Clarksville likes to refer to itself as the gateway to the ‘new’ south. This is a great way to describe this city in transition. Not that it is a bumpy transition. The city of Clarksville has expertly navigated the seas of change and found itself on the cusp of a new America and all of the challenges it faces.

What exactly is the ‘new’ south anyway? Well, that is a complex question, but one that serves some probing. The history of the south is one that is derived from its agricultural roots. The same can be said for Tennessee and Clarksville. While much of the country, because of their deficiency in agriculture had little choice but to begin the march to industrialism, the south stayed rooted in agriculture.

Many in Clarksville saw this as a truly natural and honest way of living, and to be fair it was (after slavery was abolished that is). But soon, as other agricultural markets began popping up, and farms were sold to corporations, the idea of the yeoman farmer began to fade away.

Clarksville, like many southern cities decided to switch their focus to the new economy, technology. So, almost as if they skipped a step, Clarksville bypassed manufacturing altogether and embraced technology and all of the jobs that came with it. Soon the city was thriving again, and earned its title, gateway to the new south.