The Meaning Behind the Name| Germantown

Next neighborhood up on our blog series is Germantown.

4. Germantown

Germantown is known as Nashville’s first suburb. 18 square blocks located in the center of the local German community gave the neighborhood the name “Germantown” om the 1800’s and officially incorporate into the city of Nashville in 1865. One of the first German families to put down roots in Nashville, John H. Buddeke and his wife, Mary Ratterman, were quite successful and built a large house in the late 1830s that still stands in Germantown today. This success led to friends and family moving to the city. Between the years 1845 to 1855, more than a million Germans moved to America to escape economic and political turmoil in their country, some of whom made their way to Nashville. Another wave of Germans came to Nashville after 1865, knowing that a strong community existed here. They came during a surge of migration to Nashville with the city’s population soaring from 16,988 in 1860 to 80,865 by 1900.

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