Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish Communities The Jewish
population of Tennessee has always been concentrated in the
state’s four largest cities. Nowhere is this more evident than
in Clarksville, Tennessee, which is the state’s fifth largest
and fastest growing city, but which has never had a significant
Jewish population. In 2005, over 123,000 people lived in
Clarksville, only a handful of which were Jews. Nestled on the
banks of the Cumberland River, Clarksville is located in the
Ohio Valley, just 45 minutes north of Nashville. Founded in 1785
and named for the noted revolutionary war hero George Rogers
Clark, Clarksville was initially opened to settlement by
veterans of George Washington’s Continental Army. The city grew
in the early 19th century as it became linked to other cities
through river boat traffic, improved roads, and eventually, in
1859, the railroad. Tobacco was the area’s main cash crop, and
tobacco plantations sprouted along with an increasing number of
slaves. Clarksville strongly supported s