Blog | Tennessee State Museum

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 gubernatoria... Read More

Posted by Joseph Pagetta at 11-8-22

Tennessee History World War I

10-12-22

Lessons from Ledgers: Businessman John S. Fielder of Lexington

By Miranda Fraley-Rhodes Local merchants in towns throughout Tennessee provided important services to their communities. John S. Fielder operated a store in Lexington, Henderson County, Tennessee from the late 1840s until his death in the 1880s. Fielder established this business with the help of his father L.L. Fielder of Gibson County. For many years, he provided his West Tennessee neighbors with products they needed from medicines to farm wagons. Thanks to the generosity... Read More

Posted by Joseph Pagetta

Tennessee History

10-12-22

Exploring the Complexity of Family in 'Memphis'

Note: Tara Stringfellow will read from and discuss Memphis with Kashif Andrew Graham — Outreach Librarian for Religion and Theology at Vanderbilt Divinity Library and a freelance writer — on Saturday, October 15 at 10:30 a.m. in the Nashville Public Library Commons Room as part of the TN Writers | TN Stories: Author Talks at the State Museum series at the Southern Festival of Books. The reading will be preceded by a light coff... Read More

Posted by Joseph Pagetta

TN Writers | TN Stories

9-25-22

When Love Came to Town: U2 at Sun Studio

U2 at Sun Studio on November 2, 1987. Island Records Promo Photo for the Rattle and Hum album and film. From https://www.706unionavenue.nl/66304695. by Joe Pagetta According to James Dickerson’s account in his 1996 book, Goin’ Back to Memphis, Sun Studio owner Gary Hardy didn’t know which band he was booking when A&M Records called him in October of 1987 to secure some time the following month. All they said was that they wanted an “authentic” rockabi... Read More

Music History

9-5-22

'In the Wild Light' of Appalachia

Note: Jeff Zentner will discuss In the Wild Light with Stephanie Koehler on Saturday, September 10 at 10:30 a.m. at the Museum as part of the TN Writers | TN Stories: Author Talks at the State Museum series. The reading will be preceded by a reception beginning at 10:00 a.m. The series is presented in partnership with Humanities Tennessee, Chapter 16 and Vanderbilt University Press. by Sarah Carter for Chapter 16 “My life is... Read More

Posted by Joseph Pagetta

TN Writers | TN Stories

8-30-22

Protecting and Exhibiting Textiles at the Tennessee State Museum

By Julia Doyle and Richard White If you are a frequent visitor to the Tennessee State Museum, you may notice a few artifact changes within the galleries in the coming weeks, especially with our textile collection. A consistent rotation schedule for textiles is a necessary preventative measure to reduce exposure to environmental factors that can deteriorate fabric. Textiles are particularly sensitive due to their organic nature, so frequent rotation can slow deterioration and help keep... Read More

Civil War Flags

8-8-22

A People's Guide to Social Justice History in Nashville

Note: Learotha Williams, Ph.D. will discuss I’ll Take You There: Exploring Nashville’s Social Justice Sites with Steve Haruch — journalist, writer, editor and producer on This is Nashville on WPLN — on Saturday, August 13 at 10:30 a.m. at the Museum as part of the TN Writers | TN Stories: Author Talks at the State Museum series. The reading will be preceded by a reception beginning at 10:00 a.m.... Read More

Posted by Joseph Pagetta

Black History Native American History TN Writers | TN Stories

7-7-22

Exploring the Nashville Story of Hot Chicken

Note: Rachel Louise Martin will discuss Hot, Hot Chicken: A Nashville Story with Khalil Ekulona — host of This is Nashville on WPLN — on Saturday, July 9 at 10:30 a.m. at the Museum as part of the TN Writers | TN Stories: Author Talks at the State Museum series. The reading will be preceded by a reception beginning at 10:00 a.m. Reservations are requested here. The series is presented in partnership with Humanities T... Read More

Posted by Joseph Pagetta

Black History Tennessee Foodways TN Writers | TN Stories

6-16-22

The AIDS Epidemic in Tennessee: Grassroots Advocacy in the Three Grand Divisions

It was known as the Gay Disease...It was a scary time…You didn’t know if you could shake hands, if could touch, if you could just be in the same room as someone, we didn’t know for a long time how it was. Or if you had to be gay to get it. It was very bizarre at first. -Tommy Lawson (Nashville Community AIDS Activist)[1] By Philip Staffelli-Suel The acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic emerged in Tennessee in the early 1980s as in the rest of the co... Read More

Posted by Joseph Pagetta

LGBTQ History Tennessee History

6-2-22

Exploring the History of African American Lodges and Cemeteries in Tennessee

Note: Leigh Ann Gardner will read from To Care for the Sick and Bury the Dead: African American Lodges and Cemeteries in Tennessee, and discuss the book with Natalie Bell — journalist, author and historian, and board member of the Nashville Chapter of the Afro-American Genealogical Society — on Saturday, June 11 at 11 a.m. at the Museum as part of the TN Writers | TN Stories: Author Talks at the State Museum series. The reading will be ... Read More

Posted by Joseph Pagetta

Black History Reconstruction TN Writers | TN Stories

5-31-22

From The Chicks to Here: Women Fighting for a Voice in Country Music

Marissa R. Moss will read from Her Country, and discuss the book with Jewly Hight — WNXP editorial director and NPR music reporter — on Thursday, June 30 at 6 p.m. (Reception at 5 p.m.) at the Museum as part of the TN Writers | TN Stories: Author Talks at the State Museum series. Reservations are requested here. This is the rescheduled date after the postponement of the June 9 event. Those who RSVP for that event will have to re-registe... Read More

TN Writers | TN Stories Women's History

5-2-22

The Story of Chinese Laborers and the Reconstruction South

By Joyska Nunez-Medina May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. According to the 2020 census, 178,683 people in Tennessee reported themselves as Asian alone or in combination. This was a 58% increase from 2010. The history of Asian immigration to the area begins in the 1870s, when Chinese people settled in Memphis, building businesses and lives in the Delta. But only a few years prior, southern landowners and businessmen established the roots of a doomed plan to contract Ch... Read More

Posted by Joseph Pagetta

4-13-22

When Paying a Poll Tax in Tennessee Was the Norm

by Miranda Fraley-Rhodes, Ph. D. On August 2, 1894, a Black man named C.A. McCamey (also spelled McKamey) paid $2.00 in state and county poll taxes in Knox County and saved his tax receipt. It is now in the collection of the Tennessee State Museum. This document and others like it, though small and modest in appearance, help preserve the stories of African Americans and others who worked to maintain their right to vote despite the poll taxes implemented to disenfranchise them. Poll... Read More

Posted by Joseph Pagetta

Black History

3-11-22

Tennessee State Museum a Stop on Women’s Sports History Tour

This year, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the passage of Title IX in 1972, Nashville Sites has released a driving tour focusing on women’s sports history across the Volunteer state. Funded and sponsored by the Metro Historical Commission Foundation, Nashville Sites's tour looks at women’s athletics both before and after the passage of Title IX, which prohibited sex-based discrimination in any school or other education program that receives funding from the federal... Read More

Sports Women's History

This Is War: World War I Battlefield Replica Keeps Tennessee Military Memory Alive

By Lisa Budreau, Ph.D. This article appears in the Winter 2022 Issue of the Tennessee State Museum Quarterly newsletter. As visitors enter the Military Branch of the Tennessee State Museum at War Memorial Building, a bronze plaque near the entrance serves as a reminder that without the dedicated efforts of state librarian and historian, John T. Moore, and his veteran friend, Captain George Wellington Beerworth, the Museum’s 20th century military collection mig... Read More

Posted by Melina Ludwig at 3-2-22

Military History Museum Collection World War I WWI

2-17-22

A Smoky Mountain Home: The Story of Cabinetmaker Lewis Buckner

by Annabeth Dooley Lying on the border between East Tennessee and Western North Carolina, Sevier County is considered a scenic gateway to the Great Smoky Mountains. Its borders encompass Gatlinburg. It’s the birthplace of Dolly Parton. At the turn of the twentieth century, it was home to another important Tennessean, cabinetmaker Lewis Buckner (1856-1924). Arguably one of Tennessee’s premier craftspeople, much of Buckner’s finely carved furniture and architectural elements... Read More

Posted by Joseph Pagetta

Black History

12-21-21

The Most Popular Museum Blog Posts of 2021

Best-of lists often sum up trends and themes for both writers and readers that are indicative of the year. Last year's "Most Popular Blog Posts" list revealed a clear interest in women's history and social justice. This year's list, much like the roller coaster of the year we've had, bounces a bit all over the place, with posts on the history of segregated schools, recording technology, sports, public art, the decorative arts and more rising to the top of reader (and... Read More

Posted by Joseph Pagetta

Black History Music History Sports

10-15-21

Women and the Elizabethton Rayon Strike of 1929

By Amanda McCrary Smith In 1929, the Tennessee city of Elizabethton in Carter County became the site of one of the largest organized labor strikes in the country. Textile workers, mostly women, came together to fight for better wages, equity in promotions, and their right to union representation. What began as a worker’s walkout in a small Tennessee town grew to influence a vibrant movement for worker’s rights across the Southeast’s textile factories. Home to both American... Read More

Posted by Joseph Pagetta

Women's History

10-5-21

Following the Seams: The Nancy Reece Story

This story originally appeared in the Summer 2021 print edition of the Tennessee State Museum Quarterly Newsletter. by Annabeth Hayes and Amanda McCrary Smith In June, the Museum opened a new self-guided tour and online exhibition, Tennessee at 225: Highlights from the Collection, to commemorate Tennessee’s 225 years of statehood. While each of the 100 objects we chose for the tour tells a story, looking closely at one, Nancy Reece’s sampler (TN225 artifact No. 18), illust... Read More

Posted by Joseph Pagetta

Native American History Native Americans

9-8-21

'Mastodons to Mississippians' Explores Middle Tennessee's Ancient Past

On our Videos page, watch a video of Aaron Deter-Wolf, prehistoric archaeologist with the Tennessee Division of Archaeology, discussing the story of the saber-tooth discovery in downtown Nashville, and what new scientific research reveals about the lives and diets of ice age predators. by Maria Browning for Chapter16.org The remote past of the place we now call Nashville has been the source of a fair share of fanciful lore, from a hoax about an antediluvian human giant (i... Read More

Posted by Joseph Pagetta

Native American History Native Americans

8-27-21

The History of Emancipation Day in Tennessee

by Stephanie Davis The Emancipation Proclamation is widely known as the document that declared enslaved people free. Issued by President Abraham Lincoln on September 22, 1862, the Proclamation declared that “all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.” However, it was preliminary in nature, meant to persuade the Confederate states... Read More

Posted by Joseph Pagetta

Black History

8-23-21

SEC: The Creation and Expansion of the Southeastern Conference

by Matthew Gailani Earlier this summer it was announced that the University of Texas and the University of Oklahoma, two programs steeped in college football history, would potentially be joining the sport’s premier conference, the Southeastern Conference (SEC). This news was quickly followed by a unanimous vote of the 14 SEC schools to allow Texas and Oklahoma into their ranks. Shortly after, the Texas and Oklahoma Boards of Regents accepted the offers, and both universities are set t... Read More

Posted by Joseph Pagetta

Sports

7-27-21

Remembrance: Military Representation through Public Art at the Tennessee State Capitol

Above: Photograph, “The Capitol Nashville (Tenn.),” by George Barnard, 1864, Tennessee Historical Society Collection How Tennesseans have chosen to remember their pasts has changed over time. One example of this type of change concerns the recent relocation of sculptures of Confederate Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest, U.S. Admiral David Glasgow Farragut, and U.S. Admiral Albert Gleaves from the Tennessee State Capitol to the Tennessee State Museum. The relocation occurr... Read More

Posted by Joseph Pagetta

Tennessee State Capitol

6-14-21

Reflecting on 225 Years of Tennessee History, Through 100 Artifacts and Five Themes

A version of this story appears in the Spring 2021 Issue of the Tennessee State Museum Quarterly Newsletter. Curators Annabeth Hayes and Brigette Jones will discuss Tennessee at 225 at our Lunch & Learn on Wednesday, June 16 12 p.m. CDT. It will take place live in the Museum's Digital Learning Center and be streamed live on our Videos portal. by Annabeth Hayes and Brigette Jones This year marks the 225th anniversary since Tennessee became the nation’s 16th state on ... Read More

Posted by Joseph Pagetta

Tennessee History

6-4-21

C.T. Vivian Devoted His Life to Justice and Nonviolence

by Aram Goudsouzian for Chapter16.org Imagine a punch to your face. Imagine that it is 1965, and you have led a march from Brown Chapel to the Dallas County Courthouse in Selma, Alabama, with the intention of registering 40 African Americans to vote. Imagine that you are met by Sheriff Jim Clark, a notoriously violent enforcer of the white supremacist order. He denies you entry. You challenge his principles. He clubs with you his meaty left fist, and you tumble down the courthouse s... Read More

Posted by Joseph Pagetta

5-18-21

Catherine Sinnott: A Life in Service Through Two World Wars

by Matthew Gailani When you enter the large glass doors to the Tennessee State Museum’s exhibit “Ratified! Tennessee Women and The Right to Vote,” you are met with numerous images of Tennesseans from multiple decades and centuries, each with their own story and contributions to the Volunteer State’s history. As you walk past the suffrage banners, portraits, and other carefully chosen artifacts, you turn a corner and find yourself in the beginning of the 20th century s... Read More

Posted by Joseph Pagetta

WWI WWII

5-10-21

From Nashville to the Major Leagues: The Nashville Sounds of the 1980s

by Matthew Gailani Today, the Nashville Sounds, one of Tennessee’s many Minor League baseball teams, play at First Horizon Park. The stadium is located within walking distance of the Tennessee State Museum, just south of Jefferson Street across from Bicentennial Mall State Park in downtown Nashville. The team is part of the city’s and the state’s history of baseball, which dates to the 1800s. Since the Sounds’ founding in 1978, the team has been a Minor League affilia... Read More

Posted by Joseph Pagetta

Sports

4-22-21

Nikki Giovanni: A Poet’s Upbringing in Tennessee

by Stephanie Davis and Joyska Nunez-Medina “… a place where no matter what, I belong. And Knoxville belongs to me. I was born there in Old Knoxville General and I am buried there with Louvenia.” – Nikki Giovanni, from “400 Mulvaney Street” Poet and writer Yolande Cornelia “Nikki” Giovanni Jr. was born on June 7, 1943 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Although her younger years were spent in Wyoming, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati, she returned to K... Read More

Posted by Joseph Pagetta

Black History Literature

3-30-21

Beverley Gooch and the Evolution of Magnetic Tape

by Rob DeHart Invented in Germany in 1928, magnetic tape recording was one of the most significant technological developments of the 20th century. In audio applications it produced a high-quality sound that could be easily edited. Radio and recording studios embraced magnetic tape by the 1950s, and consumers soon followed by purchasing reel-to-reel recorders, and later, cassette tape decks. Other applications of this technology included video and data recording. Video tape transformed televi... Read More

Posted by Joseph Pagetta

Music History technology

Rosenwald Schools and the Importance of Preserving History

by Oliver Arney In July 2020, the historic Canaan School in Columbia, Tennessee, built in 1928 and restored in 1998, burned to the ground. With this blaze, Tennessee lost one of its last Rosenwald Schools. A single-room school from the 1920s built for African American students during the height of segregation, the Canaan School served as a reminder of the long fight for equality. When it was built, segregation was the law, not only at the state level, but on the federal level as a result of ... Read More

Posted by Joseph Pagetta at 2-9-21

Black History

New Acquisitions to the Museum's Collection - Winter 2021

This article appears in the Fall/Winter 2020/21 Issue of the Tennessee State Museum Quarterly newsletter. Robert Churchwell Collection, 1950s to 2000s Born in 1917 in Clifton, Wayne County, Tennessee, Robert Churchwell graduated from Pearl Senior High School and Fisk University in Nashville. In 1950, he became the first African American journalist hired by a major southern daily newspaper — The Nashville Banner. Due to segregation, The Nashville Banner forced Churchwell to work f... Read More

Posted by Mary Skinner at 1-27-21

Featured Museum Collection

The Most Popular Museum Blog Posts of 2020

Posts focused on Women's History, stemming in part from the Museum's commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, dominated readers' interest on the Museum's Stories blog this year. Eight out of the ten top posts were about women's history. But the history of pandemics and social justice were on everyone's minds as well, whether it was honoring the healthcare heroes of 1918, exploring the life of Ida B. Well... Read More

Posted by Joseph Pagetta at 12-28-20

Civil War Women's History

How the Telegraph Changed Election News

by Christopher Grisham In the early 1800s, the world shrank. The steam engine, attached to boats and trains, allowed people to travel farther and faster than ever before. Nothing at the time, however, connected people more than the invention of the telegraph. In our collection at the Tennessee State Museum, we have one of the earliest known telegraph messages ever sent. The story behind it is much more than one of technical innovation. Telegraph, 1840-1865 (Tennessee State Museum collect... Read More

Posted by Joseph Pagetta at 12-22-20

Exhibitions technology

The Curious Case of Elkmont, Tennessee: The Ghost Town of the Smoky Mountains

Elkmont Campground by Warren Bielenberg (Photo from National Parks Service) By Emilee Dehmer Elkmont, Tennessee, is known for many things. Part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, it’s one of the largest and busiest campgrounds in the park, with access to Little River and Jakes Creek and the trailheads for numerous hiking trails. The stunning 80ft Laurel Falls is a short hike away. In May and June, the area is also known for one of the most exciting natural events in the Sm... Read More

Posted by Joseph Pagetta at 12-13-20

Great Smoky Mountains

'Songteller' Places Dolly Parton's Songwriting at the Center of Her Story

Jacket for Dolly Parton, Songteller by Dolly Parton with Robert K. Oermann (Chronicle Books). Header Image Courtesy of Dolly Parton. by Jacqueline Zeisloft for Chapter16.org Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics (Chronicle Books) follows the country legend’s life and career from her earliest days growing up in Appalachia to her most recent creative ventures. Co-written by Parton and Nashville-based music journalist Robert K. Oermann, Songteller includ... Read More

Posted by Joseph Pagetta at 12-8-20

Music

11-22-20

How Tennessee and Aluminum Shaped Our Thanksgiving Traditions

by Ashley Howell How has geography influenced your Thanksgiving traditions? As you prepare for this Thanksgiving, the recipes and techniques you use to prepare your Thanksgiving turkey could have been influenced by a corporate entity that sold aluminum cookware – and its attraction to the geography of Tennessee – more than one hundred years ago. ALCOA in Tennessee The Aluminum Corporation of America, later renamed ALCOA, was founded in in 1888 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. By 19... Read More

Posted by Joseph Pagetta

Tennessee Foodways

Civil War Flags of Tennessee | Part 3: Three Flags in the Collection

This is the third in a three-part blog series curated by Richard White about the Museum's new book, Civil War Flags of Tennessee (The University of Tennessee Press) Civil War Flags of Tennessee, Stephen D. Cox, Principal Author and Editor-in-Chief (The University of Tennessee Press) Buy Now by Richard White The first two installments in this blog series highlighted the history of flags in the military and the construction and inscriptions found on flags. This final installm... Read More

Posted by Joseph Pagetta at 11-18-20

Civil War Civil War Flags

Civil War Flags of Tennessee | Part 2: Flag Construction and Inscriptions

This is the second in a three-part blog series curated by Richard White about the Museum's new book, Civil War Flags of Tennessee (The University of Tennessee Press) Civil War Flags of Tennessee, Stephen D. Cox, Principal Author and Editor-in-Chief (The University of Tennessee Press) Buy Now by Richard White. The Tennessee State Museum’s new book, Civil War Flags of Tennessee, by principal author and editor-in-chief Stephen Cox, is currently available through the Univ... Read More

Posted by Joseph Pagetta at 11-12-20

Civil War Flags

Civil War Flags of Tennessee | Part 1: A Brief History of Military Flags

This is the first in a three-part blog series curated by Richard White about the Museum's new book, Civil War Flags of Tennessee (The University of Tennessee Press) Civil War Flags of Tennessee, Stephen D. Cox, Principal Author and Editor-in-Chief (The University of Tennessee Press) Buy Now by Richard White Recently released by University of Tennessee Press, Civil War Flags of Tennessee is a monumental work, and a project 20 years in the making. The book covers the flags of Unio... Read More

Posted by Joseph Pagetta at 11-5-20

Civil War Civil War Flags

Goo Goos and MoonPies: Tennessee Traditions

by Grace Allen There is no painting in our collection that oozes sticky, sweet indulgence better than The Battle of Goo Goo Moon (2014) by Denise Stewart-Sanabria. This work of southern nostalgia never fails to take me back to happy childhood memories of afterschool snacks and summer camp canteen. The title, of course, refers to two of Tennessee’s most famous treats: the Goo Goo Cluster made in Nashville, and the MoonPie made in Chattanooga. Though some might try to say otherwise,... Read More

Posted by Joseph Pagetta at 10-16-20

Tennessee Foodways

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