58 



RESOURCES OF TENNESSEE. 



animals of the region in their search for salt, and in consequence attracted 

 the Indians and later white hunters, fur traders, and finally the pioneer 

 settlers. Nashville, for instance, owes its location chiefly to the existence 

 of a large salt lick where the French, as early as 1713, established a trad- 

 ing post. The presence of bluffs along the river was probably an addi- 

 tional, though subordinate, factor in determining its location. 



Development. Most settlements in the region were largely the result 

 of chance or individual preference. Perhaps the existence of a large 

 spring was more nearly a determining factor than any one thing ; while a 



FIG 6. Marginal view of the Highland Rim and the Central Plain. 



chance mill or some small stream or a crossroads store with the black- 

 smith or cobbler's shop that often accompanied it, may have formed a 

 neuclus for the development of a town. Most towns of the Central Plain 

 show scarcely more important determining factors for their location than 

 these. The growth of the towns of the region has depended for the most 

 part on the fertility of the immediately surrounding country, and upon 

 the transportation facilities and. proximity of neighboring towns. 



The development of highways presented no difficulty on such a rolling 

 to nearly level surface and roads were built wherever desired. The same 

 thing has been true of railways. They have been constructed without 

 difficulty across any part of the Central Plain. They have, however, met 

 with considerable difficulty when attempting to leave this plain, since it 



