About the Fort Campbell KY, Clarksville and Montgomery County, Tennessee Area 

Clarksville is situated in the rolling hills of middle Tennessee and is located in Montgomery County. Clarksville is Tennessee's fifth largest city. With all the charm and history of the old south, Clarksville offers the lifestyle and attractions of one of the fastest growing cities in the southeast. From superior schools and health care to an abundance of parks and recreational activities, Clarksville/Montgomery County offers many opportunities for residents and visitors alike. In addition to its recent raking as America's 11th Best Golf City by Golf Digest, Clarksville has also been named Best Place to Retire (Where to Retire), 38th Family-Friendly City (Reader's Digest), and 57th Best Place to Live (Money Magazine). It is the home of Austin Peay State University and the famed 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), along with its proximity to the Land Between the Lakes Recreation Area and Nashville, Clarksville is the Gateway to the New South. It is a Great place to live, work and enjoy!

Located just off I-24 (Exits 1, 4, 8 & 11), 45 miles northwest of Nashville, Clarksville borders the Tennessee & Kentucky line as well as Fort Campbell.

Founded in 1784, Clarksville is named after revolutionary war hero General George Rogers Clarks. While agriculture has been a vital part of the past, Clarksville has grown to become culturally diverse, offering residents and visitors unique sights and sounds.

In partnership with Austin Peay State University, located in the heart of the city, Clarksville stands in a class of its own with art galleries and a wide variety of musical and theatrical events to satisfy most artistic tastes.

From significant Civil War era history to mid 1800s architecture to Fort Campbell, home of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), history butts will find interesting landmarks that tell unique tales of the areas past and present.

Take a stroll down the Cumberland RiverWalk or shop in one of our many malls and numerous antique stores. To make your stay more enjoyable, you will find a wide range of lodging facilities and restaurants to fit your budget and taste.

A visit to Clarksville will take you back in time, and in turn, offer modern day sites found no other place on this continent.

Spanning over 200 years, Clarksville's heritage has blessed the area with a rich, fascination history, including many buildings and sites that are listed on the National Historical Register. The Port Royal Bridge, the Sevier Station, the Post House, Dunbar Cave, Smith Trahern, and the L & N Train Station to name a few.

Austin Peay State University

Named in honor of the late Governor Austin Peay, Austin Peay State University was founded in 1927 as the states designated public liberal arts university. The University offers degree programs in the Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Education, and Business, in addition to Graduate level and Professional Programs. APSU has two esteemed Centers of Excellence in Field Biology and Creative Arts and has endowed Chairs of Excellence in creative arts, business, free enterprise and nursing. The campus enrollment averages 7,500 students.

Clarksville History

A Life-size statue of John Montgomery stands in Public Square, overlooking a vast area he once explored. Montgomery, who came here over 200 years ago, is the namesake of the county and is often credited with founding Clarksville.

In 1768, Thomas Hutchins surveyed the Cumberland River, which connects Clarksville and Nashville. It was Hutchins who named Red Paint Hill, a rock bluff at the confluence of the Red and Cumberland rivers. Less than 10 years after Hutchins' survey, in 1775, John Montgomery and Kaspar Mansker journeyed the area.

In 1779, James Robertson, sometimes called the "father" of Middle Tennessee, brought a group from upper East Tennessee to the area via Daniel Boone's "Wilderness Road" to Cumberland Gap. In 1793, he bought 640 acres near Cumberland Furnace to build an iron plantation.

In 1780, at Red Paint Hill, Moses Renfroe split off from a group of flat boats led by John Donelson that were bound for a settlement that later became Nashville.

Renfroe, along with his family and other relatives, journeyed up the Red River near the mouth of Parson's Creek where they came ashore to begin a new life. However, an attack by the land's natives during the summer drove the early settlers away. Conflicts with the land's natives remained a problem for the settlers, and in 1794, Montgomery led an attack on two Creek Indian settlements as a preemptive strike, since it was believed the Creek were planning attacks on Cumberland settlements. He was killed later that year by Indians while hunting in Kentucky.

Clarksville's origins date to January 16, 1784, when John Armstrong filed notice with the North Carolina Legislature of a proposed town. After an official notice with the North Carolina Legislature of a proposed town. After an official survey by James Sanders, the town of Clarksville was founded by the North Carolina Legislature on December 29, 1785. Lots, however, had been sold prior to the application being filed. A little more than 11 years after Clarksville's founding, in 1796, Tennessee gained its statehood. Present day Montgomery and Robertson counties were then called Tennessee County.

The two counties were split and renamed Montgomery and Robertson to honor the two men who helped open the region for settlement. By 1819, there were 22 stores in town, including a bakery and silversmith. Four main dirt roads leading to and from town, two heading to Nashville, Kentucky Road crossing the Red River via ferry and Russellville Road.

James Adams built the county's first courthouse out of logs in 1796 at the corner of present-day Washington Street and Riverside Drive. A second courthouse was built in 1805 and a year later the Tennessee Legislature ordered for the third one.

In 1811, the fourth courthouse, the first one to be made of brick, was built on the east half of Public Square. Marting Armstrong donated the land for the building. In 1843, a courthouse was built on the north side of Franklin Street. It, along with 15 acres of the downtown district, was destroyed in an April 13, 1878 fire,  known as the Great Fire of 1878.

The cornerstone of the current courthouse, between Second and Third Streets, was laid on May 16, 1879. The building was designed by George w. Bunting of Indianapolis.

Fiver years later, the first of several disasters struck the building when a tornado touched down and damaged the roof. The building was rebuilt. On March 12, 1900, the courthouse's upper floors were gutted and the clock tower destroyed in a fire. Afterwords, many citizens wanted to tear the edifice down and replace it with a safer, more modern structure.

Almost a century later, on January 22, 1999, the courthouse was once again severely damaged in a tornado. On January 22, 2003, the building was rededicated as a county office building. A new Courts Center was built behind the historic building.

The first newspaper in Clarksville and in the state of Tennessee was The Clarksville Chronicle, which started publication in 1808, though no editions now exist prior to 1811. Later, a second newspaper, The Tobacco Leaf, appeared, sparked by the area's growing reputation as a hub of tobacco growing and shipping.

The early newspapers were basic four-page journals devoted to political news and advertising. As these papers grew and developed, they became more complete publications, featuring more news and community information.

The city also had a black newspaper, The New Herald, from 1935 to 1938. Two other now-defunct newspapers, The Clarksville Jeffersonian and The Clarksville Star, were also published here.

In 1890, The Clarksville Chronicle and the Tobacco Leaf merged, forming The Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle. IN the 1970's, the name was shortened to The Leaf-Chronicle as the newspaper's coverage area grew.

The first railroad through Clarksville was the Memphis, Clarksville & Louisville Railroad, which began service October 1, 1859. the line eventually connected with other railroads at Paris, Tennessee and Guthrie, Kentucky.

After service interruption during the Civil War and an 11-day strike that began February 6, 1868, the railroad's financial woes mounted. In 1872, the railroad was purchased by the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, which had been leasing the road since 1868.

The Louisville & Nashville Railroad operated trains between Guthrie and Memphis as its Memphis Branch. Traffic continued to decline, and the last passenger train, the "Night Train to Memphis," stopped at Clarksville in February 1968. CSX, the subsequent owner of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, sold the line to R.J. Corman in 1987 and the regional railroad still operates trains over the line.

A second railroad? The Indiana, Alabama and Texas Railroad, incorporated on February 22, 1882, operated a 36 mile line between Clarksivlle and Gracey, Kentucky. The line was subsequently purchased by the Louisville & Nashville Railroad.

A third railroad? The Tennessee Central Railway opened in 1903 and connected Harriman and Hopkinsville, Kentucky. Trains, mostly freight, operated over the line until September 1, 1968, when the Illinois Central Gulf assumed operations between Hopkinsville and Nashville. A portion of the former Tennessee Central line, between Ashland City and Nashville, is still in use as a short line railroad.  

Confederate Gen. Albert Sidney Johnson set up a defense line nearby that ultimately faltered in February 1862. Johnston realized that if the Cumberland River should fall into Union hands, enemy gunboats would have free reign to railway bridges crossing the river, thus disabling confederate supply lines.

Just as Johnston anticipated, the Union sent troops and gunboats to take control of the town. Nearby Confederate embankments Fort Henry and Fort Donelson soon fell into Union control. From 1862 until the end of the war in 1865, Clarksville was primarily in Union hands, but at times Confederate troops controlled the town.

The modern era of Clarksville was welcomed n 1902 when the first automobile drove into town. Over the next three decades, residents would welcome in theaters, bus service and aviation. With the advent of World War I, residents here exemplified the Volunteer State nickname when a call to soldiers went out . On June 7, 1917, more than 2,500 men answered the call to join the Tennessee Infantry.

At the same time, woman's suffrage began, and local women left their mark on history. Most notably, Mrs. Frank J. Runyon established the First Woman's Bank of Tennessee in 1919.

An act of the General Assembly created Austin Peay Normal School named after the Tennessee governor as a two year junior college and teacher-training institution in 1927. Twelve years later, the state Board of Education authorized the school to inaugurate a curriculum leading to the Bachelor of Science degree. The degree was first conferred during graduation for the Class of 1942.

Austin Peay State University's plot of land has long been associated with education. Rural Academy first occupied the land from 1806 until 1810. From 1811 until 1824, the site served as home to Mount Pleasant Academy. Clarksville Academy called it home from 1825 until 1848. From 1849 until 1850, the land was home to Masonic College and then Montgomery County Masonic College until 1854. From 1855 until 1874, it was Stewart College. Southwestern Presbyterian college occupied the site until 1925.

Montgomery County has a history of deadly tornadoes. The deadliest came on April 27, 1970, according to the National Weather Service. Three people were killed here and 85 were injured in the F4 that touched down at 2 p.m. and ripped a 42-mile-long path through Montgomery, Robertson and Summer counties.

At about 4:14 a.m. January 22, 1999, an F3 tornado struck downtown and later dissipated near St. Bethlehem. That tornado destroyed much of the historic downtown area, leaving residents and business alike to rebuild. A total of 124 buildings were destroyed and 562 buildings were damaged for $72.64 million in damages.

The tornado which lasted five minutes left a 4.3-mile-long, 880-yard-wide path. Despite the massive damage to property, only five injuries were reported, two of them for broken bones. As many as 25,000 people were left without power. Like they had after other natural disasters, residents vowed to rebuild the city, which is evident today as new buildings spring up throughout downtown.

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