Nashville's legacy as the "Athens of the South" began before the state even existed

Nashville has proudly carried the name “Athens of the South” for generations, thanks to the city’s role as the center of higher education in the South and the building of the replica of the Greek Parthenon in the heart of the city for the Tennessee Centennial and International Exposition Fair in 1897 .

But the beginning of the city’s educational legacy actually started nearly 100 years before that, with the building of the city’s first school titled Davidson Academy — before the state of Tennessee even existed.

In December 1785, the legislature of North Carolina, which at the time controlled most of the territory of Tennessee, passed an “act for the promotion of learning in the County of Davidson ," according to a June 16, 1906 Nashville Banner article.

Legislators said that the c