Gallatin

History

Prior to Gallatin's official establishment, the area along Station Camp Creek was secured by early pioneers. In 1780, Captain William Asher established Asher's Station. This fortified stockade served as a vital defensive outpost and a voting hub under the Cumberland Compact. Gallatin was later established in 1802 as the permanent county seat of Sumner County, in what is called the Middle Tennessee region of the state. The town was named after Albert Gallatin, Secretary of Treasury to Presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Andrew Jackson became one of the first to purchase a lot when the town was surveyed and platted in 1803. The town was built around a traditional plan of an open square. Jackson founded the first general store in Gallatin. In 1803, the first county courthouse and jail were built on the central town square. In 1815, the town was incorporated. In the mid-20th century, it operated under a charter established by a 1953 Private Act of the State Legislature. During the secession crisis just before the Civil War, the citizens of Gallatin hoped to remain neutral; they were opposed to secession from the Union. Once the fighting began, however, they gave almost unanimous support to the Confederacy and volunteered to serve in defense of their state. The Union Army captured Gallatin in February 1862, following Ulysses S. Grant's capture of Fort Donelson. Gallatin was strategic both because of the railroad, which ran east–west through the state, and its location on the Cumberland River, both of which the Union Army sought to control. In July 1862, General John Hunt Morgan recaptured Gallatin and held it until October, when the Confederate forces fell back to Chattanooga. In November 1862, Union General Eleazer A. Paine retook the town, and Union troops…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which are land and (2.18%) is covered by water. Gallatin has variety of natural landscapes: open fields, forests, hills, and lakes. The city is located on Station Camp Creek, 3 mi (5 km) north of the Cumberland River, which was the chief route of transportation in the county's early years of settlement. Old Hickory Lake, a man-made lake built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as a result of a dam and lock on the Cumberland River, is located southwest of the city near Hendersonville. Gallatin was on the path of the total solar eclipse of August 21, 2017. Totality of the eclipse, lasting 2 minutes, 38.7 seconds, occurred just before 1:30 PM local DST time (18:28:52.3 UTC) High temperatures average during the winter, in spring, in summer, and in fall. The coolest month is January, and July is the warmest. The lowest recorded temperature was in 1985. The highest recorded temperature was in 2007. The maximum average precipitation occurs in March.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• Gallatin Senior High School
  High · Gallatin · 1,659 students · 15.4:1 ratio
• Hendersonville High School
  High · Hendersonville · 1,537 students · 16.5:1 ratio
• Beech Sr High School
  High · Hendersonville · 1,475 students · 16.6:1 ratio
• Station Camp High School
  High · Gallatin · 1,110 students · 14.2:1 ratio
• Station Camp Elementary
  Elementary · Gallatin · 872 students · 17.4:1 ratio
• Station Camp Middle School
  Middle · Gallatin · 861 students · 15.4:1 ratio
• Jack Anderson Elementary
  Elementary · Hendersonville · 830 students · 15.1:1 ratio
• Dr. William Burrus Elementary at Drakes Creek
  Elementary · Hendersonville · 741 students · 16.1:1 ratio