The First Evangelical Lutheran Church had its first meeting at the Nashville Courthouse. On May 1859, Rev. Herman Eggers was persuaded to come to Nashville so that he might care for the scattered Lutherans of the city. Pastor Eggers preached his first sermon on the last Sunday of July 1859, in the courthouse. A congregation was organized the last Sunday in August 1859. Services continued to be held in the Nashville courthouse until the Civil War began in 1861.
during Civil War Occupation
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Circa: 1880-1900
Library of Congress Archives Nashville Tennessee Collection
“According to County Court minutes, architect W. Francis Strickland, son of William Strickland, designer of the Tennessee State Capitol, was “employed at a salary of one thousand dollars per annum as architect of the court house.” The design chosen by Strickland was very similar to that of the Capitol building designed by his father. The building was to have a basement and three stories above ground, and was to be 118 feet by 72 feet in size. The Court first met in the new building in January 1859. The building was remodeled in 1910 with an additional story added. In 1935 this building, along with the City Hall and Market House, was demolished to make room for a new courthouse.”
-Nashville Historic Newsletter
Completed in 1937 at a cost of $2,000,000, the latest courthouse stands
eight stories tall.
October 19, 1937 (From a newspaper article photo)
The first multicolor night illumination of the two large fountains on the plaza directly in front of the then new Davidson County Courthouse. As I recall the fountains ran in season for about thirty years… -William W. Weems
The area looks naked now. The square is all but gone.
Historic Nashville 