Did you know that Tennessee’s state capital wasn’t always located in Nashville?
Tennessee’s first capital was located in Knoxville, Tennessee. Knoxville served as the capital and during this time the drafting of the state’s constitution occurred and the first meeting of the Tennessee General Assembly from 1796 to 1812.
The General Assembly then moved to the city of Nashville and this was the capital for the next 5 years.
However, there was one more city that served as the state’s capital but only for one day!
This city that I am referring to is none other than Kingston, Tennessee.
Kingston served as the capital for one day when the general assembly met in 1807 to discuss and to fulfill a treaty obligation that they had made with the Cherokee tribe.
In 1817, the capital of Tennessee once again returned to Knoxville but in 1818 the General Assembly moved to Mufreesboro, Tennessee which is the geographic center of the state. There they met at a local Presbyterian Church until 1826, when the assembly moved back to Nashville for the second time.