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Category: Tennessee History

4-20-23

'A Better Life for Their Children' Captures Andrew Feiler's Passion for Preserving History

The follow appears in a slightly different form as the cover story to the Winter 2023 edition of the Museum's Quarterly newsletter. By Debbie Shaw In 2015, Andrew Feiler, a Jewish American photographer from Georgia, had a conversation that would inspire an important new project. While having lunch with the State of Georgia African American Program Coordinator Jeanne Cyriaque, Feiler learned of Rosenwald Schools. He recalled that he immediately went home, researched all that he could find on ... Read More
Black History Newsletter Photography Tennessee History

4-4-23

Curator's Corner - In the Late 1800s, Mary Sharp College Educated Young Women and Challenged the Education Establishment

Each month, Curator’s Corner welcomes a Tennessee State Museum curator to offer insight and interpretation on Museum artifacts and their connection to Tennessee history. By Miranda Fraley Rhodes, Ph.D. From 1851 to 1896, Winchester, Tennessee in Franklin County was home to Mary Sharp College (MSC), a remarkable school for young women. During these decades, many people believed theories about women being intellectually inferior to men, and most universities did not admit female students... Read More
Posted by Stephanie Davis
Tennessee History Women's History

3-7-23

Collection Highlight: Scopes Evolution Trial Archive

This story originally appeared in the Winter 2023 print edition of the Tennessee State Museum Quarterly Newsletter. Scopes Evolution Trial Archive, 1920s  The Museum recently acquired an exceptional photographic archive related to the Scopes Evolution Trial, more commonly known as the Scopes "Monkey" Trial. Formally “The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes,” the trial took place in Dayton, Tennessee, as a challenge to the Butler Act, a law that made the teaching of huma... Read More
Posted by Stephanie Davis
Museum Collection Newsletter Tennessee History

2-23-23

Curator's Corner - Robert E. Clay and Black Education in Tennessee

Each month, Curator’s Corner welcomes a Tennessee State Museum curator to offer insight and interpretation on Museum artifacts and their connection to Tennessee history. By Miranda Fraley Rhodes, Ph.D. “I have just gotten home from a thirty-eight days’ trip. The work has increased so that it takes nearly all my time on the road. I have been able to work with the County Supervisors, the Smith Hughes workers, the Principals of the County Training Schools and to adjust many ma... Read More
Posted by Stephanie Davis
Black History Rosenwald Schools Tennessee History

1-17-23

Artifacts from Inauguration Days Gone By

Poster, “Tennessee, Our State, Our Future, The Bredesen Inauguration 2007 (Tennessee State Museum collection, 2007.13.2) By Richard White Governor Bill Lee’s inauguration to a second term as Tennessee’s governor will take place on January 21, 2023. “Tennessee: Leading the Nation” is the theme for the event, which will include a worship service, ceremony, dinner, and inaugural ball over the course of the day. Inaugurations have long been a time to celebrate th... Read More
Tennessee History

1-11-23

Curator's Corner - Memphis, TN: Martin Luther King’s Last Campaign

Each month, Curator’s Corner welcomes a Tennessee State Museum curator to offer insight and interpretation on Museum artifacts and their connection to Tennessee history. By Tranae Chatman  In 1896, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of a “separate-but-equal doctrine” in the landmark decision of Plessy v. Ferguson. For the next 58 years, this legal doctrine (known as “Jim Crow”) supported segregated public accommodations for Black and white citizens acros... Read More
Posted by Stephanie Davis
Black History Tennessee History Tennessee in the 20th Century

12-17-22

The Most Popular Museum Blog Posts of 2022

In addition to exhibitions, museums use a variety of tools to tell stories. Here at the State Museum, that includes a plethora of programming, from lunchtime lectures to tours to classes and family events. We post videos to our Video portal. We publish a quarterly newsletter, a bi-weekly e-newsletter and a weekly children's e-newsletter. We share artifacts on our social media channels, and maintain two blogs, Junior Curators, geared toward a younger school-age audience, and Thousands... Read More
Tennessee History

11-29-22

Collection Highlights: Orr Family Furniture Group

This story originally appeared in the Fall 2022 print edition of the Tennessee State Museum Quarterly Newsletter. Orr Family Furniture Group, 1815 to 1825 The Museum has received a donation of two pieces of furniture with an outstanding Tennessee provenance from the Orr Family of Marshall County. This desk and bookcase, together with a cherry tall case clock, descended through the family of Robert Orr (1764–1855). The desk and bookcase are ornamented with striking inlay ... Read More
Posted by Stephanie Davis
Museum Collection Newsletter Tennessee History

11-17-22

Stitching a Story: Learning from African American Quilts

This story originally appeared in the Fall 2022 print edition of the Tennessee State Museum Quarterly Newsletter. By Candice Roland Candeto and Julia Doyle Equally functional and artistic, quilts provide warmth and decoration in the home. A quilt can speak to the environment of its creator—what materials were available to them, what friends or family may have contributed, and elements of their surroundings that are represented in the quilt’s motifs. Three newly acquired quilts at... Read More
Posted by Stephanie Davis
Black History Newsletter Quilts Tennessee History

11-8-22

A Hallowed Remembrance: The Tennessee War Memorial Building

As of November 13, 2022, the Tennessee State Museum is temporarily closing the Military Branch Museum in preparation for the upcoming renovation of the Tennessee War Memorial Building. by Ashley Howell After nearly a century, the Tennessee War Memorial is scheduled for a renovation, beginning in 2023, to preserve the historic building for future generations. Through the decades, the building has housed state offices of all branches of state government. Its auditorium has hosted gubernatorial ... Read More
Posted by Joseph Pagetta
Tennessee History World War I
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