Fort Adair - History

History

Captain John Adair (1732–1827), a native of Ireland, built Fort Adair either in 1788 or around 1791 at Grassy Valley, Tennessee. The station was intended to provide supplies for westward-bound migrants and to protect them from hostile Cherokee Indians during the years of the Chickamauga Wars. The existence of a supply depot attracted European settlers to the area and contributed to the development of a settlement around the fortification. Nearby springs provided a constant source of fresh water. Fort Adair served as a supply station for the Cumberland Guard and later for the town of Nashborough, which would become modern Nashville. The Cumberland Guard was a militia organization providing armed protection to migrants to the Cumberland settlements, which would later develop into the town of Nashborough.

The present day community of Fountain City began to develop around the supply depot Fort Adair shortly after its completion. Originally named Grassy Valley, the settlement was renamed to Fountain Head and later to Fountain City to avoid confusion with another settlement of the same name. Since its annexation in 1962, Fountain City is a neighborhood of northern Knoxville, Tennessee.