Downtown in Nashville in Davidson County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)
Thomas G. Bradford and the Nashville Citizen
Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, August 17, 2022
1. Thomas G. Bradford and the Nashville Citizen Marker
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Industry & Commerce.
Location. 36° 9.977′ N, 86° 46.705′ W. Marker is in Nashville, Tennessee, in Davidson County. It is in Downtown. It can be reached from 3rd Avenue North. Located within Nashville Public Square Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 432-454 3rd Ave N, Nashville TN 37201, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Middle Tennessee. It is also in the American South and specifically in the Upper South. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Poll Tax / 19th Amendment (here, next to this marker); Robert "Black Bob" Renfro (here, next to this marker); 1933 Tornado in Nashville (a few steps from this marker); Nashvillians and the Great Depression (a few steps from this marker); African Methodist Episcopal Church Sunday School Union (a few steps from this marker); Hot Air Balloon Launch (a few steps from this marker); Nashville' Public Square (within shouting distance of this marker); Nashville's Public Square (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Nashville.
Additional commentary.
this page online
Thomas G. Bradford was indeed Nashville's most productive early printer, but he never published a newspaper called the "Citizen." Nashvilles first newspaper "The Rights of Man, or the Nashville Intelligencer" was published by John McLaughlin in 1799. Only four issues have survived.
The city may have been without a newspaper until Benjamin J. Bradford began the "Tennessee Gazette and Mero District Advertiser" in 1803. His cousin Thomas G. Bradford came to Nashville about 1806 and they entered into a partnership. The name of the newspaper became "The Clarion" in 1808, and later "The Democratic Clarion." From 1809 to 1813 was the "Democratic Clarion and Nashville Gazette." Benjamin Bradford died in 1814 and Thomas continued publishing in Nashville until 1819; his last paper was called "The Clarion and Tennessee Gazette." (Among other sources, see the U.S. Newspaper Directory on the Library of Congress web site)
— Submitted April 16, 2025, by Charles Sherrill of Nashville, Tennessee.
Credits. This page was last revised on April 20, 2025. It was originally submitted on September 16, 2022, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. This page has been viewed 874 times since then and 36 times this year. Photo 1. submitted on September 16, 2022, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. • Mark Hilton was the editor who published this page.
