The Strange and Forgotten Laws That Used to Govern Nashville

Every city has its quirks, but Nashville has a long history of laws that make you stop, scratch your head, and say, “They really wrote that down?” When you dig back into the early codes of Music City, you find a mix of frontier caution, Victorian morality, and pure Southern uniqueness. Some of these rules made sense at the time. Others are just a reminder that our city has always had personality.

As a Nashville historian and someone who spends most days walking these streets, I love stumbling across old ordinances that tell us who we used to be. They make you see the city a little differently. They also make for great stories on tours.

Here are a few of the strangest forgotten laws that shaped Nashville.

You Could Get Arrested for Riding a Horse Too Fast on Church Street

In the 1800s, downtown Nashville was packed with horses, wagons, carriages, and pedestrians. Church Street was especially busy because it led straight to the city’s biggest markets. At one point, Nashville outlawed fast riding through downtown to prevent accidents.

The law literally banned “immoderate speed.” Nobody said what speed counted as moderate. So if a constable thought you were showing off, you could end up paying a fine for being the 19th century version of a guy revving his engine on Broadway.

When I lead my tours, I always point out how narrow these streets originally were. If you picture horses running full sprint down 3rd Avenue, the law suddenly makes perfect sense.

It Was Illegal to Keep a Pig Inside City Limits

We do have them at the Nashville Zoo, though

Today people bring mini pigs into apartments and treat them like dogs. In early Nashville, pigs running around downtown were a real problem. They got into trash, scared horses, and knocked over street vendors.

So the city made it illegal to keep pigs inside the urban core unless they were locked in “secure enclosures.” This was 10 years before Nashville outlawed livestock in the streets altogether.

Imagine walking down 2nd Avenue, trying to buy flour, and a hog runs between your legs. That is the kind of chaos these laws were trying to stop.

There Were Strict Rules About Where You Could Fire a Cannon

Nashville has a long military history, and in the early years, militia companies regularly drilled downtown. But too many enthusiastic volunteers fired their cannons without warning.

The city stepped in and created a rule that cannons could only be fired during parades, militia musters, or official ceremonies. No more “practice blasts” on random afternoons.

It is one of my favorite early ordinances because it tells you a lot about frontier Nashville. This was a town where unplanned cannon fire was common enough that someone finally said, “We need a rule about this.”

You Could Be Fined for Bathing in the Cumberland

The Cumberland River has always been the backbone of Nashville, but for a long time it doubled as the city bathtub. Steamboat crews, laborers, and entire families washed up in the river on hot days.

By the mid 1800s, the city decided enough was enough and passed a law banning “bathing in the river within view of the public.” It was less about modesty and more about protecting the city’s image. Visitors arriving by boat would see people getting fully cleaned up right there on the shoreline.

If you have ever been on our Riverfront walk, you can picture exactly where this used to happen.

It doesn't look that dirty though

It Was Illegal to Play Cards on Sunday

Tennessee took its Sabbath laws seriously. Nashville banned almost anything that looked like recreation on Sundays. Card games were explicitly outlawed within city limits. This included every game from poker to children’s games like Old Maid.

You could sell medicine. You could go to church. You could even fish if you pretended you were doing it for food. But if you got caught dealing a hand of cards at a tavern, the city could haul you in.

Sunday in early Nashville was a very different world.

Merchants Could Not Advertise Too Loudly

Nashville’s markets used to be as loud as a modern football game. Vendors shouted, musicians played, and street preachers added to the noise. In the 1840s, the city passed a rule against “excessive calling out” from vendors because the noise was overwhelming residents.

The law specifically targeted “shouting, yelping, and loud persuasion.” In other words, early Nashville banned hype men.

If only Broadway could hear about that ordinance.

I don't think Broadway got that memo

What These Old Laws Tell Us About Nashville

Every one of these long forgotten rules shows us what kind of city Nashville used to be. It was busy, loud, crowded, and full of life. People lived on top of each other. Horses, pigs, soldiers, river workers, and musicians all shared these same streets.

And just like today, when things got a little too wild, Nashville passed a new law to settle everyone down.

The funny part is that in some ways, nothing has changed. We still negotiate what kind of city we want to be. We still balance entertainment with order. And we still tell great stories about the characters who came before us.

If you want to hear more of these strange rules and the stories behind them, join us for a Nashville Adventures walking tour. We walk the same streets where these laws were written, debated, and broken. There is no better way to see how the past still shapes this city today.