State Library and Archives to Host “Chronicles of the Cumberland Settlements” Workshop

As the 1700s drew to a close, the Revolutionary War was over, but life was far from peaceful in places like Tennessee’s Cumberland Valley. Settlers in the region fought against various Native American tribes, haggled with North Carolina over territory and wrangled with the Spaniards over control of the area’s waterways.

That period in Tennessee’s history is among those highlighted in Paul Clements’ latest book, Chronicles of the Cumberland Settlements, which will be featured during the next in a series of workshops hosted by the Tennessee State Library and Archives (TSLA). The free workshop will be held Saturday, March 30 from 9:30 a.m. until 11 a.m. in the TSLA Auditorium.

Clements’ book is the result of more than 10 years of meticulous research and is a highly detailed account of the frontier history of Middle Tennessee. The book draws from more than 2,000 historical accounts, many from people who experienced the warfare that raged in the 1780s and 1790s. The book covers a wide range of events that took place in the region in the years before Tennessee became a state. Through the use of letters, transcripts from treaties, and official reports, the differing motivations and strategies of the various Indian nations and European powers are documented.

Clements, who will be the workshop’s featured speaker, has a deep interest in Middle Tennessee and has been researching the history of the region for the past 36 years. His first book, A Past Remembered, a study of the antebellum homes of Davidson County, was published in 1987. Following that work were three books on local individuals, an unpublished novel, and a succession of historical essays that have appeared monthly in the Nashville Retrospect, a local history publication.

The session is free and open to the public, but reservations are required due to limited seating in the auditorium. To make reservations, please e-mail workshop.tsla@tn.gov or call (615) 741-2764. TSLA’s building is located at 403 Seventh Avenue North, just west of the state Capitol in downtown Nashville. Limited parking is available in front, beside and behind the building.