"James Robertson and John Donelson, who lead settlement parties from Fort Patrick Henry to the Salt Lick where the Old Natchez Trace crossed the Cumberland River, are known as the co-founders of Nashville, which was the new name given to Fort Nashborough in 1784.

"Robertson later became known as the 'Father of Tennessee.'

"As a young man Andrew Jackson rode into the town in 1788, and had a great effect upon Nashville, and Tennessee and the building of the new nation along its frontier. His exploits along the Natchez Trace were many. We know of his famous trip down the Trace to marry Rachel Donelson Robards outside of Natchez. She was the daughter of John Donelson who brought the flotilla of boats to the great bend of the Cumberland River. Jackson's plantation home, the Hermitage, is a few miles east of Nashville.

"Nashville has been the capitol of Tennessee since 1843, and though you may know it today as the 'Country Music Capitol of the World' it also carries the nickname of the 'Athens of the South' because of its numerous institutions of higher education plus its many buildings designed in the classical Greek style. There's even a replica of the Parthenon standing in Centennial Park.

"Join us next time when we visit GARRISON CREEK. I'm Frank Thomas, your guide along the Natchez Trace, a road through the wilderness."

For more about Natchez Trace: A Road Through the Wilderness, visit eddieandfrank.com