HISTORY: SUMNER TIMELINE 1786: Sumner County created by act of North Carolina General Assembly. 1801: The Tennessee General Assembly appoints five Sumner County Commissioners to select site for a town called Gallatin that will serve as the county seat. 1802: Gallatin is created when commissioners select and purchase site, lay out town lots, and sell them at auction. Andrew Jackson purchases one of the lots that, around 1974, became a part of the City Hall property on West Main Street. General James Winchester completes construction of Cragfont, one of grandest homes on the Tennessee frontier. 1803: Builders complete construction of county courthouse, jail, and stocks in Gallatin. Andrew Jackson and John Hutchings open general store on lot Jackson purchased the prior year. 1804: Gallatin hosts first local horse races over a public track. 1806: General Assembly establishes council of five commissioners to govern Gallatin. 1812: Congress declares war on Great Britain. Volunteers organize local companies for military duty with General Andrew Jackson. 1813: John H. Bowen elected to Congress. Volunteers depart for Natchez and below. 1815: The Tennessean appears as first local newspaper. The Gallatin, Tennessee Bank receives charter. General Assembly incorporates town of Gallatin. Volunteers return after battle of New Orleans. 1817: The General Assembly reorganizes the town government, providing for mayor and seven aldermen. Gallatin Inn, owned by David Shelby, opens on Public Square. The Columbian is second Gallatin newspaper. 1819: Investors develop first privately owned subdivision, totaling fifty acres. 1822: John H. Bowen dies without finishing his house, now known as Trousdale
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Place. 1824: Gallatin Female Academy opens. 1828: Voters elect Andrew Jackson president of the United States. City paves Main Street. First Presbyterian Church organizes congregation. 1829: Eliza Allen marries Tennessee Gov. Sam Houston, but in a matter of weeks leaves him never to return for reasons that she does not publicly disclose. The First Methodist Church is established in Gallatin. 1830: Gallatin has a population of 666, 234 of whom are black. Most of the blacks are in slavery with only about 10 or 12 free. Stage service to Carthage is offered twice each week. Nashville-Lexington mail stages pass and repass through Gallatin three times each week. 1832: Andrew Jackson wins re-election to presidency. Isaac Franklin begins construction of residence on his Fairvue plantation. New local newspaper, the Guardian, begins publication. Publisher discontinues Gallatin Journal; reopens to publish new Gallatin Union. 1833: Balie Peyton is elected to Congress. Local whites establish branch of African Colonization Society. 1834: Public meeting at courthouse elects officers for the Gallatin fire engine company. 1835: Voters re-elect Balie Peyton to Congress. 1836: The General Assembly charters Gallatin Turnpike Company and grants a charter of incorporation to the Gallatin Female Academy. Volunteers leave for the Seminole War in Florida. 1837: Citizens welcome the Seminole War volunteers’ return. County replaces original courthouse with new one on the Public Square. Eliza Allen and Sam Houston divorce is final. Isaac Franklin dies and his executor incorporates Isaac Franklin Institute. 1838: Sumner Female Academy succeeds Gallatin Female Academy. Stage lines
operate on regular schedules to and from Nashville, Hartsville and Carthage. The Cumberland Farmer, the city’s first magazine, begins publishing. 1843: District voters elect Joseph H. Peyton to Congress. Balie Peyton produces Peyton’s Stakes at Nashville and captures attention of international thoroughbred fanciers. 1845: J. H. Peyton is reelected to Congress but dies before House convenes. 1846: Congress declares war on Mexico. Local young men rush to volunteer for military service. 1848: Appreciative citizens erect Mexican-American War Monument in Gallatin cemetery. Col. Thomas Boyers is a founder and charter member of the Tennessee Historical Society. 1849: Cholera epidemic is devastating. William Trousdale is elected governor of Tennessee. 1850: Investors organize local cotton factory. Population of city reaches 1,200. 1851: Louisville and Nashville Railroad will be built through Gallatin. Governor Trousdale loses bid for reelection. 1852: Cholera strikes again. 1856: The Sumner Female Academy becomes Howard Female Institute, later Howard College. Thomas Boyers founds and edits the Gallatin Examiner. 1858: The Louisville and Nashville Railroad is completed with depot here. First Baptist Church organizes and meets in the Odd Fellows Hall. 1860: Abraham Lincoln is elected president. Secession sentiment grows. Trying to head off war, Balie Peyton works to organize and promote Constitutional Union Party. First gas lighting is turned on. First Baptist Church on East Main Street is built and dedicated. 1861: Civil War begins. Tennessee declares independence from the Union and
affiliates with the Confederacy. Volunteer companies enlist. Howard Female Institute closes. Confederates set up Camp Trousdale near Portland, giving it the name of Gov. Trousdale. In an example of split sentiments in same family, Balie Peyton remains loyal to Union, son Balie joins Confederate Army. 1862: Union Army arrives in town unopposed; city and county government cease operating. Col. Morgan’s Confederate Cavalry takes, leaves and retakes Gallatin for short periods. Morgan wins battle of Gallatin in five-hour cavalry clash. Union Army establishes garrison. Military Governor Johnson banishes Josephus Conn Guild to Union prison in Fort Mackinac, Michigan. 1884: Gallatin Board of Education created as the beginning of modern public schools in the area. Closes around 1950 as city system yields to a countywide system. 1901: Westmoreland incorporated as a town. 1905: Portland incorporated as a city. 1918: Devastating flood inundates lower portions of county; access to Nashville blocked. 1923: Typhoid outbreak prompts creation of water filtration plant in Gallatin. 1925: Tornado kills 33 in Bethpage. 1950: TVA-built dam creates Old Hickory Lake. 1951: Westmoreland again incorporated as a town after a population decline during the Great Depression caused it to lose its original town status. 1953: Public schools offer free textbooks for first time. 1954: Cumberland River bridge, called Veterans Memorial, is open to traffic. 1956: TVA starts generating electricity using steam turbines at its fossil-fueled Gallatin plant. 1957: Fire destroys Crescent Amusement Company’s Roxy Theater on East Main Street just off the square in