19th Century neighborhood snapshots from newspaper archives

From the Nashville Banner, Monday evening, July 18, 1881 (in the Downtown Library archives):

North Nashville
There were several fights in North Nashville yesterday between drunken negroes and trifling white women, yet no one received any severe injuries.

Suppression of the Causes of Vice
Selling whisky outside of house from the Thirteenth Ward* to Fisk University.
[At a meeting of citizens of the Thirteenth Ward at Freewill Baptist Church:]
"Resolved, That the beer garden as conducted in this portion of Nashville is very corrupting to morals, and in some of them the boisterous revelry and utter disregard of out Sabbath, make them great nuisances in the community"

East Nashville
There is no abatement in the nightly throwing of terpentine or coal oil balls by boys both white and balck. If it is not stopped great damage may ensue to such property.

*From Nashville Directory, 1881:

THIRTEENTH WARD--Beginning at the Cumberland river, northeast along L. & N. & G. S. R. R. to Marina and city limits to Cowan av., south along Cowan av. to Dickerson, southwest along Dickerson to Oldham, west along Oldham to Cumberland River, south along said river to the beginning.