islature approved the Louisville & Nashville Railroad company to build a railroad from the state border with Kentucky to Nashville (the section from Louisville to the state border was approved a year earlier). Eight years later, on October 27, 1859, a train traveled the entire distance from Louisville to Nashville – the first trip along the length of the railroad. In 1861, as the United States split and the Civil War began, the L&N grew in importance. In the early stages of the war, the L&N served both the Confederacy and the Union. Later in the war, the railroad solidified its status as a major hub in the South, as the "Union army used Nashville as a staging area, equipment warehouse, and place to care for sick and injured soldiers." The railroad emerged from the war virtually unscathed, due to the Union's dependence on Nashville and began to take over the remainder of Nashville's railroads, and by 1884, the L&N was one of the South's two powerhouses. With Nashville as a hub, transportation prices dropped compared to other parts of Tennessee, and giving certain Nashville industries, including flour milling, hardwood, and iron foundries a comparative advantage. Despite its three strong industries, which prospered up until the 1930s, Nashville never became a major manufacturing center, and its leaders were disappointed in its growth as the twentieth century quickly approached.
             While its railroad helped Nashville grow, it was not the city's only strength in the early 20th century. Nashville's first bank, and the first in the state of Tennessee, was founded by George Deaderick in 1807 and named Bank of Nashville. The Bank of Nashville was Nashville's first bank to develop branches in surrounding towns, and led to other banks being founded. Among the most important were Fourth and First National Bank, Nashville Trust Company, and American National. In July 1912, the largest ban...