedia) |
| March 3, 1927 | Congress established Stones River National Battlefield. | Murfreesboro (Rutherford) | Stones River Launches Centennial Logo (NPS news release) |
| 1932 | Myles Horton and Don West founded the Highlander Folk School near Monteagle. | Monteagle (Grundy) | Highlander Folk School (Tennessee Encyclopedia) |
| May 18, 1933 | President Franklin Roosevelt signed the act creating the Tennessee Valley Authority. | Tennessee Valley | Tennessee Valley Authority (Tennessee Encyclopedia) |
| September 1942 | Gen. Leslie Groves came to East Tennessee for the Manhattan Project; land for the Clinton Engineer Works (Oak Ridge) was taken that fall. | Oak Ridge (Anderson; Roane) | Oak Ridge (Tennessee Encyclopedia) |
| 1951 | Sam Phillips recorded Jackie Brenston’s “Rocket 88” at his Memphis Recording Service, which many historians call the first rock-n-roll record. | Memphis (Shelby) | Sun Records (Tennessee Encyclopedia) |
Civil Rights
| When | What happened | Where | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| August 20, 1956 | Twelve African American students registered at Clinton High School, beginning court-ordered desegregation. | Clinton (Anderson) | Clinton Desegregation Crisis (Tennessee Encyclopedia) |
| 1960 | Nashville students launched a full-scale nonviolent sit-in campaign against segregated downtown businesses. | Nashville (Davidson) | Civil Rights Movement (Tennessee Encyclopedia) |
| February 12, 1968 | African American sanitation workers in Memphis went on strike. | Memphis (Shelby) | Memphis Sanitation Strike (Tennessee Encyclopedia) |
| April 4, 1968 | Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel while supporting the strike. | Memphis (Shelby) | Memphis Sanitation Strike (Tennessee Encyclopedia) |
Modern Era
| When | What happened | Where | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Graceland opened to the public; Knoxville hosted the 1982 World’s Fair the same year. | Memphis; Knoxville (Shelby; Knox) | Graceland (Tennessee Encyclopedia) |
| 1991 | The National Civil Rights Museum opened to the public at the former Lorraine Motel. | Memphis (Shelby) | National Civil Rights Museum (Tennessee Encyclopedia) |
| 1996 | Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park was dedicated on Tennessee’s 200th birthday. | Nashville (Davidson) | Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park – Highlights (Tennessee State Parks) |
| September 2024 | Hurricane Helene flooding along the Nolichucky River destroyed nearly every building at David Crockett Birthplace State Park. | Limestone (Greene) | David Crockett Birthplace State Park (Tennessee State Parks) |
| May 4, 2026 | The Andrew Johnson Homestead in Greeneville reopened for guided tours. | Greeneville | The Historic Home of President Andrew Johnson Reopens (NPS news release) |
What We Could Not Verify
- Some former websites for Tennessee history places and events, including the old Alex Haley Museum, Exchange Place and Secret City Festival sites, now show for-sale or unrelated pages. We link the official state or operator pages instead, or leave the place unlinked.
- The Tennessee Encyclopedia dates the first broadcast that grew into the Grand Ole Opry to November 25, 1925; the Opry itself commonly uses November 28, 1925. We use the encyclopedia date.
We re-check these when the source pages change. Spot something we missed? Use the corrections page.
Frequently Asked Questions
When was the Trail of Tears in Tennessee?
The forced removal of the Cherokee ran from May 1838 to March 1839; the roundup began in May 1838 under General Winfield Scott. Red Clay, near Cleveland, had been the last seat of the Cherokee Nation’s government east of the Mississippi from 1832 to 1838. (source: Trail of Tears (Tennessee Encyclopedia); Red Clay State Historic Park – Highlights (Tennessee State Parks)).
What did Tennessee do for women’s right to vote?
On August 18, 1920 the Tennessee House voted to ratify the 19th Amendment. That made Tennessee the 36th state to ratify, the last one needed to add woman suffrage to the U.S. Constitution. (source: Woman Suffrage Movement (Tennessee Encyclopedia)).
Where was the Scopes trial held?
The Scopes trial over the teaching of evolution opened on July 10, 1925 in Dayton, in Rhea County. The Rhea County Courthouse is a National Historic Landmark, designated in 1976. (source: The Scopes Trial (Tennessee Encyclopedia); List of NHLs by State (National Park Service)).
Last checked October 20, 2026 by the It’s Tennessee editors against each operator’s, agency’s or organizer’s own page.
Sources
- Dunbar Cave State Park – Highlights (Tennessee State Parks)
- Archaic Period (Tennessee Encyclopedia)
- Woodland Period (Tennessee Encyclopedia)
- Mississippian Culture (Tennessee Encyclopedia)
- C.H. Nash Museum at Chucalissa (University of Memphis)
- Chickasaws (Tennessee Encyclopedia)
- Fort Loudoun (Tennessee Encyclopedia)
- Watauga Association (Tennessee Encyclopedia)
- Sycamore Shoals (Tennessee Encyclopedia)
- Jonesborough (Tennessee Encyclopedia)
- Cumberland Compact (Tennessee Encyclopedia)
- State of Franklin (Tennessee Encyclopedia)
- Knoxville (Tennessee Encyclopedia)
- Southwest Territory (Tennessee Encyclopedia)
- Celebrate Statehood Day at the Library and Archives (Tennessee Secretary of State)
- Andrew Jackson (Tennessee Encyclopedia)
- Memphis (Tennessee Encyclopedia)
- Red Clay State Historic Park – Highlights (Tennessee State Parks)
- Trail of Tears (Tennessee Encyclopedia)
- Tennessee State Capitol (Tennessee Encyclopedia)
- Civil War (Tennessee Encyclopedia)
- Meet the Past – Living History Bus Tour (NPS Shiloh news release)
- Battle of Stones River 163rd Anniversary Programs (NPS)
- Battles of Chickamauga and Chattanooga (Tennessee Encyclopedia)
- Fort Pillow State Historic Park – Highlights (Tennessee State Parks)
- Johnsonville State Historic Park – Highlights (Tennessee State Parks)
- Carnton History (Battle of Franklin Trust)
- Battle of Nashville (Tennessee Encyclopedia)
- Andrew Johnson (Tennessee Encyclopedia)
- Fisk University (Tennessee Encyclopedia)
- Memphis Race Riot of 1866 (Tennessee Encyclopedia)
- Ku Klux Klan (Tennessee Encyclopedia)
- Reconstruction (Tennessee Encyclopedia)
- Yellow Fever Epidemics (Tennessee Encyclopedia)
- Ryman Auditorium (Tennessee Encyclopedia)
- Ducktown Basin Museum & Burra Burra Mine (Tennessee Historical Commission)
- Sgt. Alvin C. York State Historic Park – Highlights (Tennessee State Parks)
- Woman Suffrage Movement (Tennessee Encyclopedia)
- The Scopes Trial (Tennessee Encyclopedia)
- Grand Ole Opry (Tennessee Encyclopedia)
- Stones River Launches Centennial Logo (NPS news release)
- Highlander Folk School (Tennessee Encyclopedia)
- Tennessee Valley Authority (Tennessee Encyclopedia)
- Oak Ridge (Tennessee Encyclopedia)
- Sun Records (Tennessee Encyclopedia)
- Clinton Desegregation Crisis (Tennessee Encyclopedia)
- Civil Rights Movement (Tennessee Encyclopedia)
- Memphis Sanitation Strike (Tennessee Encyclopedia)
- Graceland (Tennessee Encyclopedia)
- National Civil Rights Museum (Tennessee Encyclopedia)
- Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park – Highlights (Tennessee State Parks)
- David Crockett Birthplace State Park (Tennessee State Parks)
- The Historic Home of President Andrew Johnson Reopens (NPS news release)
Cite this page: It's Tennessee, “Tennessee History Timeline: 60 Dated Events With Sources”, itstennessee.com/history/timeline/ (updated ). By the It's Tennessee editorial team. Free to quote with attribution and a link to this page; data and tables are licensed CC BY 4.0.