08/20/2025
Meet Kasper Mansker, the first settler in Goodlettsville, TN!
Kasper Mansker was of German descent and was born in 1749 while at sea aboard the immigrant vessel Christian, before his parents settled in Pennsylvania. He was a natural woodsman and hunter, quickly gaining a reputation as a crack shot and skilled survivalist. In his teens, he moved to Virginia where he became a “longhunter,” a professional fur hunter and trapper.
In 1768, Kasper took his first expedition to the land we now know as Middle Tennessee. After a successful hunt, he traveled to Natchez, which was then under Spanish control, to sell his haul. He made enough money to buy a white wedding dress. After a stay in New Orleans, he made the trek back to Virginia in 1770 where he and Elizabeth White eloped, much against her parents’ wishes.
Mansker made two more hunting and exploration trips to the Middle Tennessee area in 1771 and 1775 before deciding to settle there. In late 1779, he arrived with the “Immortal Seventy” in what is now Goodlettsville, TN, and built a fort alongside Mansker’s Creek, which he named after himself.
About a year later, the fort was abandoned due to Native American attacks, and Kasper and Elizabeth moved to French Lick Fort, now known as Nashville. In 1783, they returned and built a new fort about a mile from the original. This fort was never destroyed and eventually grew into what is now the city of Goodlettsville.
After many adventures, including taking part in the Battle of New Orleans, Kasper Mansker died on December 20, 1821, at age seventy-two. He holds the distinction of being one of the very first English speakers in Middle Tennessee and the founder of the city of Goodlettsville. He is buried in Peay Park, near Goodlettsville City Hall.
Discover more about Kasper Mansker and the early days of Goodlettsville at Mansker’s Station, where history comes alive.
