The Tennessee History Nerd

We'd love to hear what you think! It's INTERVIEWSDAY! For this episode, I had the opportunity to sit down with Paul DeHaan—collector, researcher, and author of Damn the Torpedoes: Farragut & USS Hartford —whose work served as a primary narrative source for this week’s episode on Admiral David Farragut. This conversation was recorded on location at the Dauphin Island Welcome Center Mus...

We'd love to hear what you think! The Battle of Fort Donelson is often remembered for one famous phrase: "Unconditional Surrender." But the story of Fort Donelson is about much more than a single letter or a single battle. It is the story of a campaign that opened Tennessee to Union invasion. It is the story of bold leadership...and costly mistakes. It is the story of opportunities s...

We'd love to hear what you think! It's INTERVIEWSDAY! For this Interviewsday edition (Interview Tuesday) of The Tennessee History Nerd, I had the opportunity to sit down with Justin Reed, longtime radio personality, host of The Justin Reed Show, and possibly one of Tennessee's foremost enthusiasts of country music history. Justin has spent years sharing the stories behind the songs,...

We'd love to hear what you think! Benton County. To many travelers, it's simply the place where Interstate 40 crosses the Tennessee River on the way between Nashville and Memphis. But Benton County has been shaped by that river for more than two centuries. Before it was ever a county, it was part of the Chickasaw homeland acquired in the 1818 Jackson Purchase. It was originally named for...

We'd love to hear what you think! As a companion to Episode 8, I had the opportunity to sit down on-site at Old Stone Fort State Archaeological Park with Keith Wimberley, the park manager. Keith brings a unique perspective to the story of Old Stone Fort—not just from the standpoint of historical interpretation, but from daily, hands-on experience with the site itself. In this conversation, we...

We'd love to hear what you think! Mud Island. To most people crossing the Hernando De Soto Bridge, it looks like an island sitting quietly beside downtown Memphis. But Mud Island has never been simple. It began as a sandbar and mudflat created by the shifting currents of the Mississippi River. It became home to squatters living in shacks on stilts. Political leaders debated whether it should b...

We'd love to hear what you think! It's INTERVIEWSDAY (Interview Tuesday)! As part of the research for Episode 12 – A Pearl of a Story , I had the opportunity back in February 2026 to sit down with Bob Keast at the Tennessee River Freshwater Pearl Museum and Farm near Camden, Tennessee for an extended conversation about freshwater pearls, Tennessee rivers, aquaculture, the TVA, tourism, an...

We'd love to hear what you think! Bedford County is a county of crossroads. Formed in 1807 from the southern portion of Rutherford County and named for Revolutionary War veteran and early Tennessee pioneer Thomas Bedford, the county sits at the intersection of some of the most important transportation corridors in Middle Tennessee. Long before railroads crossed the region, the Warrior's P...

We'd love to hear what you think! It's Interviewsday!  On Tuesdays, as I am able and have interview inventory to release, I'm trying to share some of the interviews that we've done previously. This week, we're opening up one of our Patreon interviews for everyone to enjoy. When we released Episode 10, Horror on the Mississippi: The Forgotten Inferno , I had the opportunity...

We'd love to hear what you think! The State of Franklin. For four years, it existed in a place somewhere between a territory, a rebellion, and a nation. It had a governor. It had a legislature. It had courts. It levied taxes. It raised a militia. It negotiated treaties. It even petitioned Congress for admission into the United States. And yet today, it survives mostly as a footnote in Tennesse...

We'd love to hear what you think! Director, Sequoyah Birthplace Museum   In this companion interview to Episode 5, The Talking Leaves , we go beyond the narrative and into the details with Charlie Rhodarmer, director of the Sequoyah Birthplace Museum in Vonore, Tennessee. Drawing on his experience and deep familiarity with the site and its history, Charlie provides valuable context, clarificat...

We'd love to hear what you think! Anderson County has reinvented itself again and again. Founded in 1801 and named for U.S. Senator Joseph Anderson, the county began as part of Tennessee's frontier landscape of ridges, valleys, rivers, and scattered settlements. Over the next two centuries, it would become the setting for some of the most remarkable chapters in Tennessee history. This is...

We'd love to hear what you think! We're making this interview, which previously required a Patreon subscription to be able to access, available to the general public now--no subscription required. For Ep 7 - The Iron Men, I had the opportunity to sit down with Norman Jetmundsen—author, historian, and co-producer of Sewanee 1899: Unrivaled —whose work served as a primary narrative source f...

We'd love to hear what you think! Freshwater pearls may not be the first thing that comes to mind when people think about Tennessee history…but for decades, Tennessee rivers were at the center of one of the most unusual industries in America. Long before cultured pearls became common in jewelry stores, rivers across Tennessee produced natural freshwater pearls inside native mussels. By the lat...

We'd love to hear what you think! Division. Before there was Horseshoe Bend…there was a nation tearing itself apart. In the years leading up to the Creek War, the Muscogee Confederacy found itself divided over one question that would reshape the future of the American South: How do you survive the unstoppable expansion of the United States? Some Creek leaders believed accommodation and diploma...

We'd love to hear what you think! For a few terrible hours in April of 1865, the Mississippi River became the setting for one of the greatest disasters in American history. The Civil War was ending. Thousands of Union soldiers, recently freed from Confederate prison camps, were finally headed home. Many never made it. Packed far beyond capacity, the steamboat Sultana pushed north against the c...

We'd love to hear what you think! For a time, the quiet waters of Reelfoot Lake reflected more than cypress trees, flooded timber, and West Tennessee sky. They reflected fear. In the early 1900s, conflict over land, access, ownership, and outside control erupted around Reelfoot Lake. What began as a fight over the future of the lake became one of the darkest and most dramatic chapters in Tenne...

We'd love to hear what you think! Old Stone Fort has stood on this bluff above the Duck River for nearly two thousand years. Massive walls of stone and earth stretch across a natural peninsula, enclosing nearly fifty acres. To early settlers, it looked unmistakable—a fortress. A place built for defense. A place of war. But it wasn’t. In this episode, we walk through the long story of Old Stone...

We'd love to hear what you think! The 1899 University of the South (Sewanee) Tigers football team is one of the most remarkable stories in the history of college athletics.  In a single six-day stretch, this team traveled by train across the South and defeated five opponents—shutting out each one—without the benefits enjoyed by modern teams. It’s a story of endurance, discipline, and a level o...

We'd love to hear what you think! There are moments in history that become larger than life—reduced to a single phrase, a single decision, a single flash of action. “Damn the torpedoes.” But behind that moment is a life shaped long before Mobile Bay. In this episode, we trace the full arc of Admiral David Glasgow Farragut—from his beginnings along the Tennessee River near Campbell’s Station… t...

We'd love to hear what you think! Sequoyah, a Cherokee silversmith with no formal education, created a written language for his people—transforming a primarily oral culture into a literate society in less than a generation. In this episode of The Tennessee History Nerd , we explore the life and legacy of Sequoyah, the development of the Cherokee syllabary, and the lasting impact of one of the...

We'd love to hear what you think! In 1796, Tennessee became the 16th state in the Union—but that moment didn’t come easily. Before statehood, this land was a rugged frontier—marked by scattered settlements, political uncertainty, and a determined push toward self-government. The people here weren’t waiting around for permission. They were building something. In this first episode of The Tennes...

We'd love to hear what you think! Why is Tennessee called the Volunteer State ? It’s one of those names everyone recognizes—but not everyone really understands. The answer isn’t just a slogan or a bit of folklore. It’s a story rooted in moments when Tennesseans stepped forward—sometimes unexpectedly—and left a lasting mark on American history. In this episode of The Tennessee History Nerd , we...

We'd love to hear what you think! There was a time when people traveled from across the region to a quiet corner of Tennessee—not for business, not for politics, but for healing. Tucked away in Warren County, Nicholson Springs Resort was once a thriving destination. Visitors came for the mineral waters, the scenery, and the promise of restoration. For a season, it flourished. And then… it was...

We'd love to hear what you think! In the years after the Civil War, freedom had come—but stability had not. In Nashville, a small group of students at Fisk University faced an uncertain future. Their school was struggling. Resources were scarce. The path forward wasn’t clear. So they did something unexpected. They sang. What began as a desperate effort to raise funds became something far great...