Clarksville, city, seat of Montgomery County, northern Tennessee, at the junction of the Cumberland and Red rivers; incorporated as a town 1785, as a city 1855. The city is an important market in a tobacco- and livestock-raising region; its many manufactures include home appliances, zinc, chemicals, tobacco products, clothing, lumber, and printed materials. Austin Peay State University is here, and Fort Campbell is nearby. Settled in 1780, the community grew as a commercial river port. It is named for the American Revolution general George Rogers Clark. Population 54,777 (1980); 75,494 (1990); 103,455 (2000).
