Clarksville's Slave Market

Clarksville's Slave Market is a Tennessee historical marker in Montgomery County.

139 Franklin St

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Prior to the Civil War, kept in a pen located on this corner, enslaved people waited to be sold at auction at the county courthouse. Prior to the fire of 1878, the courthouse stood on the north side of Franklin Street between 1st and 2nd. Enslavers also sold many of the people enslaved at the Market House located in the middle of the Public Square. In 1860, the enslaved population constituted almost half of the people living in Montgomery County. Clarksville's tobacco industry especially profited from enslaved labor.

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1844 · Kentucky (H. S. Tanner, 1844) (Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1862 · Johnson's Kentucky & Tennessee (1862) (Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1863 · Military Map of the States of Kentucky and Tennessee. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1864 · Kentucky And Tennessee (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1876 · County and Road Map of Kentucky. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)

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What that marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years there.

From one family's 77-marker roster

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Marker text and location from the Tennessee Historical Commission, as the Commission publishes them on its marker map.

More markers nearby

Clarksville Civil Rights Movementunder 1 mi
Kennedy & Glenn's Bankunder 1 mi
Montgomery County Courthouseunder 1 mi
Austin Peayunder 1 mi